Current Problems:
Exploring Stakeholder: "Government of Manitoba"
Updates on this page: 61
(Filtered by Theme "Systemic Racism")
April 19, 2024
Race a factor in negligent care that led to Indigenous woman’s death at Winnipeg hospital, lawsuit alleges
Nurse put wrist restraints on 68-year-old hours before she died in April 2022, according to lawsuit CBC Indigenous: The daughter of a 68-year-old Indigenous woman who died at Winnipeg’s Grace Hospital in 2022 alleges her mother’s race played a role in negligent medical care that caused her death. Kelly Medwick, the daughter of Jean Kemash,...
April 4, 2024
First Nations men wrongfully convicted in 1973 Winnipeg murder sue over ‘cruel and unusual treatment’
Crown, police colluded against Brian Anderson and Allan Woodhouse, suit against 3 levels of government alleges CBC Indigenous: Two First Nations men who were recently acquitted for the 1973 murder of a Winnipeg man are now taking all three levels of government to court, saying police officers and a Crown prosecutor colluded against them to...
March 21, 2024
Mental health one affect of colonization says Mohawk psychologist
APTN News: Hundreds of delegates assembled at the RBC Convention Centre in Winnipeg this week for the Southern Chiefs’ Organization’s First Nations Health Gathering. One of the issues discussed was Indigenous Peoples and mental health. Ed Connors, a psychologist from Kahnawake Mohawk Territory outside Montreal, highlighted the impacts of colonialism on the mental health of...
March 20, 2024
Men switched at birth to get formal apology from Manitoba government
Edward Ambrose and Richard Beauvais, born in Arborg, Man., in 1955, meet for the 1st time CBC News: Edward Ambrose struggles to describe what it was like to meet “someone who is me” for the first time. Ambrose and Richard Beauvais, who were switched at birth at a hospital in Manitoba in 1955, first met...
February 26, 2024
Indigenous youth want more Indigenous-led models, support to access health care in Winnipeg, report says
Discussion with 26 Indigenous youth highlights ‘deep mistrust’ of health-care system CBC Indigenous: Some Indigenous youth in Winnipeg say discrimination in the province’s primary health-care system is pervasive — and they want more Indigenous staff and fewer barriers to accessing care in order to help fix that problem, a new report says. The project OurCare...
February 12, 2024
First Nations man charged with five counts of first-degree murder
Ryan Howard Manoakeesick is accused of killing his young family and a relative in rural Manitoba on Sunday Warning: This story contains distressing details APTN News: A 29-year-old man accused of killing his wife, their three young children and a female relative in a crime spree on Sunday is charged with five counts of first-degree...
February 7, 2024
Feds’ labour data shows wage gap for Indigenous workers
Canada’s National Observer: Federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan launched labour data tool Equi’Vision on Friday. Photo from file by Carl Meyer. Listen to article A new tool created by Ottawa to reveal potential barriers in the workplace shows a significant gap in wages for Indigenous workers. On Friday, Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan launched a tool called Equi’Vision that...
January 24, 2024
Winnipeg hotel that zip-tied First Nations woman ‘Out of Order’
APTN News: A hotel in downtown Winnipeg that was the focus of a protest on Sunday is now closed to the public. Signs posted on the front doors of the Marlborough Hotel say “Due to maintenance – Hotel is out of order.” It’s not clear if the hotel has been cleared of paying guests –...
January 22, 2024
Video of First Nations woman restrained by hotel staff sparks outrage
Christmas Day video shows woman with her hands tied behind her back. The Marlborough Hotel in Winnipeg was flooded with angry protesters on Sunday after a video surfaced of a First Nations woman whose hands were tied behind her back. APTN News: The incident occurred on Christmas Day at the hotel which is located downtown....
December 5, 2023
AFN national chief candidates would back inquiry into Sixties Scoop
National inquiry into removal of Indigenous children could become a key task for next AFN leader CBC Indigenous: Some First Nations chiefs say the next national chief of the Assembly of First Nations should push for a national inquiry into the “Sixties Scoop” and the continued removal of Indigenous children from their families. About 22,000 Indigenous children were...
