Current Problems: Health (18-24)
Exploring Theme: "Systemic Racism"
Updates on this page: 114
April 22, 2024
Racism, discrimination may lead to First Nations patients leaving emergency rooms: Alberta study
A Siksika Nation councillor says the study reflects community members’ experiences CBC Indigenous: Systemic racism and inequity in health care may be contributing to why First Nations patients in Alberta disproportionately leave emergency departments without being seen, or against medical advice, according to a new study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. The peer-reviewed paper builds...
April 22, 2024
‘We are quite sorry’: Inquest learns about Darla Skookum’s state the night she died
Darla Skookum, 52, died at the shelter last April A sign for the coroner’s inquest currently underway in Whitehorse. Photo: APTN News APTN News: Shelter staff who placed a First Nations woman on her stomach on the night she died now say it was not the best position to have placed her in. Darla Skookum,...
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 18, 2024
Ontario Human Rights Commission announces development of policy to address Indigenous-specific discrimination in Ontario’s healthcare system
NationTalk: TORONTO — Today, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) announced its commitment to work with Indigenous partners to develop human rights policy guidance to address and combat long-standing and widespread Indigenous-specific discrimination in Ontario’s healthcare system. The OHRC’s policy guidance will: To inform this guidance, the OHRC will meet with Indigenous health professionals, organizations,...
April 3, 2024
Nunavut family speaks out after 8-year-old given tuberculosis medication meant for another child
Child was given five doses of tuberculosis medication in three months without parents knowing CBC Indigenous: When Jaffar Gebara found out that his eight-year-old daughter was being given medication for sleeping tuberculosis at her school, he was shocked. Even more shocking was that his daughter didn’t have tuberculosis. “I’m sad that I let my daughter...
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
‘I Am on a Path of Discovering My Own Racism’
Returning to her home province, a settler physician seeks to improve healing approaches for her Indigenous patients. An excerpt. The Tyee: [Editor’s note: Though Dr. Jarol Boan grew up in Regina, Saskatchewan, she spent 20 years treating patients and working in academic institutions south of the border before deciding to return to her home province....
March 14, 2024
Edmonton police investigating death of Dene man in university hospital
APTN News: The Edmonton police have opened a probe into the death of Darryl Sabourin, a Dene man and father of four from Hay River, N.W.T., after he died in a local hospital. On March 4, Sabourin, 45, who was addicted to alcohol checked himself into the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton for detox...
March 13, 2024
First Nation says racism, doctor shortage persists in BC Interior
NationTalk: PrinceGeorgeNow – The Canadian Press – A British Columbia First Nation says racism in the health−care system persists despite efforts by the government and industry to combat the problem. The Tsilhqot’in National Government says in a statement that it met with officials from Interior Health, the Cariboo Regional District and the City of Williams...
March 8, 2024
First Nations Life Expectancy Has Plummeted. How to Change That
Solutions exist in culturally competent health care, safer supply, better recovery options and community connection, experts say. [Editor’s note: This story contains discussion of intergenerational trauma and the impacts of residential schools.] HELP IS AVAILABLE If you need support, call the Indian Residential School Survivors Society at 1-800-721-0066 or 1-866-925-4419 for the 24-7 crisis line....
March 7, 2024
Indigenous public health advocates share strategies for dismantling colonial structures
“Being subject to Canadian colonial practices and policies is bad for Indigenous people’s health. It violates their right to health, wellness, and discrimination-free living.” —Eryn Braley Top left is Jorden Hendry. Top right is Eryn Braley. Moderator is sine squawkin. Windspeaker.com: In a candid discussion hosted by University of British Columbia’s Centre for Excellence in...
February 29, 2024
Spouse seeking answers after young N.W.T. mother, prescribed Advil, dies of double pneumonia
Rachel Simpson was sent home from Whatı̀ health centre despite worsening condition CBC News: The partner of a young mother from Whatı̀, N.W.T., who died this week wants to know why the community health centre didn’t take her seriously for days before she was medevaced to Alberta. Rachel Simpson was the glue that held their family...
