‘If I was Indigenous, I’d be furious,’ says counsellor

Mental health counsellors who provide therapy to residential school survivors and their families in the North are questioning why the federal government won’t any longer cover travel costs for both clients and service providers.

Indigenous Services Canada stopped reimbursing travel costs for both clients and service providers about four months ago, leaving survivors with gaps in crucial in-person counselling.

Raymond Pidzamecky, a counsellor with 42 years of experience, discussed with CKLB the impact for clients with the cutbacks to the Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program.

“I think most of them aren’t aware yet,” said Pidzamecky. “It’s going to be very difficult, especially for my Elders. I have translators involved. I have Elders that aren’t digitally savvy, or they don’t have the digital skills. A lot of clients don’t have data, Wi-Fi. So the first question they’re going to ask is what do I do? And I don’t have a complete answer for them.”

Pidzamecky highlighted the disproportionate impact on vulnerable communities, including high addiction rates and mental health crises exacerbated by COVID-19.

“When 70% of all communities are active in addictions, you don’t get any higher degree of vulnerability. The North is so different than other places in Canada that are close to large urban centers that have much more in the way of resources to provide support to people.”

He criticized the lack of consultation and collaboration with Indigenous communities and called for the GNWT and band councils to address the service gap.

“If I was Indigenous, I’d be furious. You didn’t even include my people. You didn’t include our Elders, our youth. You didn’t include the band councils, the chiefs. You made no attempt to do collaborative work. It’s almost dictatorial … and that’s a very colonial attitude.”

Monfwi MLA Jane Weyallon Armstrong highlighted the challenges of virtual and telephone counseling, emphasizing the need for in-person interactions.

“People living in isolation, especially the flying communities, it’s a trauma itself already,” she said. “There’s a lot of resources that are needed, especially with the technology, and many of the Elders they don’t have access. They rely on the younger people with the technology services, so I know it’s going to have a major impact on them because they’re not used to it.

“They’re not used to talking to somebody over the phone and or on the internet. I know a lot of them probably feel uncomfortable because Indigenous are … a lot of us are hands on, and we learn from hands on, and then they like to be face to face, talking about the situation.”

Weyallon Armstrong criticized Indigenous Services Canada for not consulting Indigenous leaders and not fulfilling the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s recommendations.

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“They have a duty to consult. They should have consulted us because this is part of the TRC report, Truth and Reconciliation, and it’s one of the actions that was put in there. And there’s a lot from the Truth and Reconciliation, that’s not being fulfilled. And this was one of them that’s really needed.”

“I don’t think there was any consultation.” Weyallon Armstrong said.

“I didn’t see anything! I didn’t hear anything from our leaders saying that this program would be interrupted.”

When asked if the GNWT might step in to address this gap in service, Weyallon Armstrong suggested the GNWT may need to step in to address the mental health crisis.

“Well, right now, we do need more mental-health workers. We do need more, we do need more services provided. So, it’s something that I guess that we will be discussing because the interruption for the program will really have an impact on GNWT providing the services as well.”

Stacie Arden Smith/Local Journalism Initiative/Native Communications Society