Exploring Theme: "COVID-19"

Southern Chiefs Organization – 45% of ICU patients in Manitoba are First Nation people despite representing only 10 per cent of the total population. Manitoba is now the worst COVID-19 hotspot in North America. “I am deeply concerned about the health and well-being of the people I represent if these trends continued,” stated Grand Chief...

Winnipeg Free Press – Government has left the Métis out of its COVID-19 vaccine task force and plans no vaccination clinics targeted to them. That’s despite Premier Brian Pallister having said he’s committed to including Métis people in the vaccine rollout, guided by reconciliation. Emails obtained by the Free Press show provincial officials have asked...

Toronto Star – COVID-19 is negatively impacting both on-reserve and off-reserve Indigenous populations. “Hospitalizations and intensive-care rates are sky high for off-reserve populations and testing is low. Both on and off reserves, about 18% of tests come back positive. The issues identified by Janet Smylie, research chair in Indigenous health knowledge and information at Well...

NationTalk – 24 civil society groups attending the third ever meeting of Federal, Provincial, Territory Ministers responsible for human rights “condemned the obstructive attitude of some governments” in advancing international human rights obligations. Groups had pressed governments to commit to nation-wide law reform that will legally require governments to adopt a collaborative, accountable, consistent, transparent,...

Southern Chiefs Organization – is making an urgent appeal to all levels of government to free up increased funding and resources to contain COVID-19 in First Nations where the test positivity rate among First Nations is 11% vs the provincial average of 8.6%. Manitoba has the worst case count per capita in Canada including daily outbreaks...

Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO) Inc. – is issuing this statement along with the four Cree Nations that are in a partnership with Manitoba Hydro in the construction and operation of the Keeyask Generating Station in Northern Manitoba. The four First Nations are: Tataskweyak Cree Nation, Fox Lake Cree Nation, War Lake First Nation, and York Factory...

Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) – MMF filed a complaint with the Manitoba Human Rights Commission against the Government of Manitoba, the Honourable Cameron Friesen – Minister of Health, Seniors and Active Living – and Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitoba’s Chief Provincial Public Health Officer. The complaint states that the Manitoba Métis Community has been subject to...

CBC – Members of the four First Nation community partners of Manitoba Hydro’s Keeyask project (Tataskweyak, Fox Lake, War Lake and York Factory) have launched protests to protect their communities from COVID-19. Hydro is switching out the current 600 on-site employees with an outside group of 1000 some of whom are from outside Manitoba. The...

CBC – We were not included in the discussion of the plan for the shift change,” said Robert Wavey, a band member and spokesperson for Fox Lake Cree Nation. “It was given to [First Nations] after Hydro came up with their plan.” “Our First Nations leaders do not want to see a repeat of what...

Yellowhead Institute – release of Policy Brief: “Colonialism of the Curve: Indigenous Communities and Bad Covid Data”. There is wide discrepancy on COVID-19 related health data from Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) and provincial health authorities: There is no agency or organization in Canada reliably recording and releasing Covid-19 data that indicates whether or not a person...

The Indigenous Bar Association (IBA)– Calls Upon Federal, Provincial and Territorial Justice Ministers and Attorneys General to Immediately Release low-risk Indigenous Inmates over COVID-19.Specifically, we call for the immediate release of incarcerated Indigenous people and the following actions: Immediately and minimally, carry-out the release of Indigenous inmates that are low-risk, non-violent, nearly eligible for parole,...

First Nations leadership across BC is united in calling for immediate action to protect incarcerated peoples amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 outbreak at the Mission Institution is now the third largest outbreak in the Province of BC, with the first inmate tragically passing away on April 15, 2020. Senior health and corrections officials have...

Globe and Mail – Despite accounting for just under 5 per cent of the Canadian population, Indigenous people were 25 per cent of those admitted to ICUs during the first wave of H1N1. First Nations children were 21 per cent of the paediatric patients admitted to ICUs during both waves. This led to sad and...