February 29, 2024
Victim of forced sterilization in Ottawa to push law that would penalize doctors
Senator’s private member’s bill aims to put an end to forced sterilizations. APTN News: Nicole Rabbit says she came to Ottawa to deliver a message for her mother. “She would have said ‘Someone has to be accountable for the act of genocide that we Indigenous people have faced and continue to face in regards to...
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...
December 12, 2023
Open Access: Exploring paramedic care for First Nations in Alberta: a qualitative study
John G. Taplin, Lea Bill, Ian E. Blanchard, Cheryl M. Barnabe, Brian R. Holroyd, Bonnie Healy and Patrick McLane CMAJ Open: December 12, 2023 11 (6) E1135-E1147; DOI: https://doi.org/10.9778/cmajo.20230039 Abstract Background: Prior work has shown that a greater proportion of First Nations patients than non–First Nations patients arrive by ambulance to emergency departments in Alberta. The objective of this study was to understand First Nations perspectives on...
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...
November 1, 2023
Advocates say Calgary shelter no longer run by Indigenous women
APTN News: In the early ‘90s, Elder Ruth Scalplock founded Awo Taan Healing Centre which means shield in the Blackfoot language. The centre was created to meet the needs of Indigenous women in a traditional and spiritual way. But Scalplock says only one Indigenous person is in a decision-making role at the centre. “Women need a place...
November 1, 2023
Colonialism remains a health risk, MPP says
Wants health authority given to First Nations First Peoples Law Report: Timmins The Daily Press – A private member’s bill with the goal of improving healthcare outcomes for the province’s Indigenous population was defeated in the Ontario Legislature this week, much to the disappointment of a northern MPP. Motion 66 urged the Ontario government, led...
October 27, 2023
Northern Ontario First Nations call for help amid mental health crisis
By Liam Casey The Canadian Press NationTalk: Global News – Several First Nations and health officials in northern Ontario are asking for help after declaring a state of emergency over mental health crises across their territories. Cat Lake First Nation Chief Russell Wesley said 188 people of the 500 who live in his community are part of a mental wellness program, but...
October 5, 2023
FSIN appoints ombudsperson to investigate racism in health care
Dianne Lafond selected for the first-of-its-kind position in the country CBC Indigenous: The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) has selected a health ombudsperson to work against racism and discrimination against Indigenous people in the health-care system. Dianne Lafond, who was born and raised on Muskeg Lake Cree Nation, has been selected for the job....
October 2, 2023
Breaking the Cycle: Confronting Healthcare Disparities for Indigenous Peoples in Canada
It’s time to bridge the inequalities Olivia Shan NationTalk: McGill Daily – The government of Canada has worked over the years to achieve reconciliation with Indigenous peoples through a restored engagement between nations, governments, the Inuit, and the Crown, stemming from an underlying basic acknowledgment of rights, respect, cooperation, and partnership as the cornerstone for...
September 28, 2023
3 years after Joyce Echaquan’s death, loved ones reflect on what’s changed — and what hasn’t
Health board appealing ruling to reinstate orderly fired after Echaquan’s death CBC News: Three paintings of women wearing braids and purple headbands in their hair with the words “Justice for Joyce” adorn the windows outside the Centre d’amitié autochtone de Lanaudièrein Joliette. Sitting on the porch at the friendship centre Thursday morning, Lorraine Echaquan and Regine Dubé...
September 28, 2023
Siksika man lodges human rights complaint against Alberta hospital after wife’s death
Myra Crow Child, in an undated photo, died in an Alberta hospital in 2022. APTN News: A member of Siksika Nation in southern Alberta has launched a human rights complaint against Alberta Health Services and Strathmore District Health Services. Ben Crow Chief claims “anti-Indigenous racism” played a role in the death of his wife, Myra...
