The Safety and Health Divides: Concerns of Canadian's First - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

The Safety and Health Divides: Concerns of Canadian's First Nations' Women and Children

Michael W . Young Ph. D. April 10, 2015

Background on Canadian native Issues

In Canada, there are three major Aboriginal groups: The First Nations – officially 618 communities like the Cree, Mohawk, Birdtail Sioux, and many more The Metis – descendants of both aboriginal and European ancestors, mainly French Catholic The Inuit – who have had a home province in Nunavut since 1999 The Federal Government has an Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Department https://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/

Current Map

LEGEND Other populated places National capital Provincial or Territorial capital

Prince Edward Island

Ontario

Nova Scotia New Brunswick

N e w f

• u

nd l a nd a n d L ab r a d

• r

N u n a v u t

Manitoba

S a s k a tc h e w a n

Alberta

Yukon

British Columbia

Northwest Territories

( Denm ark)

Alaska

( USA)

U ni t ed S t a t e s

• f

A m e r i c a

Saint-Pierre et Miquelon (France)

A t l a n t i c O c e a n P a ci f i c

Baffin Island Hu dson Bay

Quebec

Beaufort Sea

Vict oria I sland Labr ador Sea

Lake Superior Great Bear Lake Great Slave Lake M a c k e n z ie L Winnipeg Davis Strait

Banks I

R ive r Ungava Bay James Bay F r a s e r R i v e r L a G r a n d e R i v i è r e Baffin Bay

O ce a n A t l a n t i c O c e a n

C A N A D A

Ottaw a

Toronto Québec St John’s Charlottetow n I qaluit W innipeg Regina Edm onton Victoria Yellow knife A r ct i c C ir c l e Vancouver K a m l

• p

s Calgary Churchill Thunder Bay Inuvik Resolute Montréal Kuujjuaq Nain F r e d e r i c t

• n

W h it e h or se A r c t ic C ir c l e H a l i f a x Dawson Baker Lake Fort Nelson Saskatoon Sept -Îles Sandy Lake Fort McMurray Churchill Falls Gjoa Haven Prince George

Health Care Controversies for the Aboriginal peoples

• First Peoples, Second Class Treatment
• A study released in Feb. 2015 by the Wellesley Institute
• The study says well-documented disparities in

aboriginal and non-aboriginal health are rooted in colonial government policies, such as segregation and Indian residential schools.

• The study suggests aboriginal people experience racism

from health-care workers so frequently that they often strategize on how to deal with it before visiting emergency departments, or avoid care altogether.

Special Concerns for the Children

• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

states: "Everyone has the right to a standard

• f living adequate for the health of himself

and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services” I have realized that in Canada these rights are upheld only if you are non-indigenous in Canada. Today, in our land of plenty, indigenous children suffer malnutrition and many are actually

• starving. Hundreds of indigenous communities

lack clean water and adequate housing. Indigenous children receive less funding for education per child than their non-indigenous counterparts. Many indigenous women and girls don’t live in

• safety. - column posted by the CBC.ca
• Dr. Anna Banerji is the Director of Global and

Indigenous Health, for Continuing Professional Development, for the Faculty of Medicine, University

• f Toronto
• Photo – the Aggark children who live 12 a two

bedroom house

Stress on the Inuit & First Nations

• The last Inuit Health Survey

found seven out of every 10 Inuit households in Nunavut are food insecure. That means they lack access to nutritious, affordable foods — despite government subsidies and programs to confront hunger.

• This is a new medical

textbook for these communities, to fill a gap in the health care curriculum, published just this year.

RCMP Report

Released in May 2014

RCMP's National Operational Overview

• n Missing and Murdered Aboriginal

Women “The report found that aboriginal women account for 4.3 per cent of the

• verall Canadian female population

yet account for 16 per cent of female homicides and 11.3 per cent of the cases of missing women”- CBC News 1,181 murders and missing person cases in three decades RCMP's National Operational Overview

• n Missing and Murdered Aboriginal

Women “The report found that aboriginal women account for 4.3 per cent of the

• verall Canadian female population

yet account for 16 per cent of female homicides and 11.3 per cent of the cases of missing women”- CBC News 1,181 murders and missing person cases in three decades

Putting a Young Face to the Story

• Tina Fontaine, a Sagkeeng
• 15 year old runaway taken

into custody by Children and Foster Services in Winnipeg, Manitoba

• Found murdered in the Red

River days later

• Similar to Winnipeg cases
• f 16 year olds Felicia

Osborne and Rinelle Harper (who survived an attack)

Charges of Indifference

• National leaders, including Prime Minister Steven

Harper (from the Conservative Party), resisting calls for more investigations of these open murder and missing cases

• “Tina must not disappear into the oblivion of

statistics”, Acting Chief Commissioner of Canadian Human Rights Commission Davis Langtry

• “The murder of Tina Fontaine is a national tragedy”,

Niki Ashton, member of Parliament (from the New Democrats)

Thank You for your Time