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Winnipeg Free Press
24-06-2025
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
Make equality of care part of health care
Opinion A new report confirms something that Indigenous and African/Black patients have known for generations — racism is present in Manitoba's health-care system and it's harming people. According to the report, released last week, Indigenous and African/Black patients in Manitoba face longer wait times in emergency rooms compared to white patients. Indigenous people are also more likely to leave hospital emergency departments without being seen — often after hours of waiting, pain untreated, anxiety unresolved, dignity unacknowledged. The data and the report's conclusions — compiled by Shared Health, along with the U of M's Ongomiizwin Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing, and the George & Fay Yee Centre for Healthcare Innovation — are not just vague suggestion of racism. This is not abstract theory. It is measurable, verifiable inequality. And it is unacceptable. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS The emergency department at the Health Sciences Centre. It is worth pausing to reflect on what this report tells us, and why it matters so deeply. For decades, Indigenous people have been telling stories of being ignored, dismissed, or mistreated in hospitals and clinics across the province. Many have shared painful accounts of being assumed to be intoxicated rather than in need of care, or treated with condescension rather than compassion. Families have lost loved ones, only to later learn — or suspect — that their medical concerns had not been taken seriously because of the colour of their skin or the community they come from. The report analyzed the health system's own data and showed that racism is embedded in the way care is delivered. It reveals structural biases that result in unequal outcomes. And while it confirms what many have known, it removes the last excuse for inaction: denial. To its credit, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba is not turning a blind eye. In response to the findings, the college has committed to tangible steps, including mandatory training on anti-racism and cultural safety for all licensed physicians, new accountability frameworks, and systemic changes in how complaints of racism are reviewed and addressed. These are positive and necessary steps. But they are just that — steps. The full journey ahead will require far more from health-care leaders, provincial policymakers, front-line workers, and the public at large. No one can claim ignorance anymore. The numbers are in. The disparities are real. Now it's time to act. That means government — specifically Manitoba Health — must be more than a passive observer. It must build on the college's initiatives with provincewide anti-racism strategies that address hiring, training, retention, and accountability across the entire health system. This includes ensuring emergency departments are better staffed, culturally competent and equipped to deliver equitable care. It also means Indigenous and African/Black health professionals need to be part of the solution — not just as employees within the system but as leaders, policy-makers, and decision-makers. Their voices and lived experience must help shape what reform looks like. Wednesdays Columnist Jen Zoratti looks at what's next in arts, life and pop culture. Public health data must also be disaggregated by race and ethnicity on a regular basis and shared transparently. Only by measuring outcomes can we understand if equity is being achieved. But perhaps most importantly, we must listen to patients — really listen. The voices of those harmed by systemic racism must guide this reform, not be sidelined by it. Indigenous patients who walked out of hospitals without care weren't statistics when they left — they were people in pain who had already lost faith in a system that was supposed to help them. Addressing racism in health care is not a matter of political correctness, it is a matter of human dignity, respect and ultimately life and death. The diagnosis is clear. The harm is evident. Now the healing must begin.
Winnipeg Free Press
21-06-2025
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba's MDs mandate steps to end anti-Indigenous racism
Manitoba's doctors are embarking on a path the profession's regulator hopes will eliminate anti-Indigenous racism in medical care. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba is mandating that MDs complete a course of anti-racism training before November 2027. Two other initiatives go into effect as of today — National Indigenous Peoples Day. The first, a standard of practice, requires that doctors report racist behaviour. The other is a restorative practices program to provide education and support to physicians who cause harm to First Nations, Métis or Inuit patients, either intentionally or unintentionally. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS The college is moving toward a restorative justice standard, says registrar Ainslie Mihalchuk. 'It is very difficult to practise medicine in Manitoba in any context without interacting with, supporting, caring for people who have Indigenous ancestry or who are from our First Nations and Inuit population and who have had suffered the health effects of colonialism,' Dr. Ainslie Mihalchuk, registrar of the college, said Friday. 'That is part of why we feel it's important that, to practise in Manitoba, you need a baseline understanding of how colonialism impacts health. If you can have that understanding, then you inherently will be a better provider for the people here.' A report on race, ethnicity and Indigenous identity released Tuesday by Shared Health and the University of Manitoba's Ongomiizwin Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing revealed issues in seeking and receiving health care in the province. It showed that Indigenous patients in hospital emergency departments were most likely to leave without being seen and against medical advice, including higher-acuity patients. 