APTN – The existence of systemic racism in the way Joyce Echaquan was treated in a Quebec hospital is undeniable, coroner Gehane Kamel said Tuesday, a few days after releasing her report on the Atikamekw mother’s controversial death. Kamel recommended the government recognize the existence of systemic racism and make a commitment to root it out of institutions.

“It is unacceptable that large sections of our society deny such a well-documented reality.” When asked if the mother of seven would still be alive if she were a white woman, Kamel replied: “I think so.” But despite the coroner’s recommendation, the Legault government has steadfastly denied systemic racism exists in the province. In a press melee held Tuesday – at the same time as the Echaquan family’s press conference – Legault doubled down on his denial of Quebec’s systemic issues. “Yes, there is some racism in Quebec – but less than many other places,” Legault told reporters. “The only place where I don’t agree is when we say that there’s a ‘system.’ Because for me, a system is coming from upstairs, coming from the top people – and I don’t see this in the health care system.”

One of her recommendatons to the Québec government was “to recognize the existence of systemic racism within our institutions and make a commitment to contribute to its elimination”.

Other Recommendations:

For the Quebec government

• Recognize the existence of systemic racism within our institutions and make a commitment to contribute to its elimination.

For the regional health authority that governs the hospital in Joliette, Que., where Echaquan died

• Ensure the effective integration of the Atikamekw liaison officer into the hospital, in particular by involving them with care teams.
• Ensure notes in medical files reflect the reality of how patients are being cared for.
• Review the nurses-to-orderlies ratio based on standards recognized at the provincial level in order to provide safe services to the population.
• Maintain periodic training on the establishment’s code of ethics, restraint measures, the monitoring of patients following a fall, and record management.
• Quickly set up training and activities for the inclusion of Indigenous culture that is coordinated with the community of Manawan.
• Improve the nurse/nursing assistant model and ensure that each has a clear understanding of their roles.

For the College des medecins du Quebec, the province’s order of physicians

• Review the quality of the medical care given by the doctor responsible for family medicine and by the medical resident in gastroenterology to Ms. Echaquan during her hospitalization in September 2020.
  For the Ordre des infirmieres et infirmiers du Quebec, the province’s nurses order
• Examine the quality of care of nurses’ services provided to Ms. Echaquan during her hospitalization.
• Review the integration practices of college-level nursing candidates in emergency departments across hospitals in the province.
• Include in the school curriculum training on the care of Indigenous patients that takes into consideration the realities of Indigenous communities.
• Establish with Indigenous communities a greater offer of internships for both nurses and medical residents.
  Quebec’s Human Rights Commission condemned the “systemic discrimination suffered by Indigenous Peoples, particularly in the health sector.” Echaquan’s death, president Philippe-André Tessier said in a statement, serves as a “tragic reminder of this reality and of the need for concerted and sustained action to address it.”

The Grand Chief of the Atikamekw Nation Council, Constant Awashish, called on the government to act swiftly and implement the recommendations put forward by the Viens commission.