Posted: Apr 30, 2021 10:19 PM CT | Last Updated: May 1
NDP MLA Doyle Vermette came to the final day of the Walking With Our Angels camp to show his support.(Radio-Canada)
New legislation that requires the government to develop a strategy for suicide prevention, passed in the Saskatchewan Legislature Friday, after failing on two previous attempts.
NDP MLA Doyle Vermette first proposed the legislation in 2018. He said he was grateful the bill finally passed, but that the work is far from over. This is your victory. This is [for] everyone who has walked, signed a petition, [for] mothers, fathers, grandparents who have lost a loved one, [for those] who asked us, Don t give up, he said.
Prince Albert Daily Herald
‘It gives me hope’: Sask. suicide prevention bill passes unanimously
Métis suicide prevention advocate Tristen Durocher said he s hoping for more cooperation with Indigenous communities and people across various health sectors
Cumberland MLA Doyle Vermette holds The Saskatchewan Strategy for Suicide Prevention Act. Photo courtesy of Doyle Vermette
The Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly unanimously passed The Saskatchewan Strategy for Suicide Prevention Act after Cumberland NDP MLA Doyle Vermette introduced it for a third time on Friday.
“This to me is something that the people of our province that are struggling with mental health should be very proud that they have achieved,” Vermette said.
Article content
Sask. government neglects at-risk populations
I am writing to express my disappointment in the recent budget put forth by the Sask. Party, specifically the lack of funding to the Prairie Harm Reduction safe consumption site. They received not one red cent. If “the true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members” (Gandhi), we are failing badly.
We apologize, but this video has failed to load.
Try refreshing your browser, or Letters: Sask. budget fails vulnerable populations Back to video
I see a pattern of not caring about at-risk populations with this government. First, they failed to vote for MLA Doyle Vermette’s suicide prevention bill. Then they tried to evict Tristen Durocher from the Legislature grounds for, heaven forbid, bringing awareness to the high numbers of young people in the North taking their own lives. Our government was more interested in getting the teepee off the grass than listening to his heart
Regina / 980 CJME
Apr 30, 2021 | 3:49 PM
NDP MLA Doyle Vermette speaking at the Walking with our Angels protest camp in Wascana Park on Aug. 11, 2020. (Lisa Schick/980 CJME file photo)
NDP MLA Doyle Vermette was overwhelmed and emotional Friday afternoon, just minutes after the Legislative Assembly unanimously passed The Saskatchewan Strategy for Suicide Prevention Act after the third time he introduced it.
“The government and Her Majesty’s loyal opposition came together for the people, and the people have won, of this province. And that’s what it’s about and should be about sometimes,” said Vermette.
“We have many days to disagree and debate stuff in the chamber, but today we can say we walked away and Saskatchewan people, those struggling with mental health, you won. And we’re going to do everything we can. That’s the commitment I’ve got and what I think I’ve heard from the government supporting this.”