'The data supports that we have opportunity to do better,' Mihalchuk said. 'This is about understanding needs of humans and that the needs of certain groups of humans are different than others, and that it's on us as leaders and providers in the health system to recognize that this data points to the fact that our systems are not serving these people in the best way. 'That should lead us to collectively try and say, 'What do we need to do differently?'' She pointed to other examples of anti-Indigenous racism in Canadian health care — from the death of Brian Sinclair, who died after waiting 34 hours without being seen at the Health Sciences Centre ER in 2008 to Joyce Echaquan, a mother of seven, who died in 2020 at a hospital north of Montreal moments after recording health-care staff hurl racist remarks at her, to experiments performed on residential school students. 'We were part of that. The medical profession, the healing profession has participated in that,' Mihalchuk said. 'I think we need to understand how, although we might see ourselves as nice people, there's a lack of trust — that's not on individuals. It's on systems and societies and structures that are older and bigger than we are,' Mihalchuk said. The college self-regulates 3,500 physicians in Manitoba. The 30 per cent of internationally trained doctors in the province may have had no exposure 'to the stories of how Manitoba came to be and who lived here before,' Mihalchuk said. The province often relies on foreign-trained doctors to work in rural and remote communities and areas with large Indigenous populations, she said. 'Asking for people to have a common understanding of the human beings that they're serving in the practise of medicine doesn't feel like a big ask, because we believe that it's a good investment.' There are four college-approved courses — three for those in active practice and the fourth is the Indigenous health program that's part of undergraduate or post-graduate medical training at the University of Manitoba. Mihalchuk said the college received advice from an Indigenous advisory circle about the training and how to discipline those who don't meet the new standard. Wednesdays Sent weekly from the heart of Turtle Island, an exploration of Indigenous voices, perspectives and experiences. Rather than the traditional rigid, 'blame, shame, punish' approach, the college is moving toward a restorative justice approach, she said. 'It's more about healing the harm and going through a process that keeps both parties — the complainant and the person complained about — intact and whole at the end of a process that's not about blame, shame and punish. 'We are leaders,' she continued, 'in the country who are doing this work and really it's about creating a safe space to work on this together as a profession and to contribute to 'better.'' Doctors Manitoba said in an email it is providing professional development funding for the training that counts toward the hours of continuing education doctors have to complete every year to improve their practice and maintain their licence. Carol SandersLegislature reporter Carol Sanders is a reporter at the Free Press legislature bureau. The former general assignment reporter and copy editor joined the paper in 1997. Read more about Carol. Every piece of reporting Carol produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
CBC
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Here's where Manitobans can celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day
Social Sharing There are a range of events happening on and ahead of this weekend welcoming Manitobans to celebrate the cultural traditions, heritage and stories of First Nations, Métis and Inuit people, as part of National Indigenous Peoples Day, observed every June 21. Most programming happens on Saturday — from a rooftop musical exhibition at the Winnipeg Art Gallery in Winnipeg to a slate of activities at Brandon's Riverbank Discovery Centre, a street festival in The Pas and much more. Several events in Winnipeg kick things off a day early on Friday, including a sacred fire and pipe ceremony at the University of Manitoba's Mashkiki Gitigaan Medicine Garden at 9 a.m. (or Joe Doupe Concourse in the event of rain). That's followed by a feast at the Brodie Atrium at 11 a.m. on campus, where visitors can take in a variety of vendors, as well as a ceremony recognizing the Indigenous campus community in the afternoon. Also on Friday is a National Indigenous Peoples Day market put on by Shared Health, which co-ordinates health-care delivery in the province. The market is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the William Avenue Mall at the Health Sciences Centre. Circles for Reconciliation is hosting a free barbecue, children's games, a market, a talking circle and entertainment from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Friday at Sergeant Tommy Prince Place (90 Sinclair St.). On Saturday, The Forks launches " Many Nations, One Heartbeat," which includes 11 days of free, family-friendly cultural and community programming that wraps on Canada Day, July 1. The WAG-Qaumajuq rooftop event runs from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. and includes artists from the Prairies showcasing collaborative hip hop and R&B music. It marks the end of the gallery's Threads of Kin and Belonging: A Trinnipeg Live Mixtape Project, an exhibit celebrating Indigenous and Black voices that kicked off during Black History Month. The Saint-Joseph Métis National Union of Manitoba and