The Canadian Medical Association apologized to Indigenous peoples for historical harms caused by the healthcare system during a September 18 ceremony in Victoria, BC.
The CMA recognized the destructive impacts of Indian hospitals, medical experiments, child apprehension, forced sterilization, racism and abuse in the Canadian medical system.
“To Indigenous Peoples living in Canada, we apologize to you,” said CMA President Joss Reimer. “We are sorry. We are sorry we have lost your trust and for the harm you, your ancestors, your families and your communities have experienced. We acknowledge there are ripple effects on future generations.”
Dr. Reimer highlighted ongoing problems before about 200 guests, including local and national Indigenous leaders, physicians and Indigenous survivors.
“This is an opportunity to really reinforce the messages that Indigenous people are sharing about what their experienced,” she told the Nation. “And then also to put a point in the history where we are committed to a different path.”
The organizers presented Unforgotten: Sonny MacDonald’s Story, a short film about a seven-year-old boy who was taken from his community to receive treatment for tuberculosis. He was incarcerated in the hospital for two-and-a-half years, enduring isolation, child abuse and torture.
Reimer said the Historical and Ethical Review Report, posted by the CMA on its website, describes systemic discrimination, social and economic inequities experienced by Indigenous people within healthcare services.
“Some of them were in our archives, some of them came from the conversations we had with community members, Elders and knowledge keepers,” she said.
In her opinion, harm due to systemic racism is still ongoing. “Systems were built to benefit some people over others, but the CMA wants to be a part of the best future where we work with Indigenous peoples, where we provide the health care they need.”
The CMA is reopening its professional code of ethics, improving hiring practices, said Reimer.
“There is something we need to do in partnership with our Indigenous guiding circle, with local and national Indigenous leaders, with Elders and knowledge keepers,” Reimer said.
The ceremony included a speech from Dr. Alika Lafontaine, a physician of Cree and Anishinaabe ancestry, the first Indigenous president in the association’s 155-year history.
“Today the CMA is taking an important step in its reconciliation journey with Indigenous peoples,” Lafontaine said in his speech. “After years of internal work, the CMA is sharing and owning its history.”
Since the ceremony Lafontaine has received feedback that falls into two categories.
“Positive feedback was that this actually happened,” he told the Nation. “Apology is just a step, it is not a solution to the problem, but is a necessary part in solving some types of problems, and the other part was asking what has actually been done?”
There are some projects where there is an opportunity for the CMA to address the harm caused to Indigenous people, and others where the CMA can support groups and organizations across the country looking for ethics and professionalism, Lafontaine explained.
“This apology is an important step in resolving issues and moving forward and being focused on the changing in attitudes towards Indigenous people,” he said.
Marlene Hale, human rights activist and a filmmaker from the Wet’suwet’en Nation, is leading the research for a full-length documentary about systemic injustice in Canada, where one of the five themes is crisis in the healthcare system.
One of her film’s stories highlights the death of Joyce Echaquan, the Atikamekw woman who died four years ago in the Joliette hospital after enduring racist remarks from medical staff.
In 2020 Joyce’s Principle was proposed “to guarantee to all Indigenous people the right of equitable access, without any discrimination, to all social and health services.” However, Hale said, “Access to healthcare is an ongoing crisis for Indigenous communities.”
In her opinion, this apology must be followed by action, including more funds to treatment centres, investing in underserved communities, and ensuring that marginalized populations receive equitable care.
“This is so close to September 30, when we mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation,” Hale said. “And this is where the government has to step in and really show Indigenous people that they are doing reconciliation.”
Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) President Lynn Murphy-Kaulbeck attended the apology ceremony and agrees “that you cannot do apology without action.”
In particular, Dr. Murphy-Kaulbeck identified the practice of forced sterilization. The SOGC reaffirmed in its statement that “coercive sterilization procedures are unethical and should never be performed.”
“We need to meet with our Indigenous partners” Murphy-Kaulbeck emphasized, “and say we must prevent this from ever happening again.”
Physicians need to learn cultural specifics from Indigenous groups, she added. “There needs to be a dialogue. We need to sit down and listen – not telling but listening – to give the type of care that Indigenous people deserve.”