Report should be released to public ‘within days’: Minister of Labour
The Ontario Ministry of Labour is planning to release a report on recognizing and treating mental illness in emergency responders, according to a Global News report.
The report — promised close to two years ago — was originally slotted to be released to the public in August, but as of Monday had still not been released.
Minister of Labour Kevin Flynn said he saw the report in May, but it was temporarily shelved during the provincial election.
“I’m looking forward to releasing this to the public within days,” Flynn said in an interview with Global News.
The report includes a number of recommendations on how to prevent suicides among emergency personnel.
A renewed push for the report to be released comes after reports that Ottawa police officer Kal Ghadban took his own life at police headquarters this past weekend.
An unidentified Ontario firefighter is also reported to have taken his own life on Monday morning.
Twenty-three first responders across Canada have committed suicide since April of this year, according to the Tema Counter Memorial Trust — and 17 of those 23 lived in Ontario.
