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Canada Suicide

What Marilyn Monroe Taught Us About Suicide Notes

Romeo Vitelli | Posted 05.01.2013 | Canada
Romeo Vitelli

But could Marilyn Monroe's own writings provide clues about her suicidal intentions? Many of the letters, poems, and personal notes that Monroe wrote in the years leading up to her death were recently collected in a single book, Marilyn Monroe's Fragments. Her writings have only recently become available for serious study by suicide researchers.

Why I'm Afraid I Could End Up Like Mindy McCready

Arthur Gallant | Posted 04.21.2013 | Canada
Arthur Gallant

Anytime a celebrity or somebody in the spotlight, like Mindy McCready, takes his or her own life we tend to only talk about the issues facing that specific person. Maybe its easier to talk of somebody everybody knows of. I've talked about why I was grateful I'm still living because, as I've learned, I have a lot to live for. I saw that first hand after my two suicide attempts.

First Nation Cops Are Facing "Combat-Level" Stress

Charlie Angus | Posted 04.20.2013 | Canada
Charlie Angus

On a warm evening last May, officer Pauline Nguyen went into her backyard and shot herself with her police service revolver. The death of this popular 24-year-old police officer stunned people in her hometown of Thunder Bay. There have been other attempted and threatened suicides from overstressed officers. And the pressures are about to get worse. On March 31, the Conservative government will terminate the Police Officer Recruitment Fund (PORF). The loss of this funding will mean lay-offs of 11 more police officers. Such a loss will add pressure to an already overstretched force.

Time to Remove "Mental" from Mental Illness

Diane Weber Bederman | Posted 04.13.2013 | Canada
Diane Weber Bederman

It is the stigma, the shame and prejudice attached to the phrase "mental illness" that keeps people from accessing care. Mental illness is not in the mind; it is in the brain. Changing the name from "mental" to brain illness can be the beginning of a change in attitude towards those of us with these illnesses.

1 In 4 Calls To Quebec Suicide Hotline Go Unanswered

CBC | Posted 04.10.2013 | Canada

Thousands of calls to Quebec's suicide hotline are never answered and the government says it needs to act quickly to make sure those who need help are...

Overheard on the VIA Train: "Indians Are Lazy"

Marko Sijan | Posted 03.20.2013 | Canada Politics
Marko Sijan

A study made last summer by Nanos Research and the Institute for Research on Public Policy ranks aboriginal issues as the least important concern among Canadians. I was recently delayed at Union Station for four hours due to an Idle No More blockade. An attendant announced in a surly tone that the train had been stopped due to "une manifestation d'Indiens." Contrary to news reports, my fellow passengers weren't "taking it in stride." Many groaned but didn't speak; I wrote down some of the comments others shared about "the lazy Indians."

Misplaced Rage Over A Prank Gone Wrong

Benjamin Morris | Posted 02.09.2013 | Canada Alberta
Benjamin Morris

We live in a world that is sadly uninformed. A world where real issues are ignored simply, because the public likes to place anger on people who don't deserve it, while they continue to be ignorant on issues of grave societal importance.

Happy Royal News Turns Into Macabre State Of Affairs

Shachi Kurl | Posted 02.06.2013 | Canada British Columbia
Shachi Kurl

What a mess. It was inevitable that Kate's pregnancy would have given birth to breathless media coverage and celebration whenever it was divulged. It should have been happy, frothy, celebrity news. Instead, a woman going through a very rough, early pregnancy goes to hospital and the whole world knows about it. A nurse, fooled by broadcasters, mistakenly transfers a call that should have been hung up on, and is found dead days later. It is a sad, macabre state of affairs.

Staff Thwarts Suicide Attempt At Gun Range

CP | John Cotter, The Canadian Press | Posted 12.31.2012 | Canada Alberta

EDMONTON - The owner of a firearms range at West Edmonton Mall is full of praise for two of her employees who may have prevented a customer from killi...

Amanda Todd Suicide Leads to Media Chatter

J.J. McCullough | Posted 12.22.2012 | Canada Politics
J.J. McCullough

2012-04-27-mediabitesreal.jpg It's now been two weeks since the tragic, allegedly bullying-induced suicide of B.C. teenager Amanda Todd first made headlines around the world, but if the steady output of Canadian editorial pages is any indication, there's still much to say. It's hard to deny the sheer poetic justice in the volume of sympathy and thoughtfulness born from the aftermath of an episode of such overbearing nihilism and cruelty. Not that some haven't gone too far, of course.

From Someone Who's Been There, Bullying Has Gone Way Too Far

Benjamin Morris | Posted 12.12.2012 | Canada Alberta
Benjamin Morris

I was called every name in the book, my locker was vandalized, but I did nothing. I simply tried to ignore it all. Every day in the first half of my freshmen year I was reminded what the kids thought of me, and those thoughts weren't nice ones. Eventually, magically, they stopped bullying me, and ended up ignoring me. It was a nice trade off, but my mind, my thoughts and my future were already damaged.

