Province 'can't sit idly by' during mental health crisis, Higgs says

New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs says the province needs to put more focus on mental health care. 

"It's shocking what we see and we can't just sit idly by," Higgs said during an interview with Information Morning Fredericton.

"We have to react to that and have a meaningful response."

Higgs pointed to recent suicides in Saint John as an example. 

Hundreds of people lined the Reversing Falls Bridge in Saint John on Monday night to remember those who have died by suicide.

• Hundreds gather at Reversing Falls Bridge to raise mental health awareness

In the last two weeks, the Saint John Police Force responded to four suicides.

New Brunswick's Department of Safety counted 17 suicides in the Saint John area this year, and almost 70 across the province.

Mental health and tax dollars 

At Monday's event, some people demanded more tax dollars be spent on adequate mental health care and called on the province to do more. 

Earlier this week, Higgs laid out a new plan that he says will change the way the provincial government operates — and that could include cuts to existing programs. Higgs wouldn't say exactly what those programs are, but he pointed to mental health care as an area that needs more attention.

• Higgs lays out 6 priorities that could include cuts to programs 

"The health care system, there's programs we may be doing that aren't getting the best results," Higgs said. "And there [are] others that we need to do to put a focus on. … Mental health has become a crisis in some communities."

'We can't have everything' 

A 2015-2016 study by the New Brunswick Health Council, said 31 per cent of New Brunswick youth from Grade 6 to 12 had experienced feeling sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks or more. They said those feelings were bad enough to keep them from taking part in daily activities.

• Parents in Bathurst worry about increase in teen suicide, self-harm

Thirty-three per cent of students surveyed felt nervous, anxious or were unable to stop worrying almost every day for two weeks or more in a row.

"I really want to condition people to the fact that we can't have everything, but we're going to set priorities together," Higgs said. "And we're going to focus on what's important."