[BRIEF NOTE] Headlines for home, but such headlines

[rfmcdonald]

Prince Edward Island has just gotten headline coverage on Reuters and even CNN. Shawna Richer's article "Bankers' hours for suicide line overruled by angry public" has it all.

Prince Edward Island's 24-hour suicide hot line has been given new life.

The Progressive Conservative government said this week it was shutting down the round-the-clock service as of June 1 in an effort to save $30,000.

Health Minister Chester Gillan said that in its place, a suicide hot line with bankers hours would be available for distressed Islanders from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday.

That would make PEI the only province without a provincially funded 24-hour crisis line, and a cry for help arose immediately from the public and from health professionals.

The next day the province backed away from the plan.

"The outcry from the public and medical communities really captured the absurdity of the decision," said Kathryn Bigsby, president of the Medical Society of Prince Edward Island. "And the decision to put it back may be purely political, that they reacted solely to the outcry. It struck a nerve with a lot of people."

Struck a nerve and sparked a little international mocking.

Yesterday, CNN's American Morning crew jumped on the item.

"Makes perfect sense," crusty anchor Jack Cafferty told millions of viewers around the world. "When are you most likely to be troubled by something? Noon on Tuesday, right? When you're all alone in the middle of the night, the suicide thing will be closed.

"However, Prince Edward Island is apparently a happy place. The hot line only gets 50 suicide-related calls a year. The officials hope they'll all come during the day."

"That is not a great way to be on CNN," winced one Islander familiar with the comings and goings in the provincial legislature. "We should be on CNN for our great golf courses, not cancelling the suicide hot line."

[. . .]

Mr. Gillan, who did not return calls yesterday, told the legislature the decision wasn't made lightly.

"We spent a number of, obviously, hours and more so thinking, days even, of all the provisions," he said. "A government . . . has to be able to make those tough decisions."

Liberal Opposition Leader and health critic Robert Ghiz commented yesterday, "It seemed everyone except for the government knew it was a bad decision."

As one person involved in the battle to revive the line quipped, "You know what they say, "When it's 10 a.m. in Toronto, it's 1952 on the Island."

That last line is a bit unfair. I think.