Suicide In Canada

Inequalities in health between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander counterparts are noted by the World Health Organisation to be the largest in the world. There is a strong connection between low life expectancy for Indigenous Australians and poor health. In 2012-2013, Indigenous Australians were 4 times more likely to be hospitalised for chronic conditions compared with non-Indigenous Australians. In 2012 the rate of disability for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians was 1.7 times the rate for non-Indigenous Australians. These statistics further outline how these inequities impact their health, wellbeing and quality of life, increasing the inequity gap. Other major concerns include mental health (Indigenous Australians were over twice as likely to be hospitalised for mental and behavioural disorders as non-Indigenous Australians), suicide and self-harm and the most drastic increase occurred among young people from 10-24 years old, where Indigenous youth suicide rose from 10% in 1991 to 80% in 2010. The disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous health in Australia reflects the large gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous education and employment those who were employed were less likely to smoke (45% versus 66%). Even when all other demographic details were taken into account, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were around twice as likely to be daily smokers with 42% of their population, this can lead to preterm (early) deliveries, stillbirths or low birth weights. Diabetes is common in the indigenous population as

The actual living conditions of most residential schools were not suitable for human beings. In a number of the institutions, the mortality rate from diseases such as small pox or tuberculosis was over 50 percent. (Cbwc.ca, 2016, p. 1) The rapid spread of diseases was promoted by the severe overcrowding in residential schools. (Cbwc.ca, 2016, p. 1) There was poor nutrition with food that was often contaminated, almost no health care and non-existent sanitation that led to high counts of death in residential schools. The dehumanization of students was shown by both the abuse and neglect that was perpetrated by government officials and others running the schools that were badly overcrowded and cheaply built. A medical examiner named P.H. Bryce

Residential schools have left an unintended catastrophic imprint on the mental health of students and on later generations. This has manifested itself in self-abuse, resulting in high rates of alcoholism, substance abuse, and suicide. In result, the number one cause of death is suicide and self-inflicted injury.

Disadvantage and marginalisation of indigenous Australian 's began with the dispossession of land, displacement of their people, and separation of families. Indigenous Australian 's have difficulty in gaining access, to the same degree, to what white Australian 's have ready access such as housing, employment and general services. Indigenous Australian 's are one of the most disadvantaged groups in this country in social and economic areas such as employment, housing, income, and health. The burden of poor health among aborigines is of particular concern. The health disadvantage of indigenous people begins in infancy and continues throughout their life. The problem appears to become evident right from birth with aboriginal woman twice as likely as non-indigenous woman to have a stillborn baby and twice as likely to give birth to an underweight baby (ed. Healey 2000, p.4). During the period between 1991 and 1996, life expectancy for indigenous people was around 20 years than that of their non-indigenous counterparts. The lives of indigenous people are affected by many other health factors, one of most concern is alcohol related problems that impact on their well-being, family structure, and even aboriginal traditional life because they tend to drink more haphazardly. Some of the health risks to which indigenous people are exposed can be attributed the differences between the health of indigenous and non-indigenous people. Such risks include, poorer living conditions,

Canada is known for its amazing healthcare and it is considered one of the best in the world. In Canada, healthcare is ‘universal’ to its citizens under the Heath Care Act. However, not everyone has equal access to healthcare, Aboriginals being some of them. Aboriginals have trouble getting the access they need because of socio-economic status, geography, lack of infrastructure and staff, language or cultural barriers an more.

This sudden change still has an enormous effect on today’s Indigenous population. How is it fair that the oldest population of people die a decade younger than non-Indigenous Australians? The perpetuation of racism which is manifested in our society has left many Indigenous Australians in a disadvantaged position. Including through, limited access to education with adult literacy rates of just 30 percent and literacy rates of children under 15 more than 48 percent lower than non-Indigenous Australians, consequently means lower educational achievement rates and higher unemployment rates of 17.2 percent compared to 5.5 percent for non-Indigenous Australians (Australian Bureau of Statistics , 2013 ). These facts must be recognised to ensure real equality and a fair-go for Indigenous people.

