Grieving Langley mom fights to get pro-suicide website shut down

Warning: The content of this story may be disturbing to some readers

They are disturbing websites that encourage vulnerable people to take their own lives.

And yet, they are not blocked in Canada.

And a grieving Langley mother wants to change that.

“The laws have to change,” said Isabella, who didn’t want her last name used.

She lost her son to suicide almost three years ago.

She says when Jaden, 21, found himself going through a tough time, he logged onto a website and pro-suicide forum, where she says strangers helped him kill himself at his most vulnerable time.

“It’s a website that is normalizing, encouraging and instructing suicide,” Isabella said.

CTV News is not naming the website.

“(They were) instructing him for five weeks, following up; I even saw an email after I lost him, ‘Are you still around?,’” she told CTV News.

Langley RCMP are investigating Jaden’s death and any connection it may have to Ontario’s Kenneth Law. Law is accused of selling suicide kits online to vulnerable people and is facing 14 charges of second-degree murdering and 14 charges of counselling or aiding in suicide in that province.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Mental Health Association is also calling for access to the website and others like it to be blocked.

“It’s reprehensible in so many ways,” said Johnny Morris of the CMHA’s B.C. division.

“These websites can do profound harm and can really glamourize, romanticize or encourage suicide, which is what we want to prevent,” Morris said.

“If someone’s in crisis and they see a space where the means are being provided or there’s an encouragement – even coercion sometimes takes place in these spaces – that can have devastating consequences,” he added. “We would encourage authorities to look at ways to prevent suicide by restricting access or blocking websites like this so people who are in crisis can get the right help at the right time."

Critics say Ottawa has been promising to bring in online harms legislation for years, but still hasn’t taken action.

“We've been pushing for online harms legislation to be introduced because it's so vitally important that there's enforcement so websites like this and the other types of online harm that exist can be shut down,” said MP Peter Julian, who is the NDP house leader.

“There is no excuse for allowing this kind of promotion of self-harm or suicide. And families tragically are witness to the lack of oversight and regulation and lack of enforcement,” he explained from Ottawa.

Julian said he has brought forward private member’s legislation to try and tackle some of the facets of the online harms that take place.

“It’s unbelievable to me that there hasn’t been enforcement action brought,” Julian said.

In a statement to CTV News, Health Canada said it is "working with and engaging with various online platforms to see what options are available to limit or restrict access to websites that promote suicide."

The federal agency added that it submitted a legal request to Google asking for the website to be delisted from its search engine.

“Officials are awaiting Google’s response to this request,” the statement reads.

Meanwhile, B.C.’s Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions calls the website “appalling and deeply disturbing.”

A statement from the Ministry said: “When people are in a mental health crisis, they are extremely vulnerable and need the best possible care – not to be taken advantage of. That’s why the province announced system-wide improvements to suicide care in health-care settings such as hospitals in 2022.”

B.C.’s Ministry of Attorney General said in an email to CTV News that it is also “very concerned about this form of harm, as well as many other types of harm that happen in a digital or online environment.”

But it notes that legal reform isn’t the only answer.

“There is also much we can do to raise awareness, increase safety and advocate for change, particularly when it comes to the services whose platforms are used to facilitate the harm,” the email reads.

Meanwhile, Isabella said it’s become her quest to fight for change for her son and others like him.

If you or someone you know are having a mental health crisis, you can call the suicide crisis helpline 9-8-8. The line is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week for calls and texts.