You're speaking about the regulatory authority and the provincial colleges, which I'm not a part of, but I actually did speak to the chief medical officer of our college, the CPSO, about this.
As soon as they do a very thorough investigation, and as soon as there's any possibility that it is falling into the criminal realm, then it gets moved along. We have, unfortunately, many cases of that with regard to sexual assaults and sexual violence, so there is a precedent there and they are quite experienced. What she did say is that she wants to hear about all of this, and they're not hearing any of this.
You're speaking about the reporting, and it is a major issue because patients in general don't want to report. The literature suggests that only 20% of patient safety incidents that lead to mortality, increase morbidity or increase hospital stays get reported.
That's heightened completely for indigenous patients. When we speak to our people, they're worried about reporting. They're worried about the repercussions. If they make an anonymous report, the institution will not act because it's anonymous. If they make a report and they attach their name to it, they're suddenly the whistle-blower in a hostile environment, etc.
I think the crux of one of the things that needs to be worked on is what reporting that is safe looks like. Maybe it's to a third party who doesn't have to disclose the full background and identity and ideally is someone who is indigenous or understands the indigenous experience. Then, do a more robust investigation. I think that reporting piece is critical when we look at the way.... We have a lot of experience in the patient safety world and in our health care institutions.