Canadian Mental Health Association

A British Columbia advocate says people with mental illness and those who work with them are afraid of the consequences that could come in reaction to the festival tragedy that killed 11 people in Vancouver on Saturday.

Justice Minister Arif Virani says the government is weighing its options as the March deadline looms. The first step, he says, will be to see what members of Parliament and senators recommend after committee hearings that probed the issue this past fall.

Recent cases of violence across Canada demonstrate a clear need to treat mental illness early instead of waiting until a serious crime happens, says an executive with the Canadian Mental Health Association.

Soon after the province was locked down in March 2020, officials noticed an increasing number of men were calling the province's 211 service, which offers information about government and community services.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's freshly appointed cabinet includes a new ministerial post to tackle his election promises on mental health and addictions.

The Canadian Armed Forces has quietly revealed that 20 service members took their own lives last year, the largest number of military suicides since 2014.