Louis Shalako
Recently, a radio personality here in the local market
said something interesting. He said that suicides are not reported as such out
of respect for friends and family of the deceased. That’s fair enough, bearing
in mind all funerals are announced, and that pretty much everyone who isn’t
completely destitute gets some kind of obituary. The general public doesn’t
necessarily need to know the cause of death, although there are often mentions
of ‘a courageous battle against cancer’ and the like.
But I have been curious for a long time, as to just
what percentage of clients of the Ontario Disability Support Program, or
Ontario Works, (welfare), commit suicide in any given year.
The most cynical
answer is politics, it is public opinion. It is also a little bit about how such things work.
This figure is completely bogus, okay? I made it up:
but let us say that there are roughly 750,000 ODSP clients in the province of
Ontario, and let’s say there are a further 125,000 on Ontario Works benefits. (That part's real enough. - ed.)
If a half of one
percent of that group, or those groups, committed suicide in any given
year, this could now be compared to other social, demographic groups.
And the fact is, it would probably compare
unfavourably.
That is to say, it would be more—
And knowing that, we could investigate the causes, and
apply some remedy.
One would think.
We don’t know for sure—we don’t have those statistics.
But surely gut instinct, as well as reason, tells us that the rate for people
on these programs would be measurably higher than the suicide rate among
plumbers, sport fishermen, snake charmers, mountain climbers, or any number of
groups in higher economic brackets.
Surely this would be a political hot potato by any ethical
standard.
Surely the opposition parties, both right and left of
the currently ruling Liberals, here in Ontario, would make much of such a
thing.
Maybe that would be just. Maybe that’s just—
But, in fairness to the Liberals, no preceding
government has ever attempted to gather those statistics, for if they had,
surely this would be a matter for the public record. And, (and this is gut
instinct again), certainly no upcoming government would ever undertake to
record, and to gather, and make use of those statistics, because they know the
only answer is money.
And all they have are thoughts and prayers.
The road to hell has always been paved with good
intentions.
Whoops. Almost forgot my point. But somebody somewhere, a cop, a doctor, a coroner, knew whether it was a suicide.
This information is available ladies and gentlemen.
They just don't want to know.
For obvious reasons.
Whoops. Almost forgot my point. But somebody somewhere, a cop, a doctor, a coroner, knew whether it was a suicide.
This information is available ladies and gentlemen.
They just don't want to know.
For obvious reasons.
END
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