The Canadian Medical Association formally apologized to Indigenous Peoples for harms they have experienced in the country’s medical system.
Dr. Joss Reimer, president of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), formally apologizes on Wednesday to Indigenous Peoples for harms caused by medical professionals and the health system. CMA livestream screen shot.
Dr. Joss Reimer, president of the association which represents Canadian doctors, delivered the apology at a ceremony in Victoria, B.C., which was livestreamed.
Reimer said her organization is “deeply ashamed” of the racism and discrimination Indigenous people experience in the health system.
To Indigenous peoples living in Canada, we apologize to you, we are sorry, we are sorry we have lost your trust and for the harms that you, your ancestors, your families, and your communities have experienced. We acknowledge there are rippled effects on future generations.
told Dr. Joss Reimer
Elder Martha Peet, from Taloyoak, helped to open the ceremony with the lighting of a qulliq and Arviat elder David Serkoak performed a drum dance toward the event’s closing.
Reimer said the Canadian Medical Association takes responsibility for its past and present-day actions and is committed to rebuilding its relationship with Indigenous Peoples on a foundation of trust, accountability and reciprocity.
Dr. Paula Cashin, a Mi’gmaw physician and vice-chairperson of the medical association’s board of directors, acknowledged specific harms the medical system has caused, including medical experimentation, sterilization, and the forced relocation of Inuit to tuberculosis sanatoriums.
“Many patients died and the remains were never returned home,” said Cashin.
In preparation for the apology, the Canadian Medical Association reviewed more than 150 years’ worth of archives which noted the role the organization and the medical profession held in the harms done against Indigenous Peoples.
“We know there is nothing we can do to take back what has been done,” said Reimer.
“We can only move forward — beginning with our commitment to work in partnership and reciprocity with Indigenous Peoples to advance reconciliation in health care.”
Read the full text of the apology: CMA Digital Library
Source: Nunatsiaq, Native news online, Cabin radio, Global news
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