September 28, 2023
Siksika Nation Member Brings Human Rights Complaint in Response to Systemic Anti-Indigenous Discrimination in Alberta’s Healthcare Sector
NationTalk: Siksika Nation, AB – A Siksika Nation member has filed a human rights complaint against Alberta Health Services and Strathmore District Health Services in response to systemic, anti-Indigenous discrimination in the healthcare sector. On August 24, 2023, the Alberta Human Rights Commission accepted a complaint filed by Benedict Crow Chief, whose wife, Myra, passed away in...
September 27, 2023
Haida elder in ‘extreme’ appendicitis pain was allegedly released from B.C. hospital without treatment
Penny Kerrigan says anti-Indigenous racism was behind her hasty discharge from hospital in Terrace This story is part of a series examining systemic discrimination against Indigenous patients within the nursing profession in B.C. To read Part 1 of the series, click here. CBC Indigenous: By the time Penny Kerrigan arrived at Mills Memorial Hospital in northern...
September 26, 2023
Indigenous man’s death after being left unattended in hospital spurs call for ‘culture change’ in nursing
Story of Keegan Combes’s neglect at B.C. hospital fuels nursing college’s anti-racism work Bethany Lindsay, Angela Sterritt · CBC News · Posted: Sep 26, 2023 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: September 26 This story is part of a series examining systemic discrimination against Indigenous patients within the nursing profession in B.C. CBC Indigenous: It’s been eight years since Keegan...
September 13, 2023
Dissatisfaction grows among First Nations groups over Quebec Indigenous health-care bill
2nd day of committee hearings for Bill 32 sees walkout of Joyce’s Principle Office CBC Indigenous: The Joyce’s Principle Office walked out of a public hearing Wednesday morning held by a legislature committee reviewing a new bill that seeks to improve the treatment of Indigenous patients within Quebec’s health-care system. The office joined a growing chorus...
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 8, 2023
Some staff at St. Catherines Hospital ‘fearful’ of treating Indigenous patients: report
Panel reviewing death of Heather Winterstein calls for collaboration with Indigenous community Heather Winterstein died in 2022 after two trips to the St. Catherines Hospital. APTN news: A report detailing the grueling final days of Heather Winterstein’s life says some staff are “fearful” of treating Indigenous patients because they are unsure of the cultural correctness...
September 7, 2023
Indigenous Women Continue to Face Abuse
In this century, forced sterilization in Canada is no longer in effect, but there have been recent reports of sterilization in some places, according to the President of Women of the Métis Nation. NationTalk: The Hamilton Spectator – In this century, forced sterilization in Canada is no longer in effect, but there have been recent...
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...
August 25, 2023
Decision Of The Tribunal Administratif Du Travail: Insecurity Resurges Among First Nations
NationTalk: WENDAKE, QC, Aug. 25, 2023 – At a time when the Committee on Institutions of the National Assembly of Québec is preparing to begin its specific consultations on Bill 32, an Act to establish the cultural safety approach within the health and social services network, the decision rendered on Wednesday by the Tribunal administratif...
July 31, 2023
Québec’s cultural awareness training makes flawed assumptions that do not prioritize the safety of Indigenous people
NationTalk: The Conversation – Québec’s Minister Responsible for Relations with the First Nations and the Inuit, Ian Lafrenière, recently introduced Bill 32, which aims to “establish the cultural safety approach within the health and social services network.” The intent of the bill is for health and social service networks in Québec to adopt a cultural safety approach...
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 12, 2023
Indigenous women in Canada forcibly sterilized decades after other rich countries stopped
Nationtalk: TORONTO (AP) — Decades after many other rich countries stopped forcibly sterilizing Indigenous women, numerous activists, doctors, politicians and at least five class-action lawsuits allege the practice has not ended in Canada. A Senate report last year concluded “this horrific practice is not confined to the past, but clearly is continuing today.” In May, a doctor...
June 22, 2023
Dr. Deena Hinshaw was hired by the AHS Indigenous health team, then removed against their wishes
Dr. Esther Tailfeathers resigned as team lead after saying she felt ‘disposed of’ CBC News: On June 2, a screengrab of an announcement welcoming Dr. Deena Hinshaw to her new position began circulating on social media. Hinshaw was Alberta’s chief medical officer of health until she was fired last November by Danielle Smith, shortly after...