November 16, 2023
First Nations adults with disabilities living on reserve lack equal access to services, report finds
On-reserve services ‘underfunded, under-resourced and understaffed,’ report says CBC Indigenous: Jennifer Bercier says “an invisible line with a huge barrier” separates Manitoba First Nations like hers from the rest of the province, after her daughter lost all of her disability support and services upon turning 18. The mother from Opaskwayak Cree Nation says the disability...
October 23, 2023
‘I’m very emotional’: Family of Clarence Woodhouse reacts to bail release
A judge in Winnipeg released Clarence Woodhouse, 72, on bail Monday pending a ministerial review of his 1974 murder conviction. “I’m very emotional and really happy,” said Woodhouse’s sister Linda Anderson after the hearing. “It’s good to see my brother come back home.” Woodhouse, from Pinaymootang First Nation in Manitoba, was serving a prison sentence...
October 6, 2023
People accused of killing Indigenous women less likely to be charged with first-degree murder: study
Several factors from funding to distrust of colonial systems may contribute to the sentencing decisions APTN News: A report from Statistics Canada shows that there’s a disparity in the way homicide cases involving Indigenous women and girls are handled in the Canadian legal system. Data between 2009 and 2021 indicated that first-degree murder charges, the...
September 30, 2023
This should be a day when Canada rededicates itself to seeking justice
Toronto Star: “Hubert O’Connor: Child Molester.” That’s how the Victoria Times Colonist headlined the obituary for Catholic bishop Hubert O’Connor. He worked at the St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School in Williams Lake, B.C., where he began a career as a serial rapist of young Indigenous girls. In 1996, he became the highest ranking Catholic official...
September 12, 2023
Racism partly to blame for unequal health care provided to Indigenous women: PHAC study
Indigenous communities are still deeply affected by the 2020 death of Atikamekw woman Joyce Echaquan in a Quebec hospital, where she filmed staff insulting her as she lay dying, Lee Clark said. The Canadian Press/Paul Chiasson NationTalk: Racism and the lack of primary care providers mean off-reserve First Nations, Metis and Inuit women and girls...
September 9, 2023
Headingley inmate said ‘I can’t breathe’ more than 20 times while restrained by guards, video shows
Court shown video of February 2021 altercation between officers and William Ahmo, who later died in hospital WARNING: This story contains disturbing video and details. CBC News: originally posted Sept. 8 – William Ahmo uttered the words “I can’t breathe” more than 20 times while officers swarmed and restrained him in a Manitoba jail, video...
September 6, 2023
More than 500 Indigenous classes won’t have a teacher this week: here’s what we should do
Amid national teacher shortages, Indigenous communities are struggling enormously to recruit and retain teachers. The Toronto Star: Students start school this week in Eabametoong First Nation, a community 360 km northeast of Thunder Bay, where seven teaching positions remain unfilled; this includes two all-important kindergarten teachers for students who are starting school for the very...
September 5, 2023
‘I can’t breathe’: Court sees video of guards overpowering inmate William Ahmo
Paramedic says there was no sense of ‘urgency’ when he arrived to help. A screen shot from a video played in a Winnipeg courtroom of William Ahmo confronting the jail’s riot police. APTN News: His mother’s sobs could be heard in a Winnipeg courtroom Tuesday as she watched video of a group of correctional officers...
August 28, 2023
Barriers like racism, distrust may be main cause of health-care disparities for Indigenous women, study says
National study quantifying health-care inequities is 1st of its kind, lead author says Brishti Basu · CBC News · Posted: Aug 28, 2023 4:27 PM EDT | Last Updated: August 29 CBC News: Just before Tina Campbell had a minor medical procedure recently, she remembered the discrimination she says she felt while trying to access health care nearly two decades...
July 26, 2023
The AMC Calls on Manitoba to Commit to Providing Comprehensive and Culturally Responsible Competency Training for Newly Recruited Family Physicians
NationTalk: Treaty One Territory, Manitoba – The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) urges the province of Manitoba to work in partnership with First Nations leadership to provide comprehensive competency training for family physician recruits. This training is essential to address the existing gaps in healthcare service delivery, particularly for First Nations citizens living in urban,...
