Walking with Our Angels organizer weighs in on province passing suicide prevention bill
A La Ronge man who helped organize the Walking with Our Angels campaign is responding to the provincial government passing suicide prevention legislation.
Christopher Merasty, who is also the founder of Men of the North, said when he heard about the legislation being passed he experienced a number of emotions.
“I was very overwhelmed with excitement and just the, you know, possibilities and idea that, the amount of lives that this bill is going to save now that it is law,” he said.
The Saskatchewan Party government voted last week to pass the legislation proposed by Cumberland NDP MLA Doyle Vermette, the legislation called on the province to create a suicide prevention strategy. The government had voted down the legislation on two previous occasions.
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We all owe New Democrat Cumberland MLA Doyle Vermette a debt of gratitude for restoring some humanity to the Saskatchewan legislature and the province after a whole lot of humanity on a critical issue was somehow lost.
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That the Saskatchewan Party government would have embarrassed itself by rejecting an identical version of Vermette’s bill last June was at best a testimonial of how woefully uninformed our government was on this matter. At worst, it was a testimonial to how politics far too often takes precedence.
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We all owe New Democrat Cumberland MLA Doyle Vermette a debt of gratitude for restoring some humanity to the Saskatchewan legislature and the province after a whole lot of humanity on a critical issue was somehow lost.
We apologize, but this video has failed to load.
Try refreshing your browser, or Mandryk: Government must listen to northern residents after passage of suicide prevention bill Back to video
That the Saskatchewan Party government would have embarrassed itself by rejecting an identical version of Vermette’s bill last June was at best a testimonial of how woefully uninformed our government was on this matter. At worst, it was a testimonial to how politics far too often takes precedence.
PRINCE ALBERT The two leaders behind an awareness walk and tipi camp last summer saw the provincial government act on their demand for a stronger suicide prevention plan last week. Saskatchewan MLAs passed Bill 601 on Friday, which states that the Ministry of Health must establish a suicide prevention strategy and report on progress every year. The bill was brought forward by NDP MLA Doyle Vermette, and was defeated in the legislature twice. After the bill was unanimously voted down a second time, Tristen Durocher and Christopher Merasty led an over 600 kilometre walk from Air Ronge to Regina, followed by a 44-day fast on legislature grounds called Walking with our Angels.