Iqaluit teens take to the street to demand more suicide prevention for Nunavummiut
CBC
Youth in Iqaluit marched from Inuksuk High School to the Nunavut Legislature on Tuesday to deliver a message to government officials: suicide prevention needs to be addressed now.
High school students carried signs reading "suicide is not the answer" and "mental health matters" and more.
In Nunavut, nearly every family has been touched by the loss of a loved one, they said.
The demonstrators also asked the federal government to build a mental health facility in Nunavut.
Joseph Ashoona, who helped to organize the march, said some people tend to "just drink our pain away" or "smoke our pain away."
"That's not the answer — the answer is to get help and that is what we want," Ashoona said.
Co-organizer Deion Pearce said the federal government could do a lot more to help.
"Why were we overlooked for so long, and when are we finally going to get this change?" Pearce said. "I'm trying to make a change in Nunavut."
Pearce said people in Nunavut have been asking for help for a long time but "just haven't been given help."
"So it is just about time that we're speaking up and striving for change," he said.
"I'd like to see the Canadian government honestly step up a lot more in what they're doing for Nunavut. And I'd like to see a lot more communities in Nunavut do the same thing that we're doing, or speak up for themselves as well."
Both Ashoona and Pearce say they're tired of seeing people in the community hurting.
Dignitaries such as the newly elected MLA for Iqaluit Sinaa Janet Pistiulaaq Brewster and former premier Joe Savikataaq addressed the protesters, offering their support. In all, there were about 80 to 100 people at the event, including a handful of parents.
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh happened to be in Iqaluit at the time of the demonstration.
This First Person column is the experience of Shannon Flaman, who lives in Red Deer, Alta. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ.
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