July 19, 2023
Innocence Canada calls for review of decades-old Manitoba murder convictions following acquittals
Lawyers say all murder cases involving Indigenous offenders in last 50 years should be reviewed CBC News: Lawyers with Innocence Canada are calling for a review of several decades’ worth of murder cases involving Indigenous offenders after two First Nations men were acquitted of a murder that happened half a century ago. On Tuesday, Justice...
July 19, 2023
Two men wrongfully convicted 50 years ago speak out about justice system
‘The justice system needs to change,’ says Allan Woodhouse APTN News: After 50 years of being sentenced for a murder they didn’t commit Brian Anderson and Allan Woodhouse are free. Now they are speaking out about being wrongfully convicted. “The justice system needs to change,” Woodhouse told reporters at a press conference outside the Canadian Museum...
July 18, 2023
Two Indigenous men acquitted of murder after 50 years
It’s the first double acquittal for Innocence Canada, a national organization that work to overturn wrongful convictions. APTN News: Two Indigenous men were acquitted of 50-year-old murder convictions Tuesday with the help of Innocence Canada and Manitoba’s top judge. Chief Justice Glenn Joyal told a packed courtroom in Winnipeg that Brian Anderson and Allan (A.J.) Woodhouse were...
July 10, 2023
Influx of supporters join landfill blockade after ‘act of hate’ at MMIWG mural
‘I can’t see the blockade going down’: supporter CBC News: Protesters blocking the Brady Road landfill south of Winnipeg say their resolve is even stronger after a man shovelled a truckload of soil and debris onto an MMIWG mural near the blockade Sunday. The blockade went up last week after the province refused to fund a search...
July 5, 2023
Manitoba grand chief shocked after province says it won’t help pay to search landfill for remains
AMC’s Cathy Merrick says province’s concerns about searchers’ safety are addressed in feasibility report CBC News: The leader of the group pushing to search a Winnipeg-area landfill for the remains of two First Nations women says she doesn’t buy the Manitoba government’s explanation that it won’t provide funding for the initiative because of safety concerns for those...
June 5, 2023
Indigenous coalition urges Canada’s healthcare system to ‘Rise Above Racism’
NationTalk: themessage. Who: A coalition of Indigenous health organizations (First Nations Health Managers Association, First Peoples Wellness Circle and Thunderbird Partnership Foundation); with NationTalk for strategy, creative and media (supported by Cleansheet Communications). What: “Rise Above Racism,” a new government-funded awareness campaign highlighting the issue of anti-Indigenous racism within the Canadian healthcare system. This is the second...
May 11, 2023
Opinion: To get Indigenous murder and suicide rates down, first face facts
Canadians need to agree on the hard fact of modern life that education is a prerequisite for economic success NationTalk: Financial Post – From 2017 through 2021, 1.45 non-Indigenous Canadians in 100,000 died from homicide. Among Indigenous Canadians the rate was six times that: 8.88 in 100,000. That average masks a stark regional difference, however....
April 21, 2023
After outcry over baby’s apprehension, Manitoba Indigenous family gets newborn back
‘Wrongful, illegal apprehension,’ sister says after meeting in which Child and Family Services apologized CBC News: An Indigenous family is planning to pursue legal action after they say a newborn baby was apprehended by Child and Family Services without warning. A taxi was on its way to take the mother and baby home on Monday, when a child-welfare...
April 11, 2023
Analysis of anti-Indigenous racism in hospitals reveals pattern of harm, no tracking mechanism
Canada’s National Observer: “Sakihitowin means love,” Pearl Gambler says, recalling the day she gave her daughter her name. It was the day Sakihitowin was born — and died. From Bigstone Cree Nation, Gambler entered Edmonton’s Misericordia Hospital on June 11, 2020, and experienced a series of events that she can only characterize as traumatic and...
