WINNIPEG - Canada's top aboriginal chief says the country needs a national strategy to fight the suicide epidemic affecting First Nations.
National Chief Perry Bellegarde with the Assembly of First Nations says his heart goes out to a Manitoba reserve grappling with a rash of suicides.
After a speech in Winnipeg today, Bellegarde said the issue goes beyond Cross Lake First Nation.
He says indigenous people are up to seven times more likely to commit suicide than the general population.
Bellegarde says Canada needs a national mental health strategy to get in front of the problem.
Six people have committed suicide in Cross Lake First Nation in the past two months.