In the year 2006, a number of 3512 people in Canada commit suicide which appeared to be the lowest figure among the other years. WHY During the 2008 financial crisis, the number of suicide shows a significant increase which marked a figure of 3705 suicides in 2008 and 3890 suicides in the following year. In the year of 2009, suicide has ranked as the ninth leading cause of death in Canada as stated in the Statistics Canada. The figure of suicides continued to rise slightly in 2010 which marked a number of 3951 suicides. The lowest figure over the study period appeared to be in the year 2011 which recorded a number of 3728 suicides. According to The Canadian Press (2011), Canada’s economy was ranked at the second place among the G7 countries in the year 2011 which seems to lead to the drop in the suicides. However, it is notable that the suicides in the following two years after the improvement of Canada’s economy in 2011 experienced a significant rose which marked the figure of 3926 suicides and 4054 suicides respectively. As mentioned by Antunes (2012), the Canada’s economy in 2012 and 2013 was most likely to be muddled due to the influence of the gloomy global environment. This slowdown on the economic activity is believed to have a negative impact on suicides in the particular

“A society that believes in nothing can offer no argument even against death. A culture that has lost its faith in life cannot comprehend why it should be endured.” -Andrew Coyne. According to Cambridge dictionary, euthanasia, also called assisted suicide, is the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering. Although many think assisted suicide should be legalized in Canada to avoid violation of Freedom of Choice Act, I strongly disagree with its legalization. Permitting euthanasia prevents advancements in care facilities for the terminally-ill, leads to non-voluntary use of euthanasia and diminishes society’s respect for life.

Some women are afraid for their lives, that if they leave their partner, they or their family will be harmed. In Heavenfire’s case, she truly loved and cared for Falardeau and did not want to see him go to jail for his crimes. Falardeau financially supported Heavenfire and she did not want to involve her family for support if she were to leave Falardeau. Heavenfire’s was an exceptional case as she was the first aboriginal to be cleared of all charges in her husband’s killings. Inequality in the criminal justice system is evident. Indigenous people are incarcerated at much higher rates than non-Indigenous in Canada and are incarcerated for longer periods of time (Cook & Roesh, 2012, p.222). Canadians have put Indigenous communities through much heartache and pain. With the colonization of Indigenous people to residential schools, Canadians continue to stigmatize and treat Indigenous people poorly. Indigenous people are more likely to suffer from drug abuse using needles because of the intergenerational trauma suffered through their parents attending residential schools in Canada (Bombay, Matheson, & Anisman, 2014, p. 327). This puts them at a higher criminal risk than others because of what they have been subjected to. Reasons et al., (2016) found that, “offending and victimization are a consequence of multiple risk factors,

In fact, it can be quoted by Emily Hill, advocacy director at Aboriginal Legal Services in Toronto, who says, "We see that in many areas there has been no improvement and in some areas it's gotten worse.” It was also mentioned that many Aboriginal people were unaware that they had legal rights that were to be treated with respect and without discrimination. That being said, this proves that the amount of discrimination they receive was enough for them to be unconscious of the fact that their rights were to protect them. Although this may be true, some people may argue that this isn’t a serious issue, and that discrimination occurs everywhere. However, the murder rate of Indigenous women is 3.5 times higher compared to other women in Canada, according to a report released by the RCMP. This example proves that to the Indigenous, the discrimination has been taken to a far higher level with murder of loved ones involved, and this counter-argument is inferior to the voices of the broken families. Now, this happens because the Canadian government either doesn’t bother to enforce the security in the Indigenous community, or that they aren’t educating the First Nations in health and well-being, even though the government is making the “citizens” of Canada, their top priority. Throughout the Vicelands Cut-off, many of Indigenous people from the community, where Justin Trudeau was visiting kept on questioning the actions of the Liberal government, which emphasizes the fact that they either did not vote for the party, or the elected government wasn’t fulfilling the needs of the people. In particular, there was an old Aboriginal woman who didn’t know who Justin Trudeau even was, emphasizing that she had absolutely no hope in the democratic system. This

