Leaders of four remote Manitoba First Nations are calling on provincial and federal governments to do more to ensure equal access to health care and social services to address rising mental health and addiction problems.
Chiefs of Island Lake First Nations held a press conference Wednesday with the Manitoba Assembly of Chiefs, Assembly of First Nations and Keewatinook MLA Ian Bushie (NDP) to call for more crisis and long-term care options , including a hospital, in the communities of Garden Hill, St. Theresa Point, Wasagamack, and Red Sucker Lake.
“Everyone in the Island Lake community and leadership is trying daily to help people who are suffering so much that the risk of suicide is a constant threat,” Scott Harper, Grand Chief of Island Lake Anishininew Okimawin, said at the conference. of press.
“Canada must provide the Island Lake First Nations with substantive equality in health and social services that other Canadians have.”
He called on both levels of government to provide more immediate support in the event of a crisis and long-term investments, including the construction of an addiction treatment center and a hospital to serve the approximately 18,000 people who live in the four communities. .
“An urgent strategy is needed to address the traumatic intergenerational effects of colonization, combined with decades of insufficient resources and funding, which have created a pandemic of suffering,” he said.
The calls come as Red Sucker Lake mourns the loss of two people suicide and 17 attempts in the last months. One of those who died was a 16-year-old boy who was found in a playground.
The arrival community, located about 530 kilometers northwest of Winnipeg, has been under a state of emergency for two weeks.
Red Sucker Lake Chief Samuel Knott said there is an urgent need for more youth programs in the community, in addition to a variety of addiction and other basic care options.
Most people don’t even have clean drinking water and sewage in their homes, he said.
“Chaos, mental health issues, food security, inadequate housing have families in our First Nation in Third World conditions and don’t make the word ‘hope’ something Red Sucker Lake First Nation would even say” Knott said.
“Government mistrust, empty promises, false hopes, broken treaties have us worried, cornered with the lack of support and funding needed to keep up with the rest of society.”
Garden Hill Chief Charles Knott also said drugs, alcohol and a lack of things to do are contributing to challenges that could be addressed with the right supports and stronger local health care.
“A couple of years ago, it wasn’t like that, but today these new drugs that have come into our community are taking over,” he said. “We need help because our young people are suffering. They have nothing to do.”
There are four nurses working in her community of about 4,000 people, and that needs to change, she said.
His community also needs support for its local policing program, which he said is currently not funded by the government.
“This is where we need the most help to police our communities,” he said.
St. Theresa Point Chief Elvin Flett said the current system of transporting sick people to Winnipeg is not working and is costing the government more in the long run.
When the NDP was in government, it supported a proposal to build a local hospital, but that provincial support disappeared once the Progressive Conservatives voted, he said.
“I am very disappointed that the PCs have not stepped up to address the kind of needs that we have in our region,” he said. “Why do governments ignore the cry?”
AMC big boss Cathy Merrick suggested that Manitoba is leaving the problem in the hands of the federal government and “forgetting the more than 18,000” residents of Island Lake.
AFN Regional Chief Cindy Woodhouse said Island Lake communities need access to the same care that is provided to Canadians who do not live in remote areas.
“Eighteen thousand people without a hospital, that would never fly anywhere in Canada,” Woodhouse said.
Garrison Settee, Grand Chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, who represents Northern First Nations, said limited services and barriers to care in remote regions are linked to a history of colonialism.
“The system has perpetuated legislation and policies that are racist in nature, and they have to admit it,” he said.
“If we want to talk about reconciliation, let’s get rid of the racism in the system. It’s harming our people, it’s killing our people, and we need to stop it.”
Manitoba Mental Health Minister Sarah Guillemard said the province is willing to work with the federal government to find some long-term solutions to the problems raised by First Nations leaders.
“We’re happy to join the federal government in those discussions to look at ways that we can help support communities, especially in rural and northern regions where these struggles are really taking hold,” Guillemard said at a separate news conference.
She said an outreach team from the Manitoba Adolescent Treatment Center has been in contact with Red Sucker Lake and plans to visit the community to offer support.
Funds from the province’s 2022 budget will go towards a new health care facility to serve the north, a government spokesman said later in a statement.
Indian Services Canada provides nurses and funds for community-based health programs, as well as transportation to Winnipeg for insured services. The department said it continues to support the Four Arrows Regional Health Authority, which serves the Island Lake communities, in its effort to expand provincially insured health services.
“We recognize that there is more work to be done to close the gap in access to quality health care between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples in Canada,” said Randy Legault-Rankin, a department spokesman.
Officials from Indigenous Services Canada met with the community last month and will continue to provide support, Legault-Rankin said.
The department plans to increase its counseling services in the community by sending a therapist to Red Sucker Lake for a total of 10 days this month instead of eight, it said in a statement.
Leaders from four remote Manitoba First Nations are asking for help. Two people have died by suicide and 17 others have attempted it in the last two months in northern Manitoba. Grand Chief Scott Harper says the community needs a hospital to support the 18,000 people who live in the area and better mental health supports.
If you or someone you know is struggling, here’s where you can get help:
Anyone in need of help can contact the Hope for Wellness Helpline, which provides free, immediate emotional support via phone and online chat, and crisis intervention for all of Canada’s Indigenous Peoples.
It is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in English and French, and upon request in Cree, Ojibway, and Inuktitut.
Call the toll-free helpline at 1-855-242-3310 or connect to online chat at hopeforwellbeing.ca.
Other available resources include:
