Mother wants Sask. government to focus on mental health, not pronouns

Lawmakers in Saskatchewan were called back early this week so the government can focus on passing its controversial pronoun policy, but the Sask. NDP and at least one mother say there are bigger issues for the government to be dealing with.

Sarah Mackenzie held up a picture of her oldest child Bee at the legislature Thursday.

“Bee was a very vibrant, beautiful human being. A creative writer, very talented, but suffered from mental health and struggled for a long time with depression and suicidal ideations and attempts,” explained Mackenzie.

Mackenzie said Bee was 14 years old, pansexual and non-binary, going by they/them pronouns.

In May, Bee died by suicide. Mackenzie said they her family to get help multiple times but couldn’t find it. In some cases, she said, waiting lists were too long or they weren’t taken seriously.

“Their life mattered. They’re not just a number. They’re not just a statistic. They’re a human being, and my child reached out to services multiple times and wasn’t taken seriously,” said Mackenzie.

“If proper protocol was followed and supports were in place, my child would still be standing here with me today.”

Mackenzie said the mental health crisis is now an epidemic in Saskatchewan, and called the province’s mental health supports a joke. She said there are a lot of people who share her experience of having a loved one take their own life.

She explained that part of Bee had four friends who had taken their own lives or died of overdoses in just one year prior to their death.

Mackenzie said mental health issues and support need to become a priority for the provincial government, and things like the pronoun policy, which is the government’s current focus, is a smokescreen.

“(The pronoun policy) shouldn’t even be a topic of discussion, to be honest, when there are so many more prevalent issues going on in our province, when people are dying daily, when you see people spinning out on the streets everywhere in Regina now, not just in the bad neighbourhoods,” said Mackenzie.

She said she believes the policy is meant to divide people and distract from the issues at hand because government doesn’t want to be held accountable.

Sask. health minister responds

Health Minister Everett Hindley extended his condolences to Mackenzie and her family for the loss of Bee on Thursday. He said it’s always a tragedy when there’s a loss of life like that in the province.

Hindley said there is an increased demand for mental health services in the province, which is why the government has made “record investments” in the sector over the past several years.

“We’ve made some progress, but we also acknowledge that there is still more that needs to be done to address wait times to make sure children and youth do have access to the help that they need, and when they need it in their communities as close to home as possible,” said Hindley.

The minister said mental health is certainly a priority for the government, and it will be looking at where services can be expanded in the next budget cycle.