Indigenous peoples of Canada have been considered inferior to all other citizens, and have been abused and neglected through European history, and can be seen as a form of genocide. In Canadian residential schools, children were removed from the home, sexually assaulted, beaten, deprived of basic human necessities, and over 3 500 women and girls were sterilized, and this went on well into the 1980 's (Nicoll 2015). The dehumanization of Indigenous peoples over the generations has left a significant impact on society today; the generational trauma has left many Indigenous peoples heavily dependent of drugs and alcohol, and the vulnerability of Indigenous women has led to extremely high rates of violent crime towards these women. A report that

Historically the highest risk factor of domestic violence followed colonization (Brownridge 2008, p. 355). The loss of history and way of life has caused violence against the Aboriginal women to become normalized through the pathway of poverty, lack of education, substance abuse, and the european worldview. When comparing the violence ratio of Aboriginal woman and non-Aboriginal women the Aboriginal female has an eight time greater chance to be a target of violence such as spousal homicide and severe abuse (Brownridge, 2003, p.66). Aboriginal women were noted to have a significantly higher rate of violent victimization in comparison to a non-aboriginal females. Statistics showed that one quarter of aboriginal women will have experienced partner violence in comparison to only 8% of non-Aboriginal women (Brownridge, 2008, p. 355). Aboriginal women and domestic violence has a strong correlation. When comparing the extent and severity of violence against Aboriginal women and non-Aboriginal women there is evidence proving that the Aboriginal women have a great chance of facing domestic violence during the duration of their lifespan in comparison to the non-Aboriginal

A 2011 survey showed that Indigenous Australians aged 15-64 were less likely to be participating in the labour force than non-Indigenous Australians aged 15-64 (55.9% versus 76.4%). The same survey showed that Indigenous Australians aged 15-64 were three times as likely to be unemployed when compared to non-Indigenous Australians (17.2% compared to 5.5%) (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2014). When comparing these rates to the occurrence rates of family violence in Indigenous Australians versus non-Indigenous Australians mentioned previously, we can see that they support the statement that a stable economy and abundant resources greatly decreases the risk of family violence.

The colonization of Indigenous peoples has dramatically affected their health, and health-seeking behaviours, in a myriad of ways. The Indian Act of 1876 was, in essence, created to control the Indigenous population. The Indian Act laid out laws and regulations that tightly regulated the lives of natives economically, ideologically, and politically. This included a wealth of ways in which their identities were stripped away, and in which they were taken advantage of by the Government of Canada. This has resulted in a reduced quality of life for Canada 's indigenous population, as well as adverse health problems, and prejudicial perceptions that we still see the impact of today. The documentary series, 8th fire, by Dando and Ingles (2012) supports this claim. The Indigenous peoples ' have long felt betrayed by the government that they had signed a treaty with, so why would an Indigenous person seek health services from this establishment? The mistrust between the Indigenous peoples and the Government of Canada is the result of colonization, specifically the Indian Act, and it undoubtedly impacts Indigenous peoples and their faith in, and ability to get proper care from, the healthcare system.

There are a lot of challenges that Indigenous Australians still face, but one that keeps being mentioned in society is the poor lifestyles of Indigenous Australians. Life-expectancy is a major problem in Aboriginal society, compared to non-Indigenous Australians there is a difference of 10 years. Not only that, Indigenous and Torres Strait Islanders have the worst life-expectancy in the whole world. To the current day, Aboriginal people have poor health and nutrition, low education levels and poverty. This shows that even though civil rights for Indigenous people and Torres Strait Islanders is improving there are still some aspects of their lifestyle that can enhance. These things that easily be improved simply by the government helping, just by investing more in healthcare, shelter and wellbeing the life-expectancy rates of Aboriginal people can increase. Overall, even though the Indigenous civil rights in Australia is improving, several challenges still