Tansi, and happy Indigenous Peoples Day.
My name is Marcia Mirasty. I'm the senior health director for the Meadow Lake Tribal Council, which represents 16,000 band members in northwestern Saskatchewan.
I'm going to be a witness, and share our COVID response. I'm going to give my presentation through a SWOT analysis.
Our Meadow Lake Tribal Council COVID response had the following strengths.
There was the creation of strong networks and supports. We were able to pivot and engage in new ways. We partnered with organizations like the Saskatchewan Health Authority, the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan and the Northern Inter-Tribal Health Authority.
The virtual and joint weekly conference calls were well supported by chiefs and community leaders, senior management and officials from Indigenous Services Canada, and representatives from the provincial government, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency, the RCMP and medical health officers.
Our first nation leaders played a key and important role at these meetings. They were very involved. The federal government provided timely responses and worked with MLTC. ISC, Indigenous Services Canada, was responsive to funding requests. Our COVID immunization was provided to both on-reserve and neighbouring communities.
The engagement and support of first nations and Métis leadership was critical to success. There was a joint funding application that created the North West Communities Incident Command Centre. The strength, adaptability and resilience of people within communities was key to addressing challenges. Prior pandemic planning helped to set the stage for a response.
The COVID-19 pandemic also highlighted some weaknesses.
First and foremost, there must be a continued and direct relationship between first nations and the federal government. First nations signed treaties with the federal government. When the provincial government comes in and acts as a middle man, it causes confusion for our people.
Another weakness, the lockdown in northwest Saskatchewan, highlighted the need for security and increased RCMP presence. The highway shutdown to Île-à-la-Crosse also created hardship and highlighted food insecurity. There was a lack of flexibility, and there was a prescriptive approach from the provincial government that reduced the effectiveness of the vaccine rollout. The provincially mandated age-related rollout strategy was not a good fit for our first nations people.
There were pressures on the health care system, both on the SHA, the Saskatchewan Health Authority, and MLTC at Meadow Lake First Nations. In terms of health human resources, we experienced resignations, job changes, shortage of nurses and burnout. It has been challenging to find permanent full-time staff, as many opt to work part-time. It has highlighted the need for an increase in training programs in the health field, such as home health aides, community care assistants, licensed practical nurses, registered nurses and nurse practitioners.
Wildfire evacuations and the organizational changes that occurred prior to COVID made it hard to know who were the proper contacts in the provincial government. The isolation requirements with regard to COVID highlighted the overcrowding that occurs in our communities and the need for more housing. The pandemic also exposed and highlighted the lack of connectivity, infrastructure and resources present in our communities.
In terms of the opportunities that COVID provided, there is the opportunity for increased respect for first nations autonomy on decision-making, and recognition of indigenous authority, such as on the vaccine rollout, which would allow anyone over the age of 18 who wants the vaccine to receive it on a first-come, first-served basis, and to keep the momentum going in a sense of urgency. Our first nations leaders knew where the vaccine needed to go for best effect.
We can also strengthen our partnerships and build on success with key stakeholders and decision-makers. The pandemic highlighted the recognition of how important family and community are to our people. We can improve on communication and community engagement in order to respond to emergent threats. It can be quick if we engage all partners. We can also engage with first nations to determine goals and priorities and on the importance of ensuring their readiness for future emergencies. Intergovernmental collaboration needs improvement when it comes to first nations.
The pandemic also highlighted pressures, dangers or threats. I'm going to go over some of the threats.
The CERB funding affected our people. The working from home strategy worked for some of our staff and not for others. Our work was reliant on emails and phones, but some of our communities did not have connectivity or cell service. The technical difficulties impeded meetings and communication.
Our ability to safeguard our children by allowing home-schooling was impacted, as first nations have not been afforded the necessary infrastructure, such as cellular service and high-speed Internet—in two of our first nations in particular.
The lack of connectivity also affected mental health, addictions and interpersonal violence. For many staff who were working every day, there was staff burnout and heavy workloads. Increased gang violence, hopelessness, and suicide ideation and completion were highlighted after two years of prolonged stress. The mental wellness response and recovery needs attention moving forward. The lack of facilities that address needs in a timely manner, such as detox and treatment centres, also needs to be addressed. We need mental wellness and healing and recovery centres to address our addictions and mental health.
I want to thank you for listening. I'm open to any questions you may have, and I'll do my best to respond in a timely manner.
I want to thank you for this opportunity.