June 13, 2023
Ontario land tribunal dismisses appeal against Inuit development in Ottawa
APTN News: Things appear to be back on track for the Larga Baffin development after Ontario’s land tribunal dismissed an appeal against the facility last week. “At the end of the day the objective is to build the facility to serve the people of Baffin Island and we’re really pleased for the community that this...
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...
June 3, 2023
Juliette Tapaquon’s tragic story exposes health-care inequality
NationTalk: Canada’s National Observer: Juliette Tapaquon spent her final months in unimaginable pain. It’s the thought that still keeps her mother, Joyce Tapaquon, up at night. A cervical cancer patient at Pasqua Hospital’s palliative care unit and a member of Carry the Kettle First Nation, Juliette was escorted out of the southern Saskatchewan hospital by...
May 9, 2023
Misprescribed and ‘Dumped’ at the Hospital’s Doors
Marilyn Johnson says she faced health-care discrimination because she is Indigenous and lives in the Downtown Eastside. Here’s what needs to change. The Tyee: Marilyn Johnson, a Gitxsan woman, is full of energy. The ends of her hair are dyed blue. She sips her Tim Hortons coffee and smiles from ear to ear when talking...
April 16, 2023
The painful legacy of tuberculosis in Canada’s North
Historical trauma and distrust in health-care system persist among many Inuit people today A History of Colonial Human Rights Violations Toronto Star: Joshua Idlout has never had tuberculosis, but the disease has cast a long shadow over much of his life. As a six or seven-year-old Inuk boy passing through Resolute Bay, the second northernmost...
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...
April 4, 2023
Anti-racism policies in health care should be led by Indigenous staff: report
Federal report blasts anti-Indigenous racism in health care CBC News: More Indigenous practitioners are needed to address systemic racism, but that can’t happen without a supportive education system that also envisions them in leadership roles, says a report commissioned by Health Canada and touted as the first comprehensive review of the health-care workforce. The report, released...
March 27, 2023
Alberta has 8 Métis settlements. None of them have full-time doctors
Health board pushing for more doctors, nurses and other health-care providers CBC News: Every Wednesday, a registered nurse travels 39 kilometres from the northeastern Alberta city of Cold Lake to see patients on the Elizabeth Métis Settlement. Alberta Health Services rents an office inside the settlement’s community hall for appointments. A counter near the door...
March 24, 2023
An Rx against racist behaviour in Alberta emergency departments
After years of studying systemic racism in hospital emergency care, a team of researchers and First Nations organizations will create ways to ensure all patients are treated equitably and with dignity. Nation Talk: University of Alberta: For the last six years, First Nations organizations have supported a team of researchers including Bonnie Healy and Patrick...
March 5, 2023
‘Really worrisome’: Survey suggests some Alberta doctors have anti-Indigenous biases
Toronto Star: Two University of Calgary researchers weren’t surprised when their survey of Alberta doctors showed biases against Indigenous patients, but they were shocked by some of the comments. Pamela Roach and Shannon Ruzycki sent a survey in September 2020 to every licensed doctor in the province to determine their biases following high-profile deaths of...
February 22, 2023
Mother gives birth to still born child and given the wrong baby to bury
‘I’m sorry to tell you we gave you the wrong baby,’ hospital to Maskwascis mother. APTN: A mother from Maskwacis in Treaty 6 gave birth to a child who was still born and was given the wrong baby to bury a week later. “I just can’t wrap my head around it. It’s devastating. Especially to...
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 8, 2023
Indigenous man furious after mother put in ‘storage room’ after being discharged from Calgary hospital
NationTalk: Global News – An Indigenous man is furious after his mother was put in a “storage room” after she was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer. Bradford Mistakenchief’s mother was only given 18 months to live with the diagnosis. She was immediately put into palliative care at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre at Foothills Medical Centre in...
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...
