Suicide Prevention - Bill C-300 passes second reading in parliament.

The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition applauds Harold Albrecht MP (Kitchener-Conestoga) for successfully steering Bill C-300 through second reading in Canada's parliament. C-300 is a bill that intends to launch a national suicide prevention strategy or plan in Canada.

Albrecht, who has been working for several years to create greater awareness of the need for the Canada's federal government to take a larger role in the prevention of suicide, successfully steered Bill C-300 through second reading with only 3 Members of Parliament opposing the bill on Wednesday February 15.

The difficulty with creating a national suicide prevention strategy is that it will require provincial governments to also support its direction. Albrecht has established a clear direction through Bill C-300 that will open the doors to the type of cooperation that will be necessary to create an effective national suicide prevention strategy.


Jack Hicks, a social science researcher in Iqaluit said to CBC News that the bill is a step in the right direction, especially since Canada is one of the only developed countries without a national suicide prevention strategy in place. Hicks stated:

“My hope is that everything this bill mentions will be done as quickly as possible, as effectively as possible, and Canada goes into catch-up mode,”

Albrecht is also the co-chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Palliative and Compassionate Care that released a report last November that outlined the necessary direction for effectively reducing suicide through national and provincial cooperation.


Bill C-300 will now go to committee for further debate and then return to parliament for its final reading, sometime later this year.

Your Life Counts, a national suicide prevention group has been very involved with building the infrastructure for a national suicide prevention strategy.