Attawapiskat declares state of emergency over suicide attempts, 11 in one night
原始发布日期： 2016-04-10 发布者：李方字变大 字变小
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THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld Listen ATTAWAPISKAT, Ont. – A remote northern Ontario First Nation has declared a state of emergency after numerous suicide attempts this week. The Attawapiskat First Nation on James Bay is home to about 2,000 people. Charlie Angus, the local MP and NDP critic for indigenous affairs, said that there is a suicide epidemic in the community. Angus called it a “rolling nightmare” of more and more suicide attempts among young people throughout the winter. There have been 28 attempts in the month of March and on Saturday night alone, 11 people attempted to take their own lives, Chief Bruce Shisheesh said. The situation led the Attawapiskat chief and council to declare a state of emergency on Saturday. But Angus says the designation may not have the immediate effects that it would elsewhere. “If it was declared in any other community, it would have an immediate response,” he says. “I’ve lost count of the states of emergency in the James Bay region since I was elected.” And he says that, most often, they go unnoticed by the federal government. A representative from Health Canada said in a written statement that two mental health counsellors have been sent to the community as part of a Nishnawbe Aski Nation crisis response unit. 2016 The Canadian Press By Staff The Canadian Press |
