Doing what works: Rethinking the Federal Framework for Suicide Prevention. Report of the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology

Ten years have passed since the idea of a federal framework for suicide prevention was realized through the adoption of the Federal Framework for Suicide Prevention Act. This Act required the Government of Canada to develop such a framework—an obligation that was fulfilled in 2016  with the release of the Federal Framework for Suicide Prevention (the Framework). The Framework’s stated mission is to “prevent suicide in Canada” however, there has been no significant change to the suicide rate in Canada since the Framework has been in place. In fact, for the  Canadian population as a whole, the suicide rate has remained largely stable over the past 20 years. This seemingly stable rate obscures the overrepresentation of some populations—Indigenous peoples, and more specifically Inuit; and boys and men.
It is evident that the success of the Framework remains limited. The Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology (the committee), therefore, undertook a study to evaluate the effectiveness of the Federal Framework for Suicide Prevention, hearing from the  Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, medical experts and clinicians, advocates and persons with lived and living experience with suicide. The Minister of Mental Health and Addictions informed the committee that work is being done to update the Framework and therefore, a major  theme throughout the study was identifying how an updated Framework could be strengthened.
While this study aimed to evaluate the Framework, the committee acknowledges that in many ways, the Framework is intertwined with the broader topic of suicide prevention in Canada, and thanks witnesses who shared information on that topic as well. Given that the committee has not yet had the opportunity to study such an important subject at the level of detail it requires, this report is divided into two parts. The first part evaluates the Federal Framework for Suicide Prevention and provides recommendations for its improvement. The second part provides a summary of the testimony shared with the committee about suicide prevention more generally.