I’ve been watching a disturbing pattern emerge in my years covering social policy. When tragedy strikes and children die at the hands of adults responsible for their care, our collective response often follows a predictable script: expressions of horror, calls for system reform, and frequently, a focus on mental health as the primary culprit. But after speaking with experts across Canada, I’m convinced we need to reconsider this narrative.
Last month’s horrific case in Saskatoon, where a mother faces charges in the deaths of her two children, has once again thrust this conversation into the national spotlight. As details emerge, so too does the familiar framing around mental health failures.
“We keep wanting to attribute family violence primarily to mental illness because it’s easier to comprehend,” Dr. Alexa Thompson told me during a lengthy conversation at her University of Toronto office. “But the research simply doesn’t support this as the dominant factor.”
Thompson, who has spent two decades studying family violence patterns, points to comprehensive data showing that while mental health challenges are often present in these cases, they aren’t necessarily the driving force. The Canadian Domestic Homicide Prevention Initiative’s database indicates that less than 30% of cases involving child homicide show evidence of diagnosed mental illness as the primary factor.
What the evidence does show is more complicated and perhaps more uncomfortable to confront.
“These are fundamentally acts of violence, not simply manifestations of mental illness,” explains Sarah Rodriguez, executive director of the Canadian Alliance Against Family Violence. “When we frame it primarily as a mental health issue, we inadvertently diminish the role of power, control and violence patterns that often precede these tragedies.”
Walking through Regent Park in Toronto last week, I met with Darlene Hayes, who runs a community support program for families in crisis. The wisdom she’s gained from fifteen years on the front lines cuts through academic jargon.
“The families we work with are dealing with crushing poverty, isolation, and yes, sometimes mental health challenges,” Hayes says, gesturing toward the community center where her program operates. “But what I see most often is people who grew up surrounded by violence, never learned different ways to handle conflict, and then face impossible pressures with few supports.”
This perspective is backed by Statistics Canada data showing that in 67% of family-related homicides of children under 12, there was a documented history of domestic violence in the home. Mental health concerns were noted in many cases, but violence patterns were the more reliable predictor.
The focus on mental illness also creates another problem – it stigmatizes those living with mental health conditions, the vast majority of whom never commit violent acts.
“People with serious mental illnesses are far more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrators,” Dr. Michael Chen of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health told me. “When we automatically link family tragedies to mental illness, we reinforce harmful stereotypes that increase stigma and may prevent people from seeking help.”
Chen points to research published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry showing that major mental illness alone increases violence risk only marginally. The risk factors that matter most are prior violence history, substance abuse, and childhood trauma exposure – factors that cut across diagnostic boundaries.
In Medicine Hat, I spoke with Detective Sergeant Carol Bennett, who has investigated dozens of severe child abuse cases over her 18-year career with the local police service.
“What we see in almost every case is a history of escalating control and violence,” Bennett explained. “Mental health might be part of the picture, but focusing only on that misses the warning signs that could save lives.”
Bennett described how recent provincial funding cuts to domestic violence intervention programs have left gaps in their community’s safety net. “We had a program that was actually making a difference, identifying high-risk families and getting them support before crisis hit. That funding disappeared last year.”
This pattern repeats across provinces. A 2023 report from the Canadian Women’s Foundation found that despite increasing demand, funding for violence prevention programs has remained stagnant or decreased in seven provinces over the past five years.
When I raised these concerns with Health Canada, spokesperson Jean Martin provided a written statement highlighting the government’s $4.5 billion investment in mental health services through provincial agreements. But when pressed about the intersection with violence prevention, Martin acknowledged that “most of these funds are not specifically earmarked for addressing the connection between mental health and family violence.”
The families I’ve spoken with who’ve experienced tragedy firsthand often express frustration with this disconnect. Marta Collins, whose niece was killed by her father in 2019 following multiple police calls to the home, put it bluntly: “Everyone kept saying he needed mental health help, which was true. But what he really needed first was to be stopped from hurting people.”
Collins now advocates for a more integrated approach. “Mental health support is crucial, but it can’t be separated from addressing violent behavior. They need to happen together.”
This integrated approach is showing promise in Quebec, where the provincial government launched a coordinated initiative in 2021 that combines mental health screening with mandatory violence intervention programs for anyone exhibiting threatening behavior toward family members.
Early results suggest a 23% reduction in severe violence incidents among program participants compared to traditional separate-track approaches. Dr. Jean-Marc Bouchard, who helps oversee the program, told me that “treating mental health without addressing violence behaviors, or vice versa, leaves dangerous gaps.”
As our national conversation around these heartbreaking cases continues, experts urge us to resist simplistic narratives. Mental health services remain critically important and chronically underfunded across Canada. But preventing family violence requires a broader approach that directly addresses violence itself while providing mental health support.
“These aren’t competing priorities,” Thompson emphasizes. “They’re interconnected pieces of the same puzzle. We need both, along with poverty reduction, parenting support, and community connection.”
For families at risk right now, that holistic approach can’t come soon enough.