Festival du Voyageur host the annual Métis picnic at Fort Gibraltar from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Winnipeg Goldeyes fans will be treated to live entertainment celebrating Indigenous culture before and during the game Saturday at Blue Cross Park. About 400 people displaced from ongoing wildfires will get free admission and food vouchers, thanks to a Manitoba Blue Cross donation, the team says. Waterways, an Indigenous-led non-profit, is taking members of the public out on the water for a free paddle from the St. Vital boat launch to the Manitoba Canoe and Kayak Club. It ends with a barbecue at the club, a plant walk and music. Spots are limited and registration is required. WATCH | National Indigenous Peoples Day in Manitoba (2023): National Indigenous Peoples Day in Manitoba 2 years ago Duration 1:59 Today is National Indigenous Peoples Day and Manitobans are encouraged to celebrate, learn more about Indigenous culture and reflect on history. Manitoba is home to the Cree, Ojibway, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene, Métis and Inuit. Lots of public events are going on today across Manitoba, including a powwow and musical performances at The Forks. Beyond Winnipeg, people in southwestern Manitoba can catch a full day of events at the Riverbank Discovery Centre in Brandon on Saturday, beginning at 10 a.m., including a powwow demo, a puppet show, a talent show, live musical performances and a range of other activities for all ages. Waywayseecappo First Nation, northwest of Brandon, is hosting a powwow at 1 p.m. In the Interlake region, the Manitoba Métis Federation's Selkirk chapter is hosting events in Selkirk Park, also starting with a pancake breakfast. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. there will be food, a Red River Métis market, a family tent and live entertainment. Gimli is hosting an afternoon of programming from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Gimli Park Pavilion, with free bannock and refreshments. In northern Manitoba, Thompson has an early morning (4:45 a.m.) pipe ceremony Saturday followed by a pancake breakfast, hot dog lunch, teepee teachings, karaoke — and an air band competition with cash prices for the top three finishers. The Pas Friendship Centre is holding a street festival starting at noon with traditional dancing and drumming, Métis fiddlers, local performers and youth activities.
Winnipeg Free Press
18-06-2025
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
Province, nurses must take charge after study finds racism exists in Winnipeg ERs
Opinion If you want to know why we never seem to make progress in battling systemic racism, events this week provide some compelling answers. On Tuesday, a landmark study by Shared Health showed adult African/Black and Indigenous patients wait longer for treatment in Winnipeg emergency rooms than patients of other races and ethnicities. Black patients waited the longest on average at Shared Health-run Health Sciences Centre (5.5 hours) and Indigenous patients waited the second longest (5.3 hours). White patients, as a point of comparison, on average waited 4.1 hours, a full hour less. RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS FILES Dr. Marcia Anderson led the race-based ER data project on behalf of Shared Health. As well, 36.5 per cent of adult Indigenous patients, and 30.4 per cent of African/Black patients left the HSC ER without having been examined or treated. About 20 per cent of white patients left before being seen. The report was prepared by Shared Health in collaboration with the University of Manitoba's Ongomiizwin Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing, and the George & Fay Yee Centre for Healthcare Innovation. It was based on analysis of more than 600,000 patients who agreed to self-identify their race and ethnicity. The findings are not necessarily seismic in their essence; research into the racial bias in the health-care system has been going on for decades. This is, however, one of the most precise studies of its kind. Report author Dr. Marcia Anderson correctly noted the report contains 'hard truths.' Although not mentioned in the report, among those hard truths is the undeniable fact that the health-care system is horrible at responding to the issue of systemic racism. Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara greeted the report with a recommendation that all emergency department staff undergo cultural safety and anti-racism training. However, the minister declined to say which training, when it would start and did not indicate whether the affected personnel would be allowed to undertake it during normal working hours. That drew immediate criticism from the Manitoba Nurses Union. MNU president Darlene Jackson said the collective agreement clearly says that nurses must be given time off from normal duties to undergo any required educational programming. Jackson warned that because Asagwara's comments were only a recommendation, there is an implication the nurses should do the training on their own time. She said she was concerned about consequences for those who don't. If we take a hard look at what both Asagwara and Jackson are saying, a rather unflattering picture comes into focus. If the minister takes no issue with the findings, and agrees that the issue is fundamentally important, then why wasn't more done to formulate an actual plan to address gaps in anti-racism training? And why wouldn't Asagwara make this kind of training mandatory, even if the fine details of delivering it have yet to be worked out? It should be said that 'how' and 'when' and 'paid for by whom' are all good questions. However, Jackson and the MNU need to ensure their concerns do not obscure their commitment to combating systemic racism. Right now, the union has created the impression it