March 29, 2023
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) Expresses Concern Over First Nations Over-Incarceration Rates
NationTalk: Treaty One Territory, MB – The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) issues the following statement on the over-incarceration of First Nations Citizens in Manitoba. On March 17, 2023, the Winnipeg Free Press published an article about Ethan Wildcat, a First Nation man who was handed a harsher sentence then a non-First Nations man facing...
February 22, 2023
Provinces lag behind Ottawa in offering crucial supports to those who’ve been switched at birth
The Globe and Mail: A man who was the first known switched-at-birth case in Manitoba says if it weren’t for the independent review and mental-health support ordered by the federal government, his life would’ve fallen apart. Luke Monias of Garden Hill First Nation said he would likely be unemployed and struggling with addiction. “I wouldn’t be...
February 13, 2023
Mother files lawsuit alleging racist treatment led to beating death of Anishinaabe son at Headingley jail
Court filing alleges a dozen Manitoba corrections officers beat William Ahmo, shot objects at him WARNING: This story contains distressing details. CBC News: A Winnipeg mother is suing the province of Manitoba and corrections officers, claiming racist treatment and excessive force after she says the Anishinaabe father was shot at with objects and beaten by...
February 8, 2023
Mother found dead after sharing video about struggles with Manitoba’s child welfare system, domestic violence
Anishinaabe woman pleaded with people to ‘listen to me’ WARNING: This story contains distressing details. CBC News: Family and friends of a woman who died by suicide are looking for answers after the woman posted a live video on social media saying she was a victim of domestic violence and sharing the frustration and trauma...
February 2, 2023
Manitoba medical group apologizes to Indigenous people for racism
NationTalk: CHVN – 95.1FM – The organization that regulates medical care in Manitoba has apologized for racism directed toward Indigenous people when accessing health care. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba says it recognizes its failure to effectively regulate the medical profession to prevent racist and substandard medical care to Indigenous peoples. Grand...
January 6, 2023
Sixties Scoop survivor reconnects with birth mom, discovers her culture, decades after separation
It took many years for the pair to develop a mother-daughter relationship WARNING: This story contains distressing details CBC News: Tauni Sheldon remembers the first time she saw her biological mom. Sheldon was 23 years old. It was 1993 and she was in the Winnipeg airport, having just flown in with her adoptive parents, Jim...
December 20, 2022
Province releases “Health Status of Manitobans Report”…the gap in health between Indigenous communities and other people is widening”
The life expectancy for First Nations people is 11 years lower than average and this gap is growing As of March 31, 2021 there were 9,8501 children in welfare service: 91 per cent of these children are Indigenous Premature Mortality Rate (PMR) for all First Nations in Manitoba is three times higher than for other Manitobans....
December 9, 2022
The AMC Calls on Province to Reconsider Decision to Close E.M. Crowe Memorial Hospital in Eriksdale, MB
NationTalk: Treaty One Territory, Manitoba – The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) supports the Interlake Reserves Tribal Council in calling on Health Minister Audrey Gordon and Shared Health Manitoba to recall the decision to close E.M. Crowe Memorial Hospital in Eriksdale, MB, after it has been ‘temporarily closed’ for the past few months. The Assembly...
December 2, 2022
Alleged Winnipeg serial killer Jeremy Skibicki’s case will go straight to trial, without preliminary hearing
NationTalk: CBC: Treaty One Territory, Manitoba – The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) and Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Regional Office is saddened by the announcement that accused serial killer Jeremy Skibicki is being charged for the murder of two more First Nations women and one yet unidentified woman. In May 2022, the body of...
November 22, 2022
SCO Launches new survey seeking Citizen Input on Reforming Justice System
NationTalk: ANISHINAABE AND DAKOTA TERRITORY, MB — Today, the Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO) is launching a new online survey with the goal of seeking input that will assist SCO in advocating for the creation of an effective, equitable, and safe justice system from a First Nations perspective. “One of my principal mandates is to reduce...
November 13, 2022
Statement from Premier Heather Stefanson and Indigenous Reconciliation and Northern Relations Minister Alan Lagimodiere on the Anniversary of the Death of Helen Betty Osborne
Today marks the anniversary of the tragic death of Helen Betty Osborne. Osborne was a 19-year-old student from Norway House Cree Nation who had dreams of becoming a teacher. A survivor of Guy Hill Residential School, Osborne chose to further her education through attending high school in The Pas. On the morning of Nov. 13,...
