‘Deeply ashamed’: Canadian Medical Association apologizes for harms to Indigenous peoples

The organization representing Canada’s doctors has issued a formal apology for the harms the medical profession has caused Indigenous Peoples.

The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) made the apology Wednesday at a ceremony in Victoria, attended by representatives of First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples.

CMA president Dr. Joss Reimer said the organization was “deeply ashamed” for the “deplorable” racism, discrimination and physical and psychological harms Indigenous people have faced as a result of the actions and inactions of physicians both historically and today.

“To Indigenous Peoples living in Canada, we apologize to you, we are sorry, we are sorry we have lost your trust and the harms that you,  your ancestors, your families and your communities have experienced,” she said.

“We acknowledge there are ripple effects on future generations. We take ownership of the CMA’s history and we are committed to righting our wrongs and rebuilding our relationship on a foundation of trust, accountability and reciprocity.”

The said association conducted a review of its records regarding the treatment of Indigenous Peoples as a part of its commitment to reconciliation.

CMA board member and Mi’kmaw physician Dr. Paula Cashin said that research had revealed how the association contributed to systemically embedding and upholding anti-Indigenous racism in Canada.

Examples included the racially segregated “Indian hospital” system, where “Indigenous patients received substandard and unsafe care. Patients were subjected to abuse, experimental treatments and forced and coerced sterilization,” she said.

“Medical experimentation was conducted on Indigenous children in residential schools, including the effects of malnourishment and withholding necessary care,” Cashin said.

“Medical experimenting was conducted on indigenous adults, including studying the effects of nutritional interventions and testing experimental tuberculosis vaccines and treatments. We still do not know the full extent of medical experimentation in Indigenous children or adults.”

The group acknowledged medical providers were “responsible or complicit” in the abduction and adoption of Indigenous children in the “Sixties Scoop,” and apprehension practices that continue today.

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The association also acknowledged that physicians’ participation in systemic racism through the use of “outdated, racist terms,” and accepting “racist, colonial and paternalistic attitudes toward Indigenous Peoples.”

It said many Indigenous people have suffered mistreatment and lack of care, leading to ongoing health issues and death in the present day.

Jimmy Durocher, a Métis elder and former president of the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan, said the CMA’s apology and acknowledgement of historical wrongs was a crucial first step to real reconciliation.

“The legacy of colonization has left scars on our people that can be seen to this day. Although Canadians believe healthcare is a fundamental human right, Indigenous peoples have consistently been met with routine discrimination at the hands of medical professionals in Canada. That is a truth. We have to have truth before we can have reconciliation,” he said.

“It’s going to take a long time because there was a lot of damage and harm done to our people.”

CMA past president Dr. Alika Lafontaine, who was the first Indigenous person to lead the organization in its 157-year history, said the path forward will require work from both the CMA and Indigenous communities and “bridge builders” between them.

“If it is carried only by one side, Indigenous peoples advocating for attention and action to change unjust an inequitable behaviours, policy or legislation or non-Indigenous peoples trying their best to do the same, one side will eventually break,” he said.

The association said going forward it will review its foundational Code of Ethics and Professionalism to target racism and discrimination, and support efforts to increase the recruitment and retention of Indigenous doctors.

It is also pledging to track physicians’ progress in addressing harms, including providing regular updates about its Indigenous health initiatives.

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