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 9, 2022
Panel to assess Indigenous patient care after the death of a young woman in St. Catharines
Heather Winterstein was only 24 years old when she felt ill and went to the emergency department at St. Catharines General Hospital for help, only to die from a treatable illness. One year later, Niagara Health announced it is beginning an external assessment of the emergency department (ED) to improve patient care and experiences for...
December 2, 2022
Bill on cultural safety in health coming, Quebec says, following forced sterilizations study
Report is latest to scrutinize treatment of Indigenous people in Quebec health-care services Verity Stevenson · CBC News · Posted: Dec 02, 2022 7:30 PM ET | Last Updated: December 7 Update: This story has been updated following a ministry spokesperson’s assertion the bill would be introduced in early 2023, not during the current session as Indigenous Affairs Minister...
November 24, 2022
Publication of a research report on free and informed consent and imposed sterilizations among First Nations and Inuit women in Quebec
RECOMMENDATIONS Includes 9 from the participants in the study and 11 by the research team including the following: Professional bodies in the medical professions: Review the training offered to the medical profession on free and informed consent, particularly in the fields of obstetrics and gynecology. Ask the Collège des médecins du Québec to take note...
November 17, 2022
Medical advice shouldn’t be different for Indigenous kids
The Globe and Mail: Tony Talaga – When the COVID-19 pandemic first struck, remote and northern Indigenous communities – which already lacked doctors, properly stocked and supplied health clinics and clean running water – had to scramble. First Nations leaders had to create public-health systems out of thin air. And in Northern Ontario, it seemed...
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 3, 2022
Cree woman suing Edmonton hospital for ‘failing to provide medical care’ in birth of her daughter
Said the hospital failed that racism and malpractice led to the death of her newborn baby APTN News: A member of Bigstone Cree First Nation in Alberta says she gave birth in an Edmonton hospital while a nurse watched and did nothing to help. In a statement of claim filed in the Court of King’s Bench in...
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...
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...
October 13, 2022
How stereotypes led to the deaths of two Indigenous men in Thunder Bay police custody: expert
CTV News: A physician with expertise in Indigenous health care told a coroner’s inquest Wednesday that she heard stereotypes kick in from the first 9-1-1 call that led to a man being arrested for public intoxication before he died from medical conditions in Thunder Bay police custody hours later. Dr. Suzanne Shoush testified as an...
October 12, 2022
Nations of Blackfoot Confederacy File Claim Against Alberta Persons with Development Disabilities
NationTalk: On September 1, 2022, the Siksika Chief and Council, on behalf of Siksika Nation, Kainai Nation (Blood Tribe) and Piikani Nation, filed a complaint against Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) for systemic discrimination against adult members of the Blackfoot Nations living with developmental disabilities through the Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) program. The Claim has...
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 5, 2022
New Reports Reaffirm Trends of Poor Health Outcomes and Under-Funded System for First Nations
Under the direction of the Chiefs-in-Assembly, Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority (SLFNHA) has released its Diabetes and Childhood Vaccination Coverage reports. The reports highlight the disproportionate burden of health outcomes and health inequities within northern First Nations. SLFNHA calls for improved resources to support diabetes and vaccination programs. “We are calling on the Federal...
September 29, 2022
Death of Joyce Echaquan: Family files $2.7 million lawsuit against Quebec public health agency
APTN: The family of Joyce Echaquan, the Atikamekw mother of seven who was mocked by staff as she lay dying in a Quebec hospital in September 2020 has filed a lawsuit seeking nearly $2.7 million. Echaquan, 37, filmed herself on Facebook Live as a nurse and an orderly were heard making derogatory comments toward her at...
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
Quebec’s Indigenous sensitivity training falls short, say health-care workers
Training sparked by Joyce Echaquan’s death called ‘superficial’ and ‘cringe-worthy’ CBC: As the second anniversary of Joyce Echaquan’s death approaches this week, Indigenous health professionals say the measures taken by the Quebec government to address racism and discrimination in medical facilities have been inadequate. Echaquan, a 37-year-old Atikamekw mother of seven, died in a Joliette,...
