Question Period Note: 9-8-8: 3-digit Number for Suicide Prevention

The 9-8-8: Suicide Crisis Helpline went live on November 30, 2023, providing support via voice and text, 24/7/365, in English and French. The Public Health Agency of Canada is providing $156 million over three years to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) to administer the three-digit helpline. CAMH has recruited close to 40 provincial and local crisis and distress lines to participate in the 9-8-8 responder network.

Budget 2023 announced $158.4 million over 3 years to launch and implement 9-8-8, a three-digit number for suicide prevention and emotional distress.
The 9-8-8: Suicide Crisis Helpline is now live and is available to everyone in Canada via voice and text, 24/7, 365 days a year, in both English and French.
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) has recruited nearly 40 provincial and local crisis and distress lines to join the 9-8-8 responder network. Additional crisis and distress lines will be incorporated into the 9-8-8 responder network over time as the helpline continues to grow and expand.
IF PRESSED ON FUNDING …
Budget 2023 announced $158.4 million over 3 years to support the launch and implementation of 9-8-8.
Of this investment, the Public Health Agency of Canada is providing $156 million over three years to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health to support the implementation and operation of 9-8-8.
The remaining $2.4 million over three years is allocated to the Public Health Agency of Canada to cover costs related to the oversight, administration, reporting, and evaluation activities associated with 9-8-8.
The federal government will undertake a review to establish a long-term funding mechanism for this service in 2025-2026.
IF PRESSED ON HOW CALLS AND TEXTS ARE ROUTED…
Calls and texts to the 9-8-8: Suicide Crisis Helpline are routed based on area codes to 9-8-8 partner crisis and distress lines. Calls and texts will be answered as close to home as possible.
Many jurisdictions have made significant investments in establishing and operating dedicated distress and crisis line systems and networks. The intention with 9-8-8 is to minimize disruption by leveraging existing service delivery models, where possible.
Some specialized lines, like Kids Help Phone and Hope For Wellness, are part of the 9-8-8 network and offer tailored support to youth and First Nations, Inuit and Métis.
IF PRESSED ON PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY …
People calling or texting 9-8-8 are not required to share personal information with responders. While phone numbers may be visible to responders, location information is not tracked through 9-8-8. All responders are required to sign confidentiality agreements.
Calls and texts may be monitored or recorded for quality assurance purposes and for the safety of both the caller or texter, and the 9-8-8 responder. Any recorded information will align with applicable privacy legislation, policies, and procedures.
Only aggregated, non-identifiable, data will be shared with the Government of Canada and third-parties, for example the number of people who contact 9-8-8, the number of interactions occurring by call or by text.
IF PRESSED ON POLICE SERVICES …
If a caller is at imminent risk of seriously harming oneself or others, there is an established protocol for transferring a 9-8-8 call to emergency services.
Responders are trained to de-escalate a crisis and the majority of calls and texts placed to 9-8-8 will not require an emergency intervention.
CAMH continues to engage with emergency services and law enforcement stakeholders on improvements to crisis response coordination and protocols.
IF PRESSED ON MONITORING, REPORTING, AND DATA…
CAMH will regularly share aggregated and de-personalized information with the Public Health Agency of Canada as part of their reporting requirements. Some of these results may be made public.
CAMH will monitor a number of indicators, including the number of answered interactions and average wait times, trends in call volumes such as the number of interactions occurring by call or text and how many interactions are in English and French.
IF PRESSED ON HILL TIMES ARTICLE RE: EVIDENCE-BASED SOLUTIONS …
The Government of Canada welcomes the findings of the Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology (SOCI), and its recommendations on how to improve the Federal Framework for Suicide Prevention and reduce suicide rates in Canada (June 8, 2023). The recommendations will help inform our activities in the development of the new National Suicide Prevention Action Plan.
We know that certain populations and communities are disproportionality represented in suicide mortality rates and that tailored evidence-based approaches are needed.
We are committed to collaboration and ongoing engagement with all partners, including Indigenous partners, to enable the co-development of actions that will have the greatest impact within communities

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The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) announced 9-8-8 would be the three-digit number designated for Canadians to call or text when in need of immediate suicide prevention and emotional distress support through its August 2022 determination. The CRTC noted that 9-8-8 would go live on November 30, 2023 to allow time for telecommunication providers to make necessary technical updates and changes.
Through Budget 2023, the Government of Canada invested $158.4 million to support the implementation and operation of the 9-8-8: Suicide Crisis Helpline. The Centre of Addiction and Mental Health was selected to lead the coordination of service delivery for 9-8-8, building on its experience delivering Talk Suicide Canada.
As of November 30, 2023, 9-8-8 is available across Canada via voice and text, 24/7/365, in English and French. Nearly 40 local and provincial crisis and distress lines have joined the 9-8-8 responder network to offer suicide prevention supports to people in Canada.