OTTAWA -- A group of University of Ottawa students is renewing calls for better mental health supports on campus following the death of a student.

The university announced on Friday that a student had recently died by suicide. It’s the fourth death of a student since April.

A statement from University of Ottawa President Jacques Fremont said “I encourage students and employees who feel they could benefit from counselling and support to avail themselves of services listed below.”

The death has prompted The University of Ottawa Collective 4 Mental Health to re-launch a 2017 petition, demanding the University of Ottawa improve mental health services. A petition on change.org says “we’ve also seen an outpour of testimonials about the lack (or low quality) of mental health services on campus.”

 The petition is urging the University of Ottawa to:

  • Have a round-table with all stakeholders to discuss how best to move forward with proposed plans
  • Hire more trained and qualified frontline personnel, including qualified mental health specialists, psychologists and psychiatrists
  • Staff/academic training on mental health