[NT!]

in evaluating a suicide threat, what they teach you is that a person is at higher risk if they have a detailed plan, if that plan is highly lethal, and if they readily have the means to achieve it. lurker is 2/3 in this regard from what i can tell. history of depression, mental illness etc is also of course taken into account.

with this in mind OPs threat is pretty credible. i don't know what the protocol is in canada, but in most parts of the US the procedure would be to call 911 and have a hospital send a mobile crisis unit, which will evaluate the person and possibly bring them into care.

the only appropriate intervention for us going forward is to refer this person to professionals in his area, or ensure that his family will do same. mat, it sounds like you have given this issue some thought in the past and were able to relate to this young man, which is helpful, but ultimately none of us is in a position to treat his depression, and it would be irresponsible to try.