Editor’s note: If you or anyone you know is struggling with mental health there are a number of ways to get help, including by calling Talk Suicide Canada at 1-833-456-4566. A list of local crisis centres is also available here. 

A Liberal Member of Parliament was warned of the dangers of an unregulated, pro-suicide forum years before the arrest of Mississauga man Kenneth Law, CP24 has learned.

Law has made international headlines this year for allegedly peddling the deadly poison sodium nitrite, as well as gas masks and regulators, for the express purpose of suicide. Prior to his arrest in May, proponents of assisted suicide shared the products and services on a pro-suicide forum that is indexed by Google just like any other website, meaning anyone in Canada can access it without any particular technological expertise.

Advocates globally have called for the removal of this website, which CP24 is not naming, claiming it has caused undue harm with minimal oversight. The forum has been blocked by governments in Australia, Italy and Germany, and at least one internet service provider in the U.K. has restricted access to the site and others like it unless an account holder turns off a specific filter. A U.S. bill introduced in 2022 also addresses the site directly, suggesting criminal penalties for encouraging suicide.

In Canada, this site is easily searchable on Google and no provinces have imposed a restriction on accessing it.

In 2019, Etobicoke MP Kirsty Duncan received a complaint about the forum, which has been linked to dozens of suicides around the world, including several in Canada.

The complaint, which CP24 has seen, claimed the website “normalizes suicide ideation.” The complaint also specifically warned Duncan about the dangers of sodium nitrite, saying the chemical “has no import restrictions and is widely available and costs less than $20 for [a] lethal amount.”

The complainant, who has asked not to be named, also informed Toronto police that the site posed a risk to vulnerable individuals in the GTA. He says the responses he received from police agencies were often inadequate, saying that the people posting on the forum were likely not serious about suicide.

In a statement to CP24, a representative for the Toronto police said that they could not confirm whether they were in fact contacted about the forum in 2019.

“This is part of an ongoing investigation being led by Peel Police,” spokesperson Stephanie Sayer said.

Since the complainant’s report, dozens of former site users have been confirmed as suicide victims.

“Law enforcement agencies never showed any sign of urgency,” the complainant said in an email to CP24. “They often wondered if I was swatting,” he continued, referring to the practice of falsely sending a SWAT team to an enemy as a prank.

“Apart from my email, I sent a letter by mail to Ms. Duncan and I left a voicemail at her office, all without response,” the complainant, a resident of Duncan’s ward, continued.

A representative from MP Duncan’s office responded to CP24’s request for comment but did not address the pro-suicide forum, saying that “suicide is a serious public health issue that impacts people of all ages and backgrounds across the country.”