First Nations leaders welcome Quebec nurses’ admission about racism in health system

“It’s important to recognize the systemic racism against First Nations and Inuit people within the health and social services network in order to put in place structuring actions to promote a more equal and more fair relationship between these communities and the nurses,” Mathieu said in the statement.

Echaquan’s death led to a coroner’s inquest that ended in early June, during which Atikamekw leaders and Echaquan’s family repeatedly implored the Quebec government to recognize that Indigenous patients have been systemically denied the same kinds of health-care treatment afforded to non-Indigenous people. Premier François Legault and his cabinet ministers have recognized racism exists in the province but have rejected that it’s “systemic.”

Picard said the order’s statement was surprising because some of the nurses and other hospital staff who testified at the coroner’s inquest had been hesitant to describe Echaquan’s treatment as racist.

“Even after everything they have been through during the pandemic, they are now capable of recognizing that the health-care system is not up to the level it should be when it comes to offering a service to Indigenous people,” Picard said.

The next step, Picard added, is for the order to officially adopt Joyce’s Principle, which is a set of measures drafted by the Atikamekw community to ensure equitable access to health care for Indigenous patients. “Between an official declaration and adopting the principle, there is a gap,” Picard said. “Joyce’s Principle forces people to commit toward working and changing.”

Sipi Flamand, vice-chief of Manawan, Que., Echaquan’s Atikamekw community located about 250 kilometres north of Montreal, helped to draft Joyce’s Principle. For him, the order’s acknowledgment is a clear step toward reconciliation.

“This is not a political game, but a recognition based on real experiences from people in the field,” Flamand said in an interview Thursday. “Those people are at the heart of our health-care system, the ones working in it every day recognize systemic racism.

“Now, we need the government to do the same.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 15, 2021.

Virginie Ann, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

First Nations leaders welcome Quebec nurses’ admission about racism in health system

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