Hugh: Canada to Launch Three-Digit Mental Health Crisis Line Next Year

We’re all paying a little (or a lot) more attention to mental health these days, and a new service will aid those efforts in Canada next year. The CRTC announced this week that in the fall of 2023, a new mental health crisis line will go live across the country. Similar to the number we all know to use for emergencies, getting in touch with the service is as easy as dialing 9-8-8. An almost-identical hotline was launched in the United States in July of this year. Counseling through the hotline will be available across the country and around the clock free of charge, and you can reach them by either call or text.

The new number will bring with it a change to how we dial any number here in our province. According to the CRTC, for the new three-digit number to work everywhere, 10-digit dialing must be implemented in the few places that are still using 7-digit dialing. Those areas are Newfoundland and Labrador, northern Ontario, and the Yellowknife area. You can expect that change to go into effect by May 31, 2023.