Racism, white supremacy ‘deeply rooted’ in NWT healthcare system

Racism and white supremacy are deeply rooted and require individuals to learn core concepts, unlearn colonial worldviews, and apply anti-racism skills. This includes reflecting on racist beliefs and attitudes that individuals may have unknowingly engaged in and challenging them.

– Honouring the Voices of Indigenous Peoples report

A barrier to improving the healthcare experience of Indigenous residents is “deeply rooted” racism and white supremacy among providers, says a report for policymakers.

Called “brave and unflinching” by Great Slave MLA Kate Reid in the Assembly today, the Honouring the Voices of Indigenous Peoples report, maintains that health care in the NWT has not been designed with the needs of Indigenous people in mind.

As a result, Indigenous people experience harm, poorer quality of care and in some circumstances, death. The lasting impacts of colonization and residential schools are significant and harmful social determinants of health.

They drive healthcare disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous residents of the NWT.

The report is the result of two-years’ work by the NWT’s Cultural Safety Design Collaborative, including the Indigenous Patient Advocates and health agencies.

In the Assembly on Monday, Great Slave MLA Kate Reid urged all residents to read the report.

“It shares the voices and experiences of indigenous patients and advocates, and lays bare the system supports for Indigenous patients are under resourced at best and at worst, that the system is blatantly racist,” she said.

“It is the first government report I have ever read that not only calls the lack of adequate educational and training supports for Indigenous patient liaison staff, preposterous.

“It is also brave and unflinching in how it describes racism and white supremacy baked into the health system and insists that government must expedite work on the actions for change, citing the responsibility of leadership to address long standing systemic harms.”

Reid said it’s imperative for the 13 actions for change in the report to be fully implemented.

Also in the Assembly on Monday, Mackenzie Delta MLA George Nerysoo cautioned about potential abuse of the Income Assistance program, with the territory’s economic picture changing.

With employment rates falling, officials need to make sure there aren’t employment opportunities available for assistance applicants.

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“As we all know, in smaller communities, income support is often abused,” he said, noting 92 more Income Assistance cases added to the rolls from May to June.

“It is easy for members of community to get access to these funds and avoid working. This is often what keeps bootleggers and drug dealers in business and contributes to the housing crisis.

“There needs to be more done about the process of (receiving) income support because it teaches our community members that this money is free and they don’t have to work.

“It is human right to have our basic needs met, but there needs to be a standard set for people who are able to find work instead of depending on these funds to make a living.”

There was also a bit of a theme on Monday, with several city MLAs complaint about deteriorating health-care services — especially when trying to access blood tests or just to be able to see a doctor in days, not weeks for months.

Yellowknife North MLA Shauna Morgan said: “So how is it possible that people’s access to primary care in so many of our communities has gotten worse over the past five years? I am tired of the explanation that health care across Canada is struggling and that we’re somehow powerless to stop this decline.”

She continued: “Not long ago, if you called for a primary care appointment in Yellowknife, you had a chance of someone answering the phone. You had a chance of getting an appointment rather than being told the schedule is full and to call back in two weeks.

“You didn’t have to line up outside at 7 am in the cold (outside a clinic) with your crutches or your sick children competing with all the other sick people as if you were in some kind of reality TV survival show.”