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 22, 2022
Human Rights Tribunal Rejects Attempt to Derail UBCIC’s Challenge to Liver Transplant Discrimination
NationTalk: (xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil Waututh)/Vancouver, B.C. – The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal (BCHRT) has rejected an attempt by BC health authorities to dismiss UBCIC’s representative complaint against discriminatory access to liver transplants for Indigenous patients. The Provincial Health Services Authority, the BC Transplant Society and Vancouver Coastal Health Authority are...
September 21, 2022
Family wants answers after Mi’kmaw grandmother dies unexpectedly in Cape Breton hospital
APTN: Lynn Francis is looking for answers after her mother, Bridget Anne Denny, 65, died while in care at the regional hospital in Cape Breton. “I thought she had the care she needed when we left her that evening, so I was really in shock,” said Lynn Francis. Bridget Anne Denny, 65, died unexpectedly while...
September 13, 2022
Niagara Health: Signs part of commitment to Indigenous community
Toronto Star: Visitors to Niagara Health sites across the region will notice signage on the health system’s properties in St. Catharines, Welland and Niagara Falls meant to show support for the Indigenous community. The signs include a variety of messaging that are geared to mark Niagara Health’s second Indigenous Inclusion Month. The first was marked...
August 8, 2022
New Brunswick Aboriginal Peoples Council calls for equal access to health supports for all Indigenous people
NationTalk: Fredericton, Revised – The New Brunswick Aboriginal Peoples Council has, once again, been confronted by the federal government’s discrimination against our members. This time, the federal government’s discrimination takes the form of denying Indigenous people who live off reserves and non-status Indigenous people access to health benefits that the federal government provides to reserve...
July 22, 2022
CMA condemns forced and coerced sterilization
In response to the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights’ report The Scars that We Carry: Forced and Coerced Sterilization of Persons in Canada – Part II Opens in a new window, the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) unequivocally denounces the practices of forced and coerced sterilization. As the report details, forced and coerced sterilization have...
July 11, 2022
First Nations Health Managers Association to launch “RISE Against Racism” campaign
Akwesasne, Traditional Mohawk Territory, Ontario — Indigenous Services Canada: Accessing quality health services can be a stressful experience. Anti-Indigenous racism in Canada’s health systems, such as discriminatory language in interactions with patients and negative stereotyping that influences care decisions, can have a negative impact on health outcomes. That is why the First Nations Health Managers...
June 27, 2022
Reproductive control of Indigenous women continues around the world, say survivors and researchers
Survivors of forced sterilization and coerced contraception from Canada, Peru and Indonesia will meet with researchers to share stories, heal and advocate for change. University of Alberta: The full extent of reproductive control practices around the world is not known, but they have been historically — and continue to be — targeted at Indigenous, poor...
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...
May 25, 2022
Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health and Ottawa Aboriginal Coalition report finds systemic racism in Ontario Health Care
“The conclusions in this report are horrific but unfortunately, not surprising. Indigenous-specific racism is embedded in Canada’s colonial history, and only by taking responsibility can we achieve better health outcomes for Indigenous peoples in this country,” says Wabano’s Executive Director Allison Fisher. “And the time to take responsibility and swift action is now.” The findings...
February 3, 2022
“Remembering Keegan – a BC First Nations Case Study Reflection”
Feb. 23, 2022: First Nations Health Authority – FNHA today announced the public release of its report titled “Remembering Keegan – a BC First Nations Case Study Reflection”. Keegan Combes was a 29-year old First Nations man who died in hospital in 2015 following delayed diagnosis and clinical management of a treatable accidental poisoning. “Remembering Keegan” is part...
January 17, 2022
Niagara Health System Discrimination
Niagara Chapter-Native Women – The NCNW Board of Directors is asking for a full Coroner’s Inquest into the death of Heather Winterstein, 24, who passed away while in the care of Niagara Health System on Dec 10, 2021. We call for the Coroner’s Inquest to address the long-standing issues of discrimination against Indigenous people, particularly...
