Ottawa announced that Canadian citizens facing hardship can, starting next November, contact a new emergency number dedicated to them, composed of three easy-to-remember digits: 988.

The "Centre for Addiction and Mental Health" in Toronto, the capital of Ontario, is coordinating the launch of this new phone service nationwide. The federal government is allocating an amount of $156 million for this purpose.

It is worth noting that the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is the largest teaching hospital in Canada and one of the leading mental health research centers in the world that collaborates with the World Health Organization, and it is affiliated with the University of Toronto.

Canada's introduction of the new phone service to prevent suicide mirrors that of the United States, where the same emergency number is already available in the neighboring country.

The phone service will also be available to assist Canadian citizens suffering from mental health issues that may lead them to consider suicide, in both official languages of the country, either through direct phone calls or text messages, seven days a week, 24 hours a day.

The goal is to have an easy-to-remember phone number available at all times across the country.

In the same context, Mental Health and Addiction Minister Carolyn Bennett announced on Monday that she will not run in the upcoming elections. She said she met with Prime Minister Trudeau to inform him of her intention. These statements came as the minister announced in Toronto that Canada will soon have a dedicated emergency line for suicide prevention.

The spokesperson also pointed out that some Canadians are particularly at risk for suicide, including Indigenous youth. The federal mental health minister is committed to ensuring that the 988 phone service is also culturally appropriate for the First Nations in the country.

It is mentioned that members of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons voted unanimously in 2020 in favor of the new national emergency number consisting of three digits.