Suicide Attempts Prompt State Of Emergency In Canada First Nation Community

03:29

April 11, 2016

Office of the Attawapiskat First Nation in Attawapiskat, Ontario. The red building at left is post office. This photograph was taken in the early 1990s. (Paul Lantz/Wikimedia Commons)

A First Nation community in far northern Ontario has declared a state of emergency, after 11 people attempted suicide on Saturday. More than 100 members of the Attawwapiskat First Nation have tried to kill themselves since last September.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calls the situation "heartbreaking." The tribe's chief, Bruce Shisheesh, said crisis workers in his community of 2,000 are overwhelmed with trying to keep up with the suicide attempts and with trying to prevent others from taking their lives.

Here & Now's Jeremy Hobson speaks with Kate Rutherford, a reporter with the CBC, about the situation.

Guest

Kate Rutherford, reporter for CBC Radio. She tweets @CBCRutherford.

This segment aired on April 11, 2016.