St. Theresa First Nation -If it isn't systematic racism, what is it?

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The state of health conditions on reserves should have identified First Nations as high-risk for pandemic alarm and put these communities at the top of the list for pandemic planning. Clearly this did not happen. Why? If is isn't systematic racism, what is it? This issue is larger than the current H1N1 virus, which is fortunately mild. We've learned that a future, more virulent pandemic will devastate First Nations communities if the system does not improve. The H1N1 also shows why disease and viral infections cause needless deaths in First Nation communities every year.

So let's consider what we already know about the epidemiology of H1N1 at St. Theresa's.

2005-Canada's Public Health Agency warned that First Nations would be at risk in event of a pandemic unless inter-jurisdictional protocols were developed along with plans for delivering antivirals.
-2009, May 01-31-1356 people st the St. Theresa First Nation(total pop 3,200) visit the nursing station. That's more than 1/3 of the community. 567 of these reported respiratory illness. The nursing station reported the spike to Health Canada and provincial/regional health authorities.
May 4-Provincial health officials offer to provide anti-viral medication to St. Theresa's. Federal health officials, who have jurisdiction over the reserve, refuse (story)
May 4-30-The province repeats it's offer to bring anti-virals to St. Theresa 13 times. Each time Health Canada refuses.
-mid-May St. Theresa's school is closed to control the spread of the virus. Federal provincial health authorities are notified as well as the federal department of Indian Affairs. While this should have been a red flag, there has still been no testing for H1N1 at this point and federal officials continue to refuse offers of help from the province.
May 26-27 Because there has been no testing for H1N1, no warning is issued to avoid large gatherings. A Manitoba General Chief's Assembly is held at St. Theresa Point.
May 26-June 1- Health officials fly two additional nurses and two doctors to St. Theresa Point
May 26-June 1 - 7 people including 2 pregnant women are medivaced to Winnipeg with suspected H1N1
May 29-June 6 -Testing for H1N1 begins
June 1-5-The spike in continues, 96 cases of respiratory illness are reported to the nursing station in 5 days.
June 2- Media first picks up the story that 7 people including 2 pregnant women have been medivaced to Winnipeg from St. Theresa
June 3 - The federal government finally accepts the province's offer to help, anti-virals and masks are sent to the community.
June 3 - One of the pregnant women miscarries, the other delivers by emergency C-setcion. The two women and infant are in critical condition.
June 3 - Two cases of H1N1 are confirmed at St. Theresa Point First Nation, a third case is confirmed at nearby South Indian Lake.
June 3- The total number of hospitalized patients from St.Theresa's doubles to 20, hundreds more in the community complain of respiratory illness
June 4- St. Theresa Chief David McDougall holds a press conference with two other chiefs from a neighbouring reserve. He complains of the initial slow action, poor communications and the government's refusal to build a hospital to serve remote First Nations communities. They also state that a lack of running water in some communities and over-crowded housing (12 persons per home) make it difficult to comply to health and safety recommendations such as avoiding gatherings and hand washing.
June 5 - Manitoba Health Minister Theresa Oswald goes public with allegations that federal officials originally refused help from he province. She adds that federal officials have refused to participate on press conference to share information with the public.
June 5th - Federal officials agree to participate in future press conferences. They send an epidemiologist to the community to investigate how the virus spread.

If anything you've read here makes you concerned, please send and email to:
Federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq at: Aglukkaq.L@parl.gc.ca
Or Provincial Health Minister Theresa Oswald at: minhlt@leg.gov.mb.ca
And please CC Don Kelly at the Assembly of First Nations at: dkelly@afn.ca
As well as the Alexandra Paul at the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs at: apaul@manitobachiefs.com

Other posts on this topic:
June 10: No Doctors, No Nurses, but emergency hand sanitizer is on its way
June 6: If it isn't racism, what is it?http://crazybitchesrus.blogspot.com/2009/06/please-follow-this-story-please-write.html
June 5: Feds slow to respond to First Nation pandemic planning: Manitoba
June 4: Another update H1N1
June 3:More on H1N1 at St. Theresa Point First Nation
June 2: Please