Meegwetch. Thank you very much.
I don't have a very long presentation. I doubt that it will take 10 minutes. I want to thank you for this opportunity to present. I'm sorry that I couldn't be there in person today.
I want to start out with a few points, mainly around the health and history of indigenous people. I'm sure these are things you already know, but I want to state them for the record.
For indigenous people, given our history and the range of health and socio-economic issues and our age, our vulnerabilities are broad. Indigenous people have the highest suicide rates in Canada, with indigenous young women having the highest suicide rates in Canada, at nearly eight times the national average.
Compared to the general Canadian population, first nations people continue to suffer from high rates of chronic and infectious disease and higher mortality and infant mortality rates. Cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer, stroke, suicide, motor vehicle accidents, and homicide are the major causes of death among indigenous populations.
Preventable deaths due to circulatory diseases account for 23% of all deaths. Injuries account for 22% of all deaths. That is almost 50% of all deaths in our population.
For first nations aged 1 to 44, the most common cause of death was injury and poisoning. The primary cause of death for children less than 10 years old was classified as “unintentional”—or accidents. The potential years of life lost from injury alone were more than for all other causes of death and almost three and a half times that of the general Canadian population.
Consultations with indigenous communities across Canada need to take place with regard to physician-assisted dying. While I have engaged and worked with several different indigenous communities and I myself am indigenous, I cannot speak for them. Further, taking a pan-indigenous approach to policy is not a good idea, given the sensitive nature of this subject and the diversity of indigenous people and belief systems.
The issue of physician-assisted dying is not one that is taking place in communities. As noted, true engagement and communication surrounding this sensitive issue is necessary, and any legislation or policy implemented that affects indigenous people must not only include us but be appropriately communicated to us.
Health care practitioners have an obligation to provide culturally safe care to indigenous people, and that includes physician-assisted dying and understanding all sensitivities surrounding this issue. While strides are being made in palliative end-of-life care, there is still much work to be done, particularly in physician-assisted dying, as this is a very new area for indigenous people, and in my opinion, will require additional training.
That's really all I wanted to say. As I said before, I spent an hour with the committee that went across Canada, speaking about spirituality and belief systems. This is really so very new. Communities have not really had a chance to engage and discuss. There is no policy around this at any of the national levels—the AFN, the MNC, or the ITK. I think there are many sensitivities around this issue, so while I'm honoured to be here to perhaps provide some perspective, I certainly cannot speak for communities. From speaking with some of the community members who I've worked with and with some indigenous physicians, I know that certainly the greatest need is probably community engagement.
I will leave it at that.