December 17, 2021
Niagara Health System Discrimination
Toronto Star – Niagara Ontario Health Team Planning Table (NOHT) has voiced its support for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Heather Winterstein, an Indigenous woman who collapsed and died in the emergency room at the St. Catharines site of Niagara Health. Carol Stewart-Kirkby, co-lead for the health team, said there is...
December 1, 2021
In Plain Sight Report
Victoria Times Colonist – Fewer than half of the 24 recommendations to address Indigenous-specific racism in the province’s health-care system have been fully implemented on the one-year anniversary of the In Plain Sight report. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond said she’s been “closely” monitoring progress: apologies issued by health system leaders and regulatory bodies, a critical amendment...
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...
May 17, 2021
Forced sterilization in Québec
The Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT) and the First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Health and Social Services Commission (FNQLHSSC) – in collaboration with several partners gathered within a regional committee, call on everyone to participate in research on free and informed consent and imposed sterilization, including obstetric violence, among First Nations and Inuit women...
April 23, 2021
In Plain Sight Report
Budget 2021 invested $45 million over three years to respond to the recommendations of the “In Plain Sight” report on systemic anti-Indigenous racism in the healthcare system: Expand First Nations cultural safety and humility training and Indigenous liaisons within each regional health authority Address systemic racism against Indigenous people in the health care system through...
April 9, 2021
Nurses told to leave First Nation during pandemic
Globe and Mail – For the past two weeks, during a global pandemic, Pikangikum First Nation – a Northern Ontario community of nearly 3,600, located along the Berens River near the Manitoba border – has operated without a fully equipped police service or access to proper medical care…On March 19, Chief Owen and the band...
March 23, 2021
Premier’s racist comment
Sudbury.com – “The member flew in [to] get his vaccine, so thank you for doing that and kind of jumping the line,” Ford said. “I talked to a few chiefs that were pretty upset about that for flying into the community that he doesn’t belong to, but that’s not here nor there.” Premier Doug Ford...
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 26, 2021
Death of Joyce Echaquan
Montreal Gazette – Québec Indigenous Affairs Minister Ian Lafrenière, Health Minister Christian Dubé and interim Lanaudière health authority director Caroline Barbir announced along with Atikamekw chief Paul-Émile Ottawa announced the following changes: * the creation of a reconciliation committee * the addition to the health authority’s management of a liaison officer responsible for relations with...
February 11, 2021
Death of Joyce Echaquan
Indigenous Services Canada – Minister of Indigenous Services, the Honourable Marc Miller, highlighted funding of $2 million to the Conseil de la Nation Atikamekw and the Conseil des Atikamekw de Manawan, Joyce’s community, to advance their work and advocacy for the implementation of Joyce’s Principle. With this funding, the Atikamekw, including the community members of...
February 5, 2021
In Plain Sight Report
Toronto Star – Health Minister Adrian Dix provided an update on his government’s progress on implementing the original 24 recommendations. He said his government is providing funding for 32 Indigenous health liaisons in health authorities across the province, of which nine are already in place. It has also ensured that each health authority board has...
February 4, 2021
In Plain Sight: Supplemental Report
Toronto Star – Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond released a supplemental data report Thursday that shows Indigenous people in B.C. are much more likely to feel unsafe in health-care settings, to feel they are never included in care decisions and to feel they receive poorer service than others. “Taken together, these … reports clearly demonstrate the need...
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
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...
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...
December 15, 2020
Death of Joyce Echaquan
Release of “Racism in Québec: ZERO TOLERANCE. Report of the Groupe d’action contre le racism” by the Québec government that had no Indigenous representation. The Atikamekw nation says the 25 recommendations to counter racism raises more questions than answers. “Concrete proposals were offered in the brief for Joyce’s Principle to achieve changes with an impact...
December 1, 2020
In Plain Sight Report
Toronto Star – The independent investigation – touted as the first complete review of racism in a Canadian health-care system – released its report “In Plain Sight: Addressing Indigenous-specific Racism and Discrimination in B.C. Health Care“. The investigation has found pervasive systemic racism against Indigenous people in this province based on the following findings: Widespread...