November 7, 2022
AMC Calls on Manitoba to Allocate More Money to Healthcare After CIHI States Manitoba Has the Third Lowest Healthcare Spending Per Person in the Country
NationTalk: Treaty One Territory, Manitoba – The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) issued the following statement in response to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) projections that Manitoba will have the third lowest healthcare spending per person in the Country. Manitoba Health has chronically underfunded First Nations in Manitoba, especially those living in northern...
November 2, 2022
Northern health leader says language test is a barrier to Indigenous nurses
First People’s Law: CTV News – An English proficiency test for prospective registered nurses in Manitoba, even those who receive all their education in English, is a racial barrier that disproportionately affects Indigenous people, a health official in northern Manitoba said Wednesday. “They trained in English, they saw patients in English … and then suddenly...
November 2, 2022
‘Pandemic of suffering:’ Manitoba chiefs press governments to fund regional hospital
Toronto Star: Chiefs of four remote First Nations in northeastern Manitoba are calling for the provincial and federal governments to build a health facility that can treat ongoing mental health and addiction crises for their growing populations. The chiefs from the Island Lake region estimate 15,000 to 18,000 people live in the area, but none...
October 12, 2022
Call for Restructuring Medical Transportation System After Delayed Medical Response for First Nation Infant
NationTalk: Treaty One Territory, Manitoba – The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) and the Assembly of First Nations Manitoba (AFN) issued the following statement after an infant was not given prompt transportation from Pimicikamak Cree Nation to Winnipeg for emergency care. The ill infant waited 24 hours after triage at the nursing station because Medevac...
October 6, 2022
AMC sues Manitoba, Canada for $1B over damage caused by child welfare system
The lawsuit seeks to compensate children who were taken off reserve. APTN: The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) is suing the federal and Manitoba governments over what they say are far-reaching and damaging effects of the child welfare system. “Manitoba and Canada received consistent advice and warnings, including from their own experts, that they were...
September 28, 2022
Ministers Honour Joyce Echaquan and Re-Affirm Commitment to Addressing Anti-Indigenous Racism in Canada’s Health Systems
Indigenous Services Canada: Ottawa, Ontario (September 28, 2022) – The Minister of Indigenous Services, Patty Hajdu, the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, Marc Miller, and the Minister of Health, Jean-Yves Duclos, issued the following statement today: “Health care is a human right, and should be free of racism and discrimination. But the systemic discrimination and racism that...
September 26, 2022
‘We are truly sorry’: Leaders, health officials acknowledge Indigenous-specific racism in northern Manitoba’s health-care system
CTV News: Indigenous leaders and northern health officials in Manitoba say Indigenous people continue to face racism in the health-care system, and have signed a declaration committing to eliminate it. On Monday morning leaders from Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO), Keewatinohk Inniniw Minoayawin (KIM), and the Northern Regional Health Authority (NRHA), met in Thompson to sign...
September 21, 2022
‘The bond is broken’: Data shows Indigenous kids overrepresented in foster care
Statistics Canada released data from the 2021 census showing Indigenous children accounted for 53.8 per cent of all children in foster care. Toronto Star: WINNIPEG – A Winnipeg mother says she was scarred for life when her first child was taken away at birth by social workers, who told her she was unfit to parent...
September 19, 2022
Experts warn ending birth alerts not the only solution to keep Indigenous children with their family
Globe and Mail: Canadian Press – The number of newborns taken into care dropped dramatically as birth alerts ended across Canada, but child welfare experts warn ceasing the practice cannot be the only step governments take to keep families together. “(Birth alerts) really risk being kind of a red herring in the real issue of...
May 27, 2022
Manitoba First Nations leaders declare State of Emergency in Health Services in the north
NationTalk: (Brokenhead Ojibway Nation) – Late afternoon May 24, 2022, the Keewatinohk Inniniw Okimowin Council (KIOC) of elected leaders unanimously declared a state of emergency on health services. The elected leaders are Chiefs and Councilors who collectively represent 23 First Nations in Manitoba’s north. The motion calling for the declaration came about during a two-day...
July 12, 2021
Human Rights complaints
The Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO) – fully supports the human rights complaints filed this week on behalf of First Nation citizens living in what is now Manitoba. Three human rights complaints were filed against the federal government this week alleging systemic discrimination as well as a failure to provide proper services where they were needed for...
March 2, 2021
Infant mortality and youth suicide
The Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth (MACY) and the First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba – submitted a report that discusses “the international and national human rights framework as it relates to structural inequalities and Indigenous children’s right to continuous improvement of health with a particular focus on infant mortality and youth suicide...
February 3, 2021
Racism in Winnipeg Fire Dept.
Southern Chiefs Organization – SCO is asking Mayor Brian Bowman along with Fire and Paramedic Services Chief, John Lane, and all relevant officials to take immediate disciplinary action as it relates to an incident of systemic racism. City of Winnipeg firefighters ignored repeated requests for help from a paramedic who was trying to administer care...
January 28, 2021
Emergency Meeting on Indigenous Health
Assembly of First Nations – AFN National Chief Perry Bellegarde reiterated recommendations and called for urgency in addressing systemic racism in Canada’s health care systems at a two-day virtual meeting with federal, provincial and territorial ministers and Metis and Inuit leaders that ended today. The meeting, convened by Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller, Crown-Indigenous Relations...
January 28, 2021
Racism against Indigenous womern
Native Women’s Association of Canada – At a two-day meeting at which the issue of anti-Indigenous racism in Canada’s healthcare systems will be addressed by federal, provincial, and territorial governments as well as representatives of the First Nations, Métis and Inuit, NWAC is not being permitted to give more broadly based opening remarks Wednesday, along...
October 16, 2020
Emergency Meeting on Indigenous Health
Emergency meeting on racism in Canada’s healthcare system. AFN recommendations to all levels of government: Work directly with First Nations to ensure that Indigenous Peoples feel safe accessing health care services. Quebec needs to work with First Nations to fully implement the Viens Commission Report’s recommendations. Canada must conduct an immediate review of the Canada...
May 13, 2020
Premier Pallister ignores Métis and First Nations contribution to Manitoba History
Premier Pallister missed a golden opportunity to advance reconciliation by deliberately choosing to ignore the contribution of the Métis and First Nations peoples to the founding of Manitoba and its entry into the newly formed confederation of Canada. “Manitoba” derived from the Cree, Ojibwe or Assiniboine languages means “straits of Manitou, the Great Spirit”. (Canadian...
December 10, 2018
Forced Sterilizations
72 organizations endorse the joint statement from Amnesty International Canada, the Native Women’s Association of Canada, and Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights, calling for government action to #DefendConsent and end #ForcedSterilization of Indigenous women in Canada Canadian Press – All the women interviewed felt that the health system had not served their needs,...
November 22, 2018
Call for national investigation into forced sterilizations
Senator Murray Sinclair, former Chair of the TRC, says Canada needs a national investigation to find out how common coerced sterilizations are among Indigenous women and how they’ve been allowed to continue for so long. http://nationtalk.ca/story/usw-joint-statement-calling-on-canada-to-end-sterilization-without-consent...
September 17, 2017
Ignored to death: Brian Sinclair’s death caused by racism, inquest inadequate, group says
Brian Sinclair, 45, was found dead in Health Sciences Centre ER 34 hours after arriving without being treated CBC: A group of doctors and academics from across Canada say an Indigenous man who died while waiting for care in a Winnipeg emergency room in 2008 was killed by racism, and say the subsequent inquest into his...
September 15, 2017
Death of Brian Sinclair
CBC – Brian Sinclair was killed by racism on Sept. 21, 2008. He was ignored for 34 hours, despite his need for urgent medical care, because medical professionals made negative assumptions about him based solely on his appearance. Anti-Indigenous bias is an endemic problem in Canadian health care: The hospital authority denied that stereotyping had...