(Via US Mission Canada/Flickr)
Canada’s candidate for world’s worst mom has been jailed for five days and sentenced to two years probation for repeatedly urging her teenaged daughter to kill herself.
The 38-year-old unnamed woman from Arviat, Nunavut, in Canada’s far north told her 17-year-old daughter numerous times over a period of three months that she didn’t want her and she should commit suicide.
The daughter apparently took her mother’s advice to heart and attempted suicide numerous times, with one attempt so severe she was airlifted from Arviat to a hospital in Winnipeg, Manitoba. There she told mental health professionals what her mother had been saying, and charges of counselling suicide were soon laid.
Through the eyes of Nunavut youth: suicide, mental health and substance abuse ow.ly/h1Hxn
— Bob Joseph (@wewap) January 22, 2013
The mother, who also has a one-year-old son, was apparently raising her children alone in the remote hamlet on the western shore of Hudson’s Bay. After her comments came to light both children were removed from her care by social services.
According to the judge who sentenced the mother, Justice Susan Cooper:
The nature of this offence is simply beyond the comprehension of right thinking people. It is only through luck and the work of medical and mental health professionals that the daughter is alive today. While her body might be fully recovered, the psychological and emotional damage is bound to be deep and everlasting.
The women’s young son has since been returned to her care, despite indications the mother may have intellectual disabilities and mental health issues, according to the CBC. A parental assessment has been ordered.
The daughter has also sought to remain in contact, despite a strict no contact order imposed by the judge.
Arviat is a remote Inuit community with a population of just over 2,300. It is only accessible via air and snowmobile. The suicide rate in the territory is 12 times higher than in the rest of Canada.
A suicide first aid course in Nunavut will now feature made-in-Nunavut video bit.ly/HNDh13 #ASIST #suicideprevention
— Suicide Prevention (@Grassroots___) April 2, 2012