Health Committee on Jan. 31st, 2019

[Valerie Gideon]

The initiatives we're here to speak to with respect to our mandates—my mandate being prevention and promotion of health and safety of first nations and Inuit, and I won't speak on behalf of my colleague's mandate—are really to address the issues in the health care system that are allowing these instances to occur, in partnership with provinces and territories and also with the medical profession, and of course, for us, with the leadership of indigenous women's organizations, and indigenous representatives overall.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

I understand that both the Assembly of First Nations and the UN Committee Against Torture have requested that Canada legislate specific changes to explicitly criminalize the forced sterilization in this country. Right now we just have general assault. Obviously, to my understanding, nobody has been charged. From my information, nobody is even being looked at to be charged at this point.

Do you have any information to give this committee about whether the federal government is considering specifically amending the Criminal Code to ensure that forced sterilization is a stand-alone crime under the Criminal Code?

[Valerie Gideon]

Go ahead, Abby.

[Abby Hoffman]

I'm not aware of that.

Again, I think that for useful responses to that kind of question, a representative of the Department of Justice should appear.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Okay.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bill Casey]

The time is up.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bill Casey]

Mr. Ouellette, you have seven minutes.

[Robert-Falcon Ouellette, Winnipeg Centre, Lib.]

Thank you very much for coming today. It's very much appreciated.

To continue along the same line of questioning as Mr. Davies, have you any knowledge of the RCMP having contacted or requested any documentation from any of your departments related to this file?

[Valerie Gideon]

I don't have any knowledge of that.

[Abby Hoffman]

I do not either.

[Robert-Falcon Ouellette]

This is a question now for the chair.

Are the RCMP or the justice department being called to be witnesses here at any point in this study?

[The Chair, Liberal, Bill Casey]

We're not at that point yet. They could be later, but they're not—

[Robert-Falcon Ouellette]

I would probably like to move a motion at some point, because I think this goes far deeper.

I've heard questions from Ms. McLeod as well as Mr. Davies that.... There is something that needs to be investigated here. Ms. Valerie Gideon said that these forced sterilizations are a serious violation of human rights. There are agencies that have a responsibility to ensure the enforcement of our laws. I've heard that both from Ms. McLeod and from Mr. Davies, on both sides. I think they should be called to account here in this committee.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bill Casey]

It's the will of the committee.

[Robert-Falcon Ouellette]

Hopefully, we'll be able to move a motion once this is over, and move forward with that.

I'd like to know who pays for the forced sterilizations in the health care system for status women.

[Abby Hoffman]

In most cases, any procedure of this nature, forced or otherwise, would be taking place in a hospital that is part of the provincial or territorial health system, so the cost would be paid out of a global hospital budget covered by the province or territory—but not as a discreet procedure. It would be, in most cases, part of a global financing and budgetary nature.

[Robert-Falcon Ouellette]

So there wouldn't be a specific request on behalf of a hospital or a health care provider to FNIHB, the first nations and Inuit health branch, to request additional funding to proceed with this.

[Valerie Gideon]

No, absolutely not, but we would pay for medical transportation, potentially, for the individual.

[Robert-Falcon Ouellette]

That's for the birth. Obviously you would request the funding for birth, and they would be transported out of the community—

[Valerie Gideon]

That's correct, but it would not be for the procedure itself. It's part of a provincially or a territorially insured health system.

[Robert-Falcon Ouellette]

Are you all aware of the case of Brian Sinclair?

[Valerie Gideon]

Yes.

[Robert-Falcon Ouellette]

For those who aren't aware, Brian Sinclair was the indigenous man who sat in an emergency ward in downtown Winnipeg in 2008 and died in the ward after 34 hours because no one looked after him.

Related to that, I was wondering whether you have had any interviews with health care professionals related to bias and how they treat indigenous people in Canada. Have you conducted any interviews related to these cases with health care professionals to find out what their train of thought is?

[Valerie Gideon]

I believe there was a provincial study or inquest done in that particular context.