Good afternoon.
On behalf of the 30 first nations and 62,000 citizens of northern Manitoba represented by MKO, I thank you for the opportunity to take part in your expert panel on H1N1 preparedness and response of aboriginal and Inuit communities to the H1N1 virus.
I wish to point out an alarming trend that occurred within our region during the first wave of the current H1N1 pandemic. According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, on July 15 there were 151 first nations laboratory-confirmed cases nationwide, and 139 first nations laboratory-confirmed cases were from Manitoba. According to Manitoba Health, on the same date, 125 first nations laboratory-confirmed cases were from northern Manitoba, or the MKO region. As of August 6, 2009, there were 133 laboratory-confirmed cases from our region of northern Manitoba, and there were two recorded deaths, with one questionable death involving the loss of a child to a pregnant mother who was confirmed with H1N1. The severity of the H1N1 impact in the MKO region is illustrated by known statistics.
The alarming trend in our region is in fact a “cluster”, as defined by the World Health Organization. This cluster should have alerted First Nations and Inuit Health Branch and Public Health Agency of Canada to the severity of our situation, and these organizations should have been prompted to respond according to the mandate of the National Office of Health Emergency Response Teams, whose goal is “to train and certify Health Emergency Response Teams across the country, and to ensure that they are ready to be deployed on a 24-hour basis to assist provincial, territorial or other local authorities”—our emphasis—“in providing emergency medical care during a major disaster.”
We are concerned that our first nations are being left out of the scope of the emergency response protocol of the Public Health Agency of Canada, since there has been no reaction from them to date in the MKO region, other than in the Island Lake region in response to political pressure, despite a similarly high incidence of H1N1 in other communities.
Funding and human resource response levels to date provided by First Nations and Inuit Health on pandemic preparedness have proven wholly inadequate, with unrealistic expectations. Since 2007, MKO has received $375,000 for consultation and training with our first nations in pandemic preparedness. The three tribal councils represented within our organization received a total of $72,000 for pandemic preparedness. Our first nations have received nothing.
When one considers the vast geographic area to be covered in the provision of consultation and, most recently, planning assistance to our first nations, the human resources that can be dedicated under such limited funding regimes leaves the coordination, planning, and implementation of community pandemic response plans and related training out of our grasp. The MKO region covers two-thirds of the province of Manitoba, with 16 of our first nations accessible by air only. In short, the federal government has not prepared to respond to the current pandemic as it concerns our citizens.
It is inconceivable to complete the first-nation-specific community pandemic response plans with no new local funding available and sporadic regional funding for tribal councils and MKO and the unrealistic timeframe of two months, as First Nations and Inuit Health publicly stated on May 29, 2009. In comparison, the Burntwood Regional Health Authority, funded by the Province of Manitoba, received in excess of $60 million per annum and continues to develop its pandemic plan.
To further highlight First Nations and Inuit Health's lack of preparation, the Manitoba regional director general issued a letter on June 17, 2009, advising first nations that an arrangement may be negotiated to divert program resources, as an interim measure, to address influenza outbreaks. This is ridiculous, as it asks first nations to defer desperately needed programs to support presently unfunded pandemic planning. There is no long-term strategy at this time. MKO had to divert its funding from the aboriginal health transitions fund adaptation envelope to help communities respond, through education, awareness, planning support, research, media analysis, and policy development.
MKO employees have met with the regional health authorities—the Burntwood, Nor-Man, and Parkland authorities—to determine their response to first nations' pandemic planning and preparedness needs. To date, only the Churchill Regional Health Authority has produced and shared a pandemic response plan with MKO. Others have done internal planning, but generally have not involved first nations directly, except when political pressure is applied. MKO trained incident managers from each of our 30 first nations on June 22 to June 25.
There are no first nations community pandemic plans that have been tested. Only two first nations out of the 30 have completed their community pandemic plans.
Several of the incident managers who were trained have quit functioning due to the complexity and magnitude of the tasks involved, with all of them citing the fact that the role of incident manager is a voluntary position, as funding is not available for it from existing programs and services.
A dedicated human resource response is required, where all of the agencies involved collaborate with first nations on a community-by-community basis. This, together with a long-term funding commitment for local health emergency planning and preparedness, is needed immediately to ensure that pandemic plans are not only completed but are also thorough and comprehensive. Right now, communities are overwhelmed and don't have the support they need to at least feel prepared.
MKO has submitted a modest proposal to the Minister of Health, geared to the planning and preparation for health emergencies. Separate contingency funds should exist to be released to cover the implementation costs of actually responding to health emergencies. The proposal to the Minister of Health is only for the immediate needs to combat H1N1, apart from the long-term needs for adequate housing, safe drinking water, and access to quality health programs and services.
This expected funding will allow first nations to develop comprehensive community pandemic and health emergency plans. MKO and the tribal councils will be able to assist community pandemic planning coordinators with research and policy analysis, as well as education and awareness, in developing their plans and preparing their communities for implementation. MKO will also have the capacity to create regional plans and conduct policy research and analysis on regional, provincial, and national levels. We maintain at MKO that health is a treaty right.
Clearly, a new and more in-depth approach is required, one that brings together all levels of government in full partnership with first nations governments to ensure that the health and well-being of our citizens is maintained and enhanced through proper planning and investment in the determinants of health, and readiness to respond to any and all threats to the lives of first nations people.
MKO, on behalf of the 30 first nations and the 62,000 citizens we represent, is requesting that the Standing Committee on Health use its influence in Parliament to ensure that first nations receive adequate funding, necessary supplies, and essential services that should be available during an international crisis of this magnitude. Given our social and health conditions, MKO first nations require the necessary resources to adequately prepare and respond to this immediate threat, as well as future threats.
Thank you.