Uko family, NDP calling for public inquiry into Saskatchewan suicides

The Saskatchewan NDP and the family of Samwel Uko have joined forces to call for a public inquiry into suicides in Saskatchewan, as well as into Uko’s death.

“We cannot continue in this way in Saskatchewan. We’re losing too many of our young people,” NDP Leader Ryan Meili said Monday.

Meili said an inquiry is needed to get to the bottom of what has happened to those who lost their lives every year in this province to suicide. He quoted numbers that say Saskatchewan is leading the country in suicide rates, and that suicide is the leading cause of death in people aged 10 to 49 in northern Saskatchewan.

Meili said he wants to look at all the cases to understand the patterns and find the systemic and systematic flaws resulting in such high rates.

“Use the inquiry to shine a light on the stories of those we’ve lost,” he said. “Use the inquiry to inform the development of a plan that will save lives going forward.”

The story of Uko is one on which Meili would shine a light.

Uko was turned away from the Regina General Hospital this spring while in the midst of a mental health crisis and ended up taking his own life in Wascana Lake, according to his family.

An inquest will be held into Uko’s death, but his uncle, Justin Nyee, said he has been told it won’t happen until at least next summer. Nyee said that’s a long time.

“We need to know exactly how did it happen, what happened (and) how is the hospital planning to deal with all of this stuff,” Nyee said.

“As a family, for us to wait until next year — and you never know, it might get pushed again to 2022 — it’s just going to be dragging on and on for the family and we really need answers and we need it now. We waited long enough to get simple answers to the questions we have.”

Nyee agreed there should be a public inquiry and that suicide prevention legislation — like the bill voted down by the Saskatchewan Party government in June — would be a good thing.

“I don’t see why the Government of Saskatchewan will be against something like (the suicide prevention bill) that will save a lot of lives,” Nyee said. “I think that’s something everyone should come together to deal with, to address it.

“That shouldn’t be something (partisan) or something that only one party should have to deal with it, because mental health doesn’t know a party, it happens to anyone.”

Saskatchewan Health Minister Jim Reiter thinks it’s important for people to let the inquest unfold, saying that inquiries can be slow also.

“I’m not sure how they think adding another public inquiry is going to expedite things. I think it’s important that there’s an independent process there that’ll be followed. We need to support that and follow any recommendations that come out of that,” said Reiter.

Meili also criticized Reiter for his perceived inaction on the Uko file. Meili said Nyee hasn’t heard from Reiter or Premier Scott Moe and they need to call and apologize to the family, and commit to stopping something like that from happening again.

Meili said it’s “shocking” Reiter hasn’t had anything do with the file in the last few weeks.

Nyee said he’d like to see an apology from the government given by Reiter because Reiter is the top man in health in Saskatchewan.

“If anything happens in your house, and you’re the house’s top guy, you are the one who has to take responsibility; you don’t push it to someone below you to take care of it,” said Nyee.

Reiter apologized through the media.

“My heart goes out to the parents and the family of Samwel and I apologize on behalf of the Saskatchewan Health Authority and on behalf of the Government of Saskatchewan,” said Reiter.

Reiter said he’s going to speak with the Saskatchewan Health Authority again, and if Uko’s parents want Reiter to reach out and speak to them personally, he said he’ll be happy to.

Nyee said the health authority’s apology was only delivered to him through voicemail and he didn’t get a call back.

The authority said representatives went to Abbotsford, B.C., where Uko’s parents live, and spoke with the family, delivering their apology in person and discussing what happened. The SHA said CEO Scott Livingstone, who made the public apology, tried to reach out to Nyee several times and asked for a return call.

Reiter also defended the province’s work on mental health and addictions, saying the province’s primary role is to make sure the resources are there. He pointed to approximately $30-million increases in mental health and addictions funding in the last two provincial budgets.

Reiter also talked about the government’s plan “Pillars of Life,” in which he said the government is fully engaged.

“The plan is a work in progress (and) it’s going to be continuously tweaked and improved on …,” Reiter said. “Suicide is a tragic situation that I would say all provinces are struggling with.”

Reiter agrees that more needs to be done, saying “obviously” the numbers are too high, but he reiterated that resources are being put in place and the problem is being worked on.