BMJ 2013;347:f6785 doi: 10.1136/bmj.f6785 (Published 11 November 2013)
Page 1 of 1
News
NEWS Canada must do more to tackle poorer health of indigenous people, says national chief Barbara Kermode-Scott Vancouver
The leader of Canada’s indigenous people has called on the government to eliminate the longstanding inequality in health between the general population and the First Nations (Indians, Métis, and Inuit).
Speaking on 7 November at the annual conference of Canada’s family doctors in Vancouver, Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo, the national chief to the Assembly of First Nations of Canada, said, “It is our shameful reality that simply being Aboriginal is a health determinant at this stage in Canada.” Healthcare for First Nations people continued to be a complex and diverse issue, said Atleo, a hereditary chief from the Ahousaht First Nation, adding that it was time to deal with jurisdictional divides in healthcare delivery.
Canada’s indigenous peoples were dealing with several serious problems in their communities, such as poverty, loss of cultural identity and language since colonisation, trauma stemming from residential school abuses, and high rates of youth suicide, incarceration, and substance misuse. “We know that our on-reserve federal health programs and services are not well coordinated,” said Atleo. “There are major funding gaps within the different funding components. The federal model for delivering health has created a siloed approach to the funding, making flexibility and adaptability to emerging issues near impossible. While we continue to work with our federal partners at Health Canada, First Nations people continue to suffer disproportionately, with poor health, both mentally and physically.” In October Canada commemorated the 250th anniversary of the proclamation of George III that redefined the crown’s relations with the First Nations or “Tribes of Indians” in Canada and recognised their rights to lands and protection. Atleo said that
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the anniversary marked an important moment in Canada’s history and was another important moment for Canadians, introducing an era of reconciliation and an opportunity to build a better future.
He told the conference, “We are in a moment that’s not characterised by one conference or one speech or by one week, one month, or one year. This moment is really a moment of reflection for the country, for First Nations as well, about the relationships that we have. It’s a moment to gain inspiration from our collective ancestors who forged the treaty at the time of the proclamation . . . Our leaders and citizens . . . are making a collective call for a coordinated and comprehensive approach to health programs, an approach that is respectful and inclusive, and grounded in our culture . . . We must find creative and innovative ways to work together.” On 6 November the College of Family Physicians of Canada released a “report card” expressing concern that the federal government had withdrawn money from Aboriginal organisations that provided vital support and data to Aboriginal health programmes.1
In September Bernice King, daughter of the US civil rights leader Martin Luther King, joined Atleo and 75 000 citizens in Vancouver in the first “reconciliation walk” to renew relations between First Nations and the rest of Canada. 1
College of Family Physicians of Canada. The role of the federal government in health care: report card 2013. Nov 2013. www.cfpc.ca/uploadedFiles/Health_Policy/_PDFs/ CFPC_FederalReportCard2013_EN.pdf.
Cite this as: BMJ 2013;347:f6785 © BMJ Publishing Group Ltd 2013
Subscribe: http://www.bmj.com/subscribe
Page 1 of 1
News
NEWS Canada must do more to tackle poorer health of indigenous people, says national chief Barbara Kermode-Scott Vancouver
The leader of Canada’s indigenous people has called on the government to eliminate the longstanding inequality in health between the general population and the First Nations (Indians, Métis, and Inuit).
Speaking on 7 November at the annual conference of Canada’s family doctors in Vancouver, Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo, the national chief to the Assembly of First Nations of Canada, said, “It is our shameful reality that simply being Aboriginal is a health determinant at this stage in Canada.” Healthcare for First Nations people continued to be a complex and diverse issue, said Atleo, a hereditary chief from the Ahousaht First Nation, adding that it was time to deal with jurisdictional divides in healthcare delivery.
Canada’s indigenous peoples were dealing with several serious problems in their communities, such as poverty, loss of cultural identity and language since colonisation, trauma stemming from residential school abuses, and high rates of youth suicide, incarceration, and substance misuse. “We know that our on-reserve federal health programs and services are not well coordinated,” said Atleo. “There are major funding gaps within the different funding components. The federal model for delivering health has created a siloed approach to the funding, making flexibility and adaptability to emerging issues near impossible. While we continue to work with our federal partners at Health Canada, First Nations people continue to suffer disproportionately, with poor health, both mentally and physically.” In October Canada commemorated the 250th anniversary of the proclamation of George III that redefined the crown’s relations with the First Nations or “Tribes of Indians” in Canada and recognised their rights to lands and protection. Atleo said that
For personal use only: See rights and reprints http://www.bmj.com/permissions
the anniversary marked an important moment in Canada’s history and was another important moment for Canadians, introducing an era of reconciliation and an opportunity to build a better future.
He told the conference, “We are in a moment that’s not characterised by one conference or one speech or by one week, one month, or one year. This moment is really a moment of reflection for the country, for First Nations as well, about the relationships that we have. It’s a moment to gain inspiration from our collective ancestors who forged the treaty at the time of the proclamation . . . Our leaders and citizens . . . are making a collective call for a coordinated and comprehensive approach to health programs, an approach that is respectful and inclusive, and grounded in our culture . . . We must find creative and innovative ways to work together.” On 6 November the College of Family Physicians of Canada released a “report card” expressing concern that the federal government had withdrawn money from Aboriginal organisations that provided vital support and data to Aboriginal health programmes.1
In September Bernice King, daughter of the US civil rights leader Martin Luther King, joined Atleo and 75 000 citizens in Vancouver in the first “reconciliation walk” to renew relations between First Nations and the rest of Canada. 1
College of Family Physicians of Canada. The role of the federal government in health care: report card 2013. Nov 2013. www.cfpc.ca/uploadedFiles/Health_Policy/_PDFs/ CFPC_FederalReportCard2013_EN.pdf.
Cite this as: BMJ 2013;347:f6785 © BMJ Publishing Group Ltd 2013
Subscribe: http://www.bmj.com/subscribe