Why Would Someone Do This?

The Huffington Post B.C. | Posted 10.01.2012 | Canada British Columbia

Kenneth Carr has been charged with counselling to commit suicide. (RCMP) Abbotsford police are worried that a man charged with counselling to commi...

Are Suicide Rates Declining Worldwide?

Romeo Vitelli | Posted 11.25.2012 | Canada Living
Romeo Vitelli

Although collecting health statistics across the world can seem almost impossible because of political unrest, economic problems, wars, and simple bureacracy, the World Health Organization has been collecting mortality statistics since the 1950s for most countries. Are suicide rates declining worldwide?

Why A Dead Soldier's Family Had To Pay Over $10,000

CP | Murray Brewster, The Canadian Press | Posted 11.10.2012 | Canada Politics

OTTAWA - The family of a Canadian soldier who committed suicide spent just over $10,800 in court costs to correct mistakes made in the young soldier's...

I Won my Battle With Suicide, But I Was One of the Lucky Ones

Andrew Lawton | Posted 11.10.2012 | Canada
Andrew Lawton

Today is World Suicide Prevention Day. There was a time not too long ago where I wasn't planning on being around for the occasion. I am a suicide survivor. On December 9, 2010, I went to a public washroom, downed a container of pills and counted down what I thought were my final hours. Tomorrow was never supposed to come. Surviving an attempt has its own difficulties. My decision to reveal this was rooted in my frustration at society's stigma towards those with mental illness and the lack of understanding about suicide.

New Suicide Risk Assessment Tool Should Help In Prevention

CP | Aly Thomson, The Canadian Press | Posted 11.09.2012 | Canada Living

HALIFAX - A new suicide risk assessment tool used by health professionals in some Nova Scotia hospitals is a "valuable step" towards preventing suicid...

Suicide in the NFL: a Deadly Trend that Can't Be Ignored

Romeo Vitelli | Posted 10.22.2012 | Canada Living
Romeo Vitelli

When Junior Seau's girlfriend found him dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his home in Oceanside, California, speculation arose over the similarity between his death and the suicides of other NFL stars. Though a recent autopsy report ruled out brain damage and drugs and alcohol in Seau's death, this is just part of a disturbing trend in recent years with former NFL players committing suicide in similar ways, showing that far more needs to be done.

Why I'm Glad I Didn't Succeed At Ending My Life

Arthur Gallant | Posted 09.08.2012 | Canada Living
Arthur Gallant

My suicide attempts were five years apart and each time I felt emotional pain that was too deep to describe. To me, ending my life was the only way to solve my problems which I've learned is not the case. There's a classic saying that goes, "Live everyday as if it's your last." While mental illness and suicide are very challenging topics, we need to treat those around us as if today is their last day too -- with love and respect.

Let's Talk About Suicide

Gerald McEachern | Posted 08.28.2012 | Canada Living
Gerald McEachern

There have been two recent suicides in our small community, which I find distressing. When a suicide happens we usually learn about it from the local whispering network, but rarely from the news. The reason is obvious: local media still protect surviving families from guilt or shame. Suicide is too common, yet preventable, and the the subject is still taboo.

How the Public Was Duped into Supporting Assisted Suicide

Dr. Will Johnston | Posted 08.22.2012 | Canada Politics
Dr. Will Johnston

Carter v. Canada , the judge-decreed legalization of physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia in Canada, tries to take a chainsaw to that old-growth forest that my colleague Dr. Margaret Cottle describes as a "delicate social ecology of mutual support and protection" which forbids the killing of a patient.

Ford Should Not Gamble His Future at the Casino

Samuel Getachew | Posted 07.30.2012 | Canada Politics
Samuel Getachew

In a recent poll found that 32.5 per cent of Torontonians oppose building a waterfront casino. To Mayor Rob Ford, an enthusiastic supporter of the idea, this may be a warning as he looks ahead to his uncertain re-election campaign in just over two years.

Is There A Facebook Suicide Effect?

Romeo Vitelli | Posted 02.28.2012 | Canada
Romeo Vitelli

Can a suicide announcement on Facebook inspire similar copycat deaths? As social media becomes more popular, the impact of those announcements will certainly become more widespread.

B.C. Court Hears Euthanasia Case

CP | Terri Theodore, The Canadian Press | Posted 01.14.2012 | Canada

VANCOUVER - The legal review of Canada's assisted suicide laws came too late for a British Columbia man who suffered from a terminal illness and hoped...

Liberals Put Focus On Suicide Crisis

CP | The Canadian Press | Posted 12.04.2011 | Canada Politics

OTTAWA - Members of Parliament set aside a focus on Canada's financial health today to debate the nation's mental health.The Liberals are calling for ...

Invisible Iranians

Roya Boroumand | Posted 11.30.2011 | Canada
Roya Boroumand

What determines political developments in a closed country does not necessarily happen in front of the cameras with tanks rolling over protesters. The most important struggle is a long term fight to be heard and the psychological warfare between the persecuted and the persecutors.