CBC News. (2016, August 15). Racism in health care is 'a real thing,' says Indigenous physician | CBC News. Retrieved July 3, 2019, from. The president of the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada says racism in health care can have 'very real and sometimes negative' consequences. Recently, an Inuvialuit woman from Aklavik, N.W.T., said her uncle died from the effects of a stroke after health care staff mistook the signs of the stroke for drunkenness. Inuvialuit woman says uncle's stroke mistaken for drunkenness Dr. Alika Lafontaine, an anesthesiologist in northern Alberta and the president of the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada, spoke with Lawrence Nayally of CBC Radio's Trail's End about the racism and discrimination Indigenous people face in Canada's health care system.
The following interview has been edited and condensed. Q. Q. I think what we do know about bias is that it is implicit in the way we care for patients. Q. I think in speaking with patients, you hear the racism being expressed in a variety of ways. Q. I think we're definitely more aware of what's going on. Q. CBC News. (2017, October 25). Health Canada knew it was failing First Nation children: Docs | CBC News. Retrieved July 3, 2019, from. Health Canada officials were sent scrambling after a landmark human rights ruling last year that found the federal government discriminated against First Nation children by underfunding services for First Nation children, according to internal correspondence provided to CBC News. The Health Canada documents reveal the department knew it faced serious shortfalls in the level of health services provided to First Nations children and was unprepared to implement changes prescribed by the human rights ruling.
The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruled in January 2016 that Ottawa discriminated against First Nation children by underfunding on-reserve child welfare services and by failing to apply Jordan's Principle, which places the needs of First Nations children ahead of jurisdictional disputes between governments. The correspondence said Health Canada wasn't equipped to assess children with special needs, and faced gaps in mental health services and health support for children in care. Richmond, C.A.M., & Cook, C. (2016). Creating conditions for Canadian aboriginal health equity: The promise of public health policy. Public Health Reviews, 37. doi: 10.1186/s40985-016-0016-5.