Children and Youth

Youth Suicide
Prevention and Mental
Health Services Review

Suicide Prevention and Youth Mental Health Services Review

On March 5, 2021, the Child and Youth Advocate announced a formal Review into Suicide Prevention and Youth Mental Health Services in New Brunswick stemming from the recent death of Lexi Daken in Fredericton.

The review will look into all of the circumstances surrounding the loss of this young life, but it will also proceed from a broad scope of review into how young people in New Brunswick are experiencing access to youth mental health services and suicide prevention and intervention services and also how their families are supported in relation to these services and social and health care needs. 

It is expected that the Advocate will release some interim findings and recommendations later this spring and that the final report stemming from this review will be released in July 2021. 

The purpose of this page is to allow families, youth and stakeholders from across the province to take part in this review and to keep the public informed as we move forward.
This page will be updated regularly for more details. 

If you want to contact the Advocate’s office in relation to this review or your experience with youth suicide or youth mental health services please contact us using one of the tools available on this website, or by calling 1-888-465-1100 (toll-free number) 

Scope of The Review

This consultation seeks to set out the broad parameters of our review and to invite all New Brunswickers into the process and the search for solutions. 

The review was prompted by the passing of Lexi Daken in Fredericton and we will leave no stone unturned with respect to that incident, what led to her death and how it might have been prevented. At the same time, this family tragedy must serve as a cautionary tale and allow us to take a deeper look into all aspects of youth suicide prevention and mental health service provision in the province. No aspect of public or community service, private family dynamic or social or private enterprise, including the regulation of digital environments, impacting upon youth mental health is beyond the scope of this review. Working within a preventative a life-cycle lens, we have adopted a definition of youth which includes the perinatal period and up to age 30.

 

 Click here to read the

Consultation Document

Our Advisory Board

The Review will be supported by an Advisory Board consisted by both a Youth Advisory Council and a Stakeholder Advisory Council. This Advisory Board will guide the Advocate’s process at every stage of our review.

The Board has met a first time to validate and provide feedback in relation to the overall scope of the Review, the Review Plan, the Consultation Document, the website and online survey tool. It will meet a second time in late April for a dialogue sessions with Canadian and Global experts in Youth Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Service delivery. The third meeting of the Advisory Board will be held in late May to discuss and inform the interim recommendations to government in relation to this review. It will meet a final time in early July to inform and give guidance in relation to the final report and recommendations.

Youth Advisory Council

We acknowledge with thanks the participation of Stacie Smith and Sue Duguay as Co-Chairs of our Youth Advisory Council. 

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Sue Duguay

21-year-old graduate at the Université de Moncton in political science, economics and management science, Sue Duguay is currently president of the Fédération de la jeunesse canadienne-française (FJCF). Her provincial involvement began in 2013, on the board of directors of the Fédération des jeunes francophones du Nouveau-Brunswick, the organization she chaired from 2016 to 2018 while becoming involved with multiple related causes over time. Recipient of the Immersing Leader of Canada Award (Atlantic Region), his passions for public speaking, society, politics and law regularly serve as a propulsion to new accomplishments.

 
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Stacie Smith

Stacie is a 2020 Dalhousie Kinesiology graduate from Saint John, New Brunswick. She completed a certificate in Health, Wellness & Recreation at Eastern College in 2014. She was the President of both the Student Association of Health & Human Performance and the Dalhousie Kinesiology Society during her time at Dalhousie. In this capacity, she has worked to draw attention of senior leadership at Dalhousie University regarding the needs of both faculty and students within the Kinesiology program. She is the founder of the COVID-19 Student Support Network and a Youth Partner with Frayme. She is also the Co-Executive Director of the Young Canadian's Roundtable on Health, the first from Atlantic Canada. She was the recipient of the PHE Canada Student Leadership Award in 2018–2019 for her leadership role in the School of Health & Human Performance. She will be attending the University of New Brunswick this Fall in the Bachelor of Education program.

Youth Advisory Council Members

  • Gracie Lemoine

  • John Aidemouni

  • Nadia Woodward

  • Cassaundra Eisner

  • Dust Murphy

  • Marilou Landry

  • Carlovsky Bellefleur

  • Mariah Deleavey

  • Neila Selouani

  • Maude Sonier

  • Maude Levesque

  • Sarah Dana

  • Myriam Cormier

  • Zoé Bourgeois

  • Camden Mazerolle

Stakeholders Advisory Council

We acknowledge with thanks the participation of Graydon Nicholas and Léo-Paul Pinet as Co-Chairs of our Stakeholder Advisory Council. 

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Graydon Nicholas

The Honourable Graydon Nicholas, Order of New Brunswick, was the 30th Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick from 2009 to 2014, becoming the first aboriginal person to hold this office. He was born on the Tobique Reserve in 1946. He university degrees in science, law and social work as well as several honorary doctorates. From 1974 to 1988 he served as legal counsel, Board Chairman and President of the Union of New Brunswick Indians. He then served as Chair of Native studies at St—Thomas University prior to his appointment as a Provincial Court Judge from 1991–2009. Graydon was appointed to the Endowed Chair of Native Studies on August 1, 2015, for a year term and reappointed to 2021. He has volunteered for many years and with distinction with the Christian Life Communities and the Knights of Columbus. He was appointed an Honorary Colonel for the 3rd Field Regiment (Loyal) on June 20, 2019. He was appointed Chancellor of St-Thomas University in February 2021. He and his wife Beth have been married for over 50 years, have two sons and two grandchildren.

 
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Léo-Paul Pinet

Léo-Paul Pinet has been the General Manager of the Centre de Bénévolat de la Péninsule Acadienne (CBPA) Inc. since 1985. It is a team of thirty-six (36) permanent employees and more than 250 on-call employees who make up the dozen programs of CBPA. Surrounding this paid staff, nearly 200 volunteers work to carry out the mission of the CBPA.

Léo-Paul believes in and sees the citizen at the heart of any care process. In this sense, he demands that a place be made for the rural world, that we develop a language associated with rurality, and that we give it the tools and means to ensure its development and fulfillment.

In all these actions, a common denominator: commitment and believing in the strengths of the community!

Stakeholders Advisory Council Members

  • John Sharpe

  • Hilary Cartwright

  • Mark Wies

  • Barbara Whitenect

  • Michael Johnston

  • Jeffrey LeBlanc

  • Bruce MacPherson

  • Robert Eckstein

  • Vickie Plourde

  • Carole Gallant

  • Eva Sock

  • Roxanne Sappier

  • Katina Russell (Feggos)

  • Brigitte Dandenault

 

Participate in the Review

 
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Online

Survey

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Share your Story

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Formal
Submission

 
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Public

Consultation

with the

Advocate

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Other Means

of Expression

 

 Key Dates of the Review

Additional resources and reading materials on Suicide Prevention and Youth Mental Health Services.

Resources for Youth

General Support

Health/Addiction

Justice

Crisis Situations
(Abuse, Violence, Suicide,..)

Education

Youth in Care

Homeless Youth

Indigenous Youth

Find Other Resources