Mental health minister puts $156M toward launch of 988 crisis hotline in November
The government is putting $156 million over three years toward a new three-digit suicide-prevention hotline, Mental Health Minister Carolyn Bennett announced Monday.
Starting on Nov. 30, people in crisis will be able to dial 988 anywhere in Canada to be connected with trained responders 24 hours a day by phone or text message.
The free service will be offered in English and French.
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health will receive the money to launch and operate the hotline.
The minister is also giving the organization $21 million to bolster the capacity of distress centres as they prepare for the increased demand for services.
The hotline won't be able to help people in crisis unless they can connect with local mental health services, the Canadian Mental Health Association said in a statement Monday.
Current wait-lists are overwhelming, CMHA said in a statement Monday, and the centre expects a four- to sixfold increase in demand when the new hotline launches.
Without community-based services wherever the caller is located, the new hotline will only lead to new wait-lists, the organization said.
Conservative MP Todd Doherty put forward a motion to establish a national suicide prevention hotline in December 2020, and the House of Commons passed it unanimously.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 24, 2023.
Correction
The Canadian Press erroneously attributed a statement about waitlists for community-based mental health services to the CAMH, the acronym for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, in a story on Monday.
In fact, the statement was attributable to the Canadian Mental Health Association.
IN DEPTH
Jagmeet Singh pulls NDP out of deal with Trudeau Liberals, takes aim at Poilievre Conservatives
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that had been helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in power.
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government鈥檚 three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party鈥檚 popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn鈥檛 be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
ANALYSIS Iran faces tough choices in deciding how to respond to Israeli strikes
How Iran chooses to respond could determine whether the region spirals further toward all-out war or holds steady at an already destabilizing level of violence.
Daylight saving time ends next week
Millions of Canadians will notice their clocks turn back by one hour on Nov. 3, marking the end of daylight saving time this year.
How to make sure your used clothes go to the right place 鈥 and not to organized crime
Giving away used clothes for a second life feels like an act of charity 鈥 and it often is. But it鈥檚 become more complicated. A W5 investigation has discovered allegations that organized crime players are muscling in on charities to access their donation bins.
Recounts will begin Sunday afternoon in two ridings where candidates were separated by fewer than 100 votes following the initial count in the B.C. election.
Gold prices have surged in 2024. Here鈥檚 how to get in on the gold rush
Not all that glitters is gold, but the value of the precious metal has been surging this year.
Vehicle rams into crowd outside Mexico cathedral, injures 16
A vehicle rammed into a crowd outside a cathedral in Mexico and injured at least 16 people Saturday night, local authorities said.
Trump refers to CNN's Anderson Cooper by a woman's first name
Former U.S. president Donald Trump has repeatedly referred to CNN anchor Anderson Cooper with a woman's first name in recent days as the Republican presidential nominee focuses his closing message on a hypermasculine appeal to men.
Satellite images show damage from Israeli attack at 2 secretive Iranian military bases
An Israeli attack on Iran damaged facilities at a secretive military base southeast of the Iranian capital that experts in the past have linked to Tehran's onetime nuclear weapons program.
Shohei Ohtani partially dislocates left shoulder during World Series Game 2, status TBD
Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani partially dislocated his left shoulder during the seventh inning of Saturday's Game 2 of the World Series against the New York Yankees when he tried to steal second base.
Local Spotlight
A new resident at a Manitoba animal rescue has waddled her way into people's hearts.
Hundreds of people ran to the music of German composer and pianist Beethoven Wednesday night in a unique race in Halifax.
He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.
A meteor lit up our region's sky last night 鈥 with a large fireball shooting across the horizon over Lake Erie at around 7:00 p.m.
Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.
A man who lost his life while trying to rescue people from floodwaters, and a 13-year-old boy who saved his family from a dog attack, are among the Nova Scotians who received a medal for bravery Tuesday.
A newly minted Winnipegger is hoping a world record attempt will help bring awareness for the need for more pump track facilities in the city.
A Springfield, Ont. man is being hailed a 'hero' after running into his burning home to save his two infant children.
Hortense Anglin was the oldest graduate to make her way across the platform at York University's Fall Convocation ceremony this week. At the age of 87, she graduated with an Honours degree in Religious Studies.