Cree voters will choose between incumbent Bertie Wapachee and challengers George L. Diamond, Jeannie Pelletier, Sherry Ann Spencer and Emma Virginia Wabano in the election for the office of the Cree Board of Health and Social Services of James Bay (CBHSSJB) chairperson to be held on November 12.
Due to some miscommunication and timing differences between our publication schedule and election announcements, The Nation was initially only aware of the two male candidates. We intend to add to this story as we receive responses from the other three candidates and apologize for this inconvenience.
George L. Diamond
With the Cree Health Board since 2000, Diamond is currently working in violence prevention after previously managing an injury prevention program and spending 14 years with the CBHSSJB employees’ union.
“It’s all about the prevention of diseases and the promotion of healthy lifestyles,” said Diamond. “It seems prevention education happens when we have an unfortunate incident. I would like to see more consistency with a special emphasis on educating the youth. I don’t know if we have a health class in our schools, but we should.”
Diamond insists that we should never normalize violence, emphasizing to our children that it’s unacceptable. “Violence is a learned behaviour – we have the ability to unlearn it,” Diamond said, adding that communities have the resources to address this behaviour.
Diamond advocates creating safer communities and empowering local health units, transforming them into community educators. He said an epidemic of mental illness is increasingly impacting younger people, thus the importance of suicide-prevention measures.
“I want to see young people go on land-based programming, a good place to heal yourself away from all the distractions in our communities,” said Diamond. “I’m a firm believer in our traditional medicines. It shouldn’t be second to western medicine – in some cases it’s better.”
Diamond said more opportunity should be given to Cree traditional healers, asserting the right to freedom of religion. He wants more health services in communities and to address the “systemic discrimination” of patients needing to travel south. He believes Cree people have longer wait times down south and even some Cree communities have unequal access to health services.
“Sometimes they’re told they have to travel the day before the appointment, so some don’t have money and right away they have additional stress,” suggested Diamond. “I’m thankful for the work of Bella Petawabano in bringing birthing back to Eeyou Istchee – Cree midwifery is a big success story.”
He’d like to see Cree parenting skills integrated into youth protection training and address the rise of homelessness by discussing potential solutions with those impacted, learning why they left their communities in the first place.
Strengthening connections across CBHSSJB departments, Diamond proposes each unit put all their problems on the table to work together towards solutions. He wants to explore having local general assemblies to encourage input from community members and ideally have each community’s board of directors elected at the same time so they can work together for four years.
Encouraging youth to pursue healthcare professions, he questioned why the project to translate health services into the Cree language seemed to stop. Compared to the Cree School Board, Diamond thinks the number of Cree health workers is far too low.
“Imagine if there was a doctor talking to you in Cree?” remarked Diamond. “I tell my grandchildren, your grandchildren are going to be doctors, dentists, psychologists – all the medical professionals will be taken by Cree. That should be the goal, that everyone has their own Cree family doctor.”
Bertie Wapachee
Elected CBHSSJB chairperson at the height of the Covid pandemic in 2020, Wapachee’s initial priorities were to ensure stability. Having previously served as chairperson from 1999 to 2003, Wapachee said he was able to quickly adapt to the role.
“Many projects were delayed,” Wapachee explained. “As soon as we could open things up, forest fires happened. Quebec’s [proposed health legislation] Bill 15 has been another challenge. We proposed an extended seven-year health agreement because we had close to $2 billion in projects pending.”
Wapachee met with Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé earlier this year, who committed to a legislative review to modernize the Cree healthcare act, Chapter S-5, which it’s operated under since 1971. Wapachee said the process is about half finished.
The CBHSSJB wants greater responsibility and flexibility to achieve its vision, reflecting Cree identity, language, culture and values. It proposes adopting Eeyou Miyupimaatisiiun and Nishiiyuu healing methods, adapting Cree Youth Protection and changing working conditions and training to reflect a Cree hiring priority.
“We’ve promoted during my term land-based retreats and programs,” said Wapachee. “We purchased a large outfitting camp in the centre of Eeyou Istchee called Mirage. I call it our place where we deal with our trauma, a big issue that we haven’t done enough to make a dent.”
Wapachee was initially inspired to run for chairperson to break cycles of alcoholism, drug addiction and sexual abuse. While empowering communities to address these complex issues, Wapachee acknowledged that as long as there are users there will always be dealers.
“We’ve done our best to break not just the cycles but also the silos,” explained Wapachee. “One of the biggest challenges we’ve seen is the violence that comes with alcohol and drug addiction. We’re at the point of implementing harm reduction programs. The only way to resolve these issues is to work together.”
Advocating for “shared responsibility” through expanded partnerships with communities, the Cree Nation Government and the Cree School Board, the CBHSSJB signed a social solidarity agreement last year to support Community Miyupimaatisiiun Committees mandated to identify and address grassroots-level health and social priorities.
Although the pandemic delayed progress, the Chisasibi regional hospital is expected to open in mid-2029. Construction has started for a birthing home in Waskaganish and an Elders’ home in Chisasibi, with two other 32-bed facilities to be built in Waskaganish and Mistissini.
Eager for dialysis patients to come home, work was accelerated on the Waskaganish clinic, which will replace the Home Dialysis Training Centre and Respiratory Clinic when it’s completed in 2026. With diabetes continuing to increase, Wapachee said they have no choice but to expand prevention measures.
“We’re working towards a new partnership with youth to get into prevention programs,” Wapachee shared. “There’s plenty of partnerships still on the way. Our goal is to continue becoming one of the most progressive Indigenous health and social services organizations in the world.”
by Patrick Quinn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter