Data Shows Suicides in CF Increased Last Year

Canadian Press ran a story yesterday reporting that the suicide rate within the regular Canadian Forces is climbing since the number of suicides in 2008 (15) is compared to the number for 2007 (11). The report also drew attention to the fact that the CF does not release data on suicides for CF reservists, who also serve in Afghanistan. The story was also picked up by CBC and other news outlets.

In an interview mentioned in the CP article, Commodore Han Jung, the Canadian Forces' top doctor, said that the CF suicide rate per 100,000 compares favourably to the US military, in part because tours of duty overseas are much shorter for Canadian personnel.

In a separate story, CBC put a human face on one of these suicides, Pte. Frédéric Couture, wounded in Afghanistan in 2006, who killed himself at home in Quebec a year later.