December 1, 2020
In Plain Sight Report
Métis Nations of BC is calling on the B.C. government to urgently implement all the recommendations found in Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond’s report…and its 24 recommendations in an expedited timeframe. This includes implementing the recommendation, “that the Ministry of Health establish a structured senior level health relationship table with MNBC, and direct health authorities to enter...
November 16, 2020
Death of Joyce Echaquan – Joyce’s Principle
The Council of the Atikamekw of Manawan (CDAM) and the Council of the Atikamekw Nation (CAN) – have submitted a brief for “Joyce’s Principle” to Francis Legault, the Premier of Québec and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Québec Government has rejected adopting Joyce’s Principle “a call to action and commitment to governments to facilitate the transition...
November 10, 2020
Death of Joyce Echaquan
Québec Government – is investing $3.1M in Joliette “to enable the relocation and enlargement of the Centre d’amitié autochtone de Lanaudière (CAAL), an Indigenous community organization founded in 2001. Its mission is to improve the living conditions of Indigenous people living in or passing through the Joliette region by providing a number of support services, assistance...
November 6, 2020
Death of Joyce Echaquan
The Québec government will invest $15 million to implement targeted actions to enhance cultural safety for members of First Nations and Inuit in the health and social services sector. This announcement follows several calls to action by the Public Inquiry Commission on relations between Indigenous Peoples and certain public services in Québec....
October 16, 2020
Death of Joyce Echaquan
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...
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...
October 2, 2020
Death of Joyce Echaquan
Québec government announced the launch of a public inquiry under the coroner’s office....
September 30, 2020
Death of Joyce Echaquan
Montreal Gazette – “In her last moments, while tied to a hospital bed, Joyce Echaquan, a 37 year-old Atikamekw woman, pleaded for someone to help her. Instead, a video she recorded shows she received disparaging and condescending remarks — at a time when Québec continues to grapple with the larger question of systemic racism.” The...
July 9, 2020
In Plain Sight Report
Government of BC – An independent investigation into Indigenous-specific racism in British Columbia’s health care system was launched today by former judge and provincial child advocate Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond. Appointed by Health Minister Adrian Dix on June 19 after highly disturbing allegations of racism in B.C. Emergency rooms came to light, Turpel-Lafond has now assembled...
June 19, 2020
In Plain Sight Report
NationTalk – First Nations, Métis and Inuit patients seeking emergency medical services in British Columbia are often assumed to be intoxicated and denied medical assessments, contributing to worsening health conditions resulting in unnecessary harm or death. This is according to information obtained by Métis Nation BC and the BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres. Additionally,...
February 5, 2020
OHRC claims discrimination in accessing health services in Timmins
Timmins The Daily Press – On the second anniversary of the deaths of Joey Knapaysweet and Agnes Sutherland, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) announced it has filed an application with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) alleging discrimination based on Indigenous ancestry by public service providers in Timmins, Ontario. The February 2018 deaths...
December 17, 2019
Environment and Health
Canada’s National Observer – Repeated failure by government authorities to conduct a comprehensive baseline health study as recommended by the Alberta Cancer Board (supported by the province’s governing health authority, Alberta Health Services) in 2009. In Fort Chipewyan a community of roughly 1,200 people, the study found, you would expect to see 39 cases of...
November 9, 2019
Coroner investigating systemic racism at Thunder Bay Hospital
Toronto Star – A 19-year old First Nations man taken to the hospital by ambulance in obvious distress was escorted off the hospital property three hours later by security staff. Apparently, escorting Indigenous people who are seeking medical care off of hospital property is common practice. The would be patient ultimately committed suicide at a...
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...
July 22, 2017
Forced Sterilizations in Saskatoon hospitals
CBC – Indigenous women were coerced into having a tubal ligation in Saskatoon hospitals while still in labour. A class action lawsuit was initiated on October 5, 2017 by two affected women in the Saskatoon Health Region. Now about 60 women are part of the lawsuit. CBC – Nov. 18, 2018 – Authorities should very...
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