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NUNAVUT
With 34 deaths, 2011 was the second-worst year for suicides in the history of Nunavut, chief coroner Padma Suramala said this week. All of the lives lost were Inuit, and almost all of them were young men.

Peter Ma says the government is taking steps to reduce suicide rates.

"Suicide affects all of us," Suramala said. "It is not a normal death. It is very shocking and disheartening to see young people are committing suicide."

Twenty-seven of 34 deaths were men, she said.

"The average is between 20 and 25 years old, but middle-aged and older people are also committing suicide. The youngest was 12 years old."

The only year with more suicides was 2003, she said, when 37 people killed themselves. This year's figure is almost double the record low number of suicides in the founding year of Nunavut, 1999, when 19 people killed themselves. Since then, in most years the number has been between 24 and 29, she said.

Iqaluit had the most suicides, with 11. Pond Inlet and Cape Dorset each had six suicides in 2011.

One case involved a missing Pond Inlet man who died in 2008, but whose body was found this year.

"Regardless of what nationality or ethnic group you are, in Canada this is the second-largest killer of young people aged 15 to 24," deputy health minister Peter Ma said.

"You have to have a sense of hope, and that can only be given through others in the community."

Interdepartmental co-operation with education and justice is one tool the government hopes to use to discourage suicide.

"If we can identify the kids that are at risk at school, we can start addressing it earlier," Ma said. "And with the RCMP collecting data about attempted suicide, that identifies someone on the radar we should be aware of."

He emphasized the government can't solve the problem alone.

"It's going to take more than just the government and the three partners (in its Nunavut Suicide Prevention Strategy): Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., the Embrace Life Council, and the RCMP," he said. "It's going to take individuals, families and communities, as well as other non-governmental organizations such as church groups. It's going to take the efforts of everybody to get the numbers down."

Community-level projects at Ilisaqsivik in Clyde River and a men's group in Coral Harbour were named as positive examples that provide help.

In the forthcoming budget, which will be released when the legislative assembly sits later this month, community mental health positions will be given long-term funding, and there will be other steps taken to deal with mental health and addictions.

"We will likely be renovating a facility to provide further programming and treatment to folks that might need that service," Ma said, also hinting at an addictions pilot program.

He also praised the Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training program provided by Nunavut Arctic College as a positive way to help enable first-responders.

"Every time someone uses ASIST training and stops a suicide from happening, that's a success story," he said. "Even one is a step forward at this time."

If anyone is or encounters someone who is contemplating suicide, each community has the resources to help, he said.

"When someone is having suicidal thoughts, it almost doesn't matter who is their first point of contact, as long as they get in contact with somebody who can deal with it themselves or direct them to an appropriate resource."

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