Question Period Note: 3-Digit hotline

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• The Government of Canada welcomes the determination from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to adopt 9-8-8 as the number to call or text for Canadians in need of immediate mental health crisis and suicide prevention support effective November 30, 2023.
• The Government of Canada announced that the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health will lead the coordination of 9-8-8 service delivery, building on its experience delivering Talk Suicide Canada.
• The Government of Canada is committed to ensuring this service has the quality and capacity to meet the demand, connecting people to effective crisis support when they need it the most.

IF PRESSED ON TIMING FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A THREE-DIGIT NUMBER FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION CRISIS SUPPORT
• The CRTC announced the 9-8-8 number will be launched across Canada on November 30, 2023.
• In preparation, the Public Health Agency of Canada contracted a firm to analyze service volumes associated with launching a three-digit number, and estimated that service volumes may increase four to six-fold by 2027. This analysis will help identify the resources required to support the service.
• The Agency is also engaging with a range of stakeholders, experts and representatives from provincial and territorial governments for their perspectives on what a successful roll-out will require.

IF PRESSED ON WHAT SERVICE PROVIDERS NEED TO IMPLEMENT 9-8-8
• As highlighted in the CRTC’s decision, telecommunication service providers will need to implement 9-8-8 dialing across Canada. This includes:
• Introducing ten-digit local dialing in areas where seven-digit dialing is still the default; and
• Making the necessary changes to their networks to enable callers to dial or text 9-8-8.
• The objective is to ensure that everyone in Canada will be able to use the 9-8-8 number, and these important steps will help get us there.

IF PRESSED ON U.S. EXPERIENCE IMPLEMENTING A THREE-DIGIT NUMBER
• In the United States, preparations for a three-digit number took place over a four-year period.
• The choice to assign 9-8-8 in Canada and the United States is due to the unavailability of a three-digit number ending in 11 (e.g., 411, 911).
• We are working closely with our counterparts in the United States, and learning from their best practices, to help guide Canada’s approach to implementing a three-digit number.
• Our goal is to be ready for a safe and seamless rollout so that calls do not go unanswered.

In the Minister of Mental Health and Addiction’s Mandate Letter, the Minister was directed to implement a three-digit suicide prevention number. On December 11, 2020, parliamentarians voted unanimously in favour of a motion sponsored by MP Todd Doherty (Conservative, British Columbia) calling on the federal government to act immediately to set up a national 9-8-8 number to consolidate all existing suicide crisis numbers.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) recently announced that it will adopt 9-8-8 for Canadians to call or text when in need of immediate mental health crisis and suicide prevention support. This will be launched across Canada on November 30, 2023.

In parallel, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is preparing for implementation of a three-digit number for suicide prevention from a service delivery perspective. On August 31, 2022, PHAC announced that the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) was selected to lead coordination of 9-8-8 service delivery, building on its experience delivering Talk Suicide Canada. As a first step, CAMH will develop collaborations with key organizations to start building capacity, and engage with stakeholders to inform the scope and requirements of a timely, quality service. In addition, PHAC is engaging stakeholders from a range of sectors, including Provinces and Territories, Indigenous partners, public safety officials, and People with Lived Experience on the scope and service delivery elements, including working to understand anticipated demand for 9-8-8. Finally, PHAC is learning from international experience, including the United States, which estimated a fourfold to tenfold increase in call volumes for their service when it launched on July 16, 2022, after over 4 years of preparation.

This initiative builds upon the Government’s current support of a pan-Canadian suicide prevention service. PHAC is currently investing $21 million over 5 years ($4.2 million per year) for CAMH, with their partners, to implement and sustain Talk Suicide Canada. In addition, $800,000 per year is allocated to PHAC to cover the oversight, administration, reporting and evaluation activities associated with the Contribution Agreement with CAMH. The Canada Suicide Prevention Service provides people across Canada with suicide crisis support from trained responders via phone (1-833-456-4566), in English and French, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Calls to the service are answered by trained responders from a network of 11 community-based distress centres across Canada and a back-up hub of responders.

As highlighted in Budget 2021, the government is committed to ensuring funds are available to support the creation of this three-digit number.

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