Thank you, Madam Chair.
I want to thank the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health for the invitation to appear once again before this committee to discuss our H1N1 preparedness and our response in Manitoba and to provide an update to our last visit to this committee.
As I stated in August, the Manitoba first nations are affected by the H1N1 virus disproportionately in comparison to the general public. In our initial analysis of the first wave, we identified a host of contributing factors, including overcrowded living conditions, poverty, lack of access to medical supplies and services, conflicting information, and a lack of access to running water, which all combine to make an ideal breeding ground for H1N1.
In the interest of time, I will outline our priorities and accomplishments in beating back this flu.
In June, under the direction of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs executive council, I requested all Manitoba first nations to declare a state of emergency on the H1N1 pandemic in order to hold the federal government responsible and accountable to fulfill their fiduciary responsibility towards first nations.
The Manitoba first nations set out the building blocks for the Manitoba first nations incident command system to respond to emergencies. We initiated an aggressive educational campaign where we printed and distributed H1N1 posters to approximately 16,500 first nations homes and businesses in Manitoba. We aired radio commercials targeted at H1N1 prevention strategies. We put a priority on H1N1 updates and aired them weekly on the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs' half-hour NCI FM radio show. The network has 140,000 listeners, including all 64 first nations communities and every major centre in Manitoba, including the city of Winnipeg.
In July we completed preliminary training of personnel from every first nation for the incident command system, and we built on our advocacy initiatives for pandemic preparedness.
In August the chiefs and assembly passed a resolution at Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation, which is Nelson House Cree Nation, that directed me, as the grand chief, and the health staff to advocate for Manitoba first nations to be the first priority for the H1N1 pandemic vaccination. We've done that.
In September there were shocked northern chiefs who revealed publicly that Wasagamack First Nation received body bags in shipments of medical supplies. In response, the health minister called for an investigation. In the end, the investigation raised questions about the government's ability to coordinate communications to respond effectively to a national health emergency. It also demonstrated that first nations have a right to be consulted regularly about preparations for their survival in the midst of a pandemic.
In October the health minister publicly released the findings. Headquarters in Ottawa had advised nursing stations “to order big” on pandemic supplies. And nurses took that directive to mean stockpiling three to four months' supplies, which included body bags.
From the beginning I have said that this crisis is about people, not politics. I was distressed to see some feedback that used our people, even our children, like props in a political theatre.
We are the most vulnerable living in conditions of poverty. It's not helpful for our people to be given this kind of information, with pictures of our children being used as props, and body bags, especially when we're trying to convince and encourage them to get vaccinations. We feel as first nations communities that we should be working together to encourage all our citizens to get vaccinated. We should not be using people as pawns for political gain. This is a collective responsibility we have as leaders, as elected people, to make sure the Canadian population is vaccinated. We find it very disgusting and unacceptable that our people are used for this purpose. We ask that we all take collective responsibility to ensure that everyone is vaccinated, not frighten people or discourage them from being vaccinated.
I want to give you an update. In Cross Lake, one of the largest first nation communities in Manitoba, 2,000 people were vaccinated just yesterday, and maybe the whole community will be vaccinated today.
There are some hockey players who have come in contact with the H1N1 virus. This is a very serious issue, and we should all be supporting each other in combatting this virus.
We also designed flu kits. We designed them as a first line of defence against H1N1. They were delivered with the help of the province and generous private sponsors. All 15,500 of them have been delivered to every home on every first nation in Manitoba. Then last week, federal approval of the H1N1 vaccine turned a welcome corner and we started moving ahead to protect people, not argue about politics.
As first nations and aboriginal leaders in Manitoba, we were among the first to take the vaccination so we could lead the way and give our people the confidence and comfort they need to get the H1N1 vaccine shot.
The federal government worked with the province and the first nations to organize a series of mass vaccination clinics, which are taking place. Thirty-seven communities will have clinics set up this week, 25 will be next week, I believe, and the balance will be the week after.
The first week of a four-week campaign rolled out just the other day, on Monday. Today, the province's northern medical unit stands ready to support northern nursing stations with staff and medical supplies, and we are in better shape to face the future.
We have in excess of 50,000 first nations people with health centres that do not provide any primary care. Without transportation, there is no access to emergency medical care for our people. Too many of our communities are remote, rampant with poverty, poorly equipped, and with little infrastructure and even less health care. In my last appearance I requested that the Government of Canada fund annex B, the government's own pandemic preparedness plan. I'm pleased to say that we have made partial progress in implementing annex B.
My overarching concern remains that we are not ultimately addressing the very conditions that make first nations populations high risk. I continue to advocate for the political will. We work hard to reverse the impoverished conditions of our people, and we expect nothing less from all political representatives. We have an opportunity to address the pervasive issue of living conditions among first nations communities. H1N1 is a wake-up call for us to do that.
Thank you very much, ekosani, meegwetch, wopida, mahsi cho. Those are the five languages of the Manitoba first nations.
Thank you very much. Merci beaucoup.