Aboriginal Peoples' Roundtable Report
In Ottawa, the Minister of State met approximately 12 leaders from the
First Nations, Inuit and Urban Aboriginal Communities.
They advised the Minister to consider the following factors in building
a Public Health Agency of Canada :
1. Regarding a Mandate for a Public Health Agency
- The Agency has to embrace the Federal government's fiduciary responsibility
to First Nations:
- Operationally, this means the Agency must closely collaborate
with Aboriginal Peoples within a strong bilateral relationship
between First Nations and the Federal government; and,
- The Agency also has to take care to manage relations with
provinces and territories in a way that recognizes and respects
First Nations and Inuit priorities.
2. Regarding Operational Strategies for a Public Health Agency
An Agency should consider:
- The need to avoid a "melting pot" approach to Aboriginal issues,
which might disregard distinctions between Aboriginal peoples:
- Agency needs to be sensitive to cultural differences in public
health -- which mean that some approaches can seem foreign or
counter-cultural.
- The importance of engaging Aboriginal women as leaders in community
public health issues. Aboriginal women should be consulted on the formation
of good models of health delivery;
- Strategies to address the public health issues of Aboriginal people
who live off-reserve;
- Future collaboration with Aboriginal people should include other
Aboriginal organizations such as the:
- National Association of Friendship Centres; and,
- National Aboriginal Health Organization.
- Collaboration should focus on best practices/experimentation in
health care/public health models.
3. Investments
Participants urged an Agency to focus on the following priority
investments:
- The need for training nurses and public health professionals to
serve northern and remote communities - particularly Inuit who would
like to become nurses;
- The need for cross-cultural training for nurses who are often unable
to take such training because of the demands of their work;
- The need for investments in capacity so that First Nations communities
are better able to respond to outbreaks of infectious disease; and,
- The need for support to address public health crises in many communities,
including mould in housing and potable drinking water.
4. Public Health Issues
Participants also raised concerns about specific public health
issues:
- Inuit need help facing particular public health concerns, relating
to:
- Lower life expectancy;
- Mental health;
- Tuberculosis; and
- The challenges of keeping health care providers, such as nurses,
in the communities.
- First Nations communities need help addressing problems such as:
- Prevalence of diabetes among First Nations; and
- High rate of suicide in communities, such as those in northern
Ontario.