is only interested in building a list of reasons why they shouldn't get involved. If, for example, the collective agreement guarantees that nurses would be paid to undertake any compulsory training, Overall, it's a bad look for a health-care system that had the courage to, at the very least, dig into patient data to uncover the hard truths. But the mad dash for details, and lack of any sense of collaboration between the province, the health authorities and groups like the MNU, makes everyone look rather incompetent. There is also a renewed concern about whether this is just another provincial directive unleashed upon nurses without adequate negotiation. The former Progressive Conservative government rattled the very foundations of Winnipeg's hospital system by force-feeding nurses a major restructuring of emergency rooms and specialty surgical programs. Apparently unaware, or unconcerned, that nurses had fought long and hard to have some control over where and when they worked, the PC government changed the entire structure of Winnipeg's hospital network. Nurses that had worked in departments and programs in hospitals for years were suddenly told they were relocating. Tuesdays A weekly look at politics close to home and around the world. Nurses at suburban hospitals were suddenly faced with the prospect of moving to one of the larger, core-area hospitals. Carefully structured family lives were thrown into chaos. Not surprising, then, that the nurses refused to get with the Tory program. Older nurses retired early; younger nurses fled the public system for private nursing agencies where they were paid better and had total control over where and when they worked. The same agencies that provide staff back to an understaffed public system at a premium rate. Premier Wab Kinew and his health minister have repeatedly promised they would manage health care differently. Although more details need to come out, the haphazard response to the issue of systemic racism and the conflict with the MNU suggest the New Democrats may be repeating tragic history. The province and its unions have acknowledged that this is a real and important issue. What Manitobans need now is someone to take charge and show real progress, not just acknowledgement. Dan LettColumnist Dan Lett is a columnist for the Free Press, providing opinion and commentary on politics in Winnipeg and beyond. Born and raised in Toronto, Dan joined the Free Press in 1986. Read more about Dan. Dan's columns are built on facts and reactions, but offer his personal views through arguments and analysis. The Free Press' editing team reviews Dan's columns before they are posted online or published in print — part of the our tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Global News
18-06-2025
- Health
- Global News
Indigenous, Black patients waiting longer to be seen in Winnipeg ERs: report
Race-based data collected in Manitoba's health-care systems suggests Indigenous, African and Black patients are waiting longer in Winnipeg emergency rooms and often leave without seeing a doctor. A report examining visits to emergency rooms and broken down by race says African and Black patients are triaged at the same rate as other racial groups, but are waiting the longest, upwards of five hours in some cases. It also says Indigenous patients are visiting hospitals for similar triage reasons compared with white patients, countering the idea that Indigenous people are using emergency departments inappropriately. Manitoba says it is the first in Canada to collect voluntary race-based data from patients when they register for care as a way to reduce systemic racism within the health-care system. The report looked at the more than 618,000 emergency room visits that occurred between May 2023 and September 2024. Story continues below advertisement Project lead Dr. Marcia Anderson says the initial analysis shows that racism can be a factor affecting wait times and care provided by Manitoba's emergency departments. Get weekly health news Receive the latest medical news and health information delivered to you every Sunday. Sign up for weekly health newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'Emergency departments are very stressful environments, and the health system is facing many challenges in these areas,' Anderson told reporters Tuesday. 'Unfortunately, in a system under stress, it is often those who are the most marginalized and who have the fewest resources to draw on who face the most severe impacts.' The report says the vast majority of people who leave against medical advice are Indigenous, accounting for almost two-thirds of all patients who do. More is needed to offer a positive therapeutic environment so patients don't feel the need to leave, said Anderson. It also finds that it is likely Indigenous, African and Black patients who are systemically receiving lower triage scores than white people, suggesting that their concerns may not be taken seriously by hospital staff. Researchers were unable to give an analysis on all populations because for some, like Latin American and Filipino people, the data set was too small. Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said the initial data shows Indigenous, Black and racialized people experience some level of systemic discrimination. 'We have real data that tells a story about what's happening in our health-care system,' said Asagwara. Story continues below advertisement 'It's an incredible opportunity that we have in Manitoba to be a leader in this space and to really work together to improve the health outcomes and health care experiences for Manitobans.' The data was collected by Shared Health, the provincial health organization, as part of an initiative led by Ongomiizwin, the Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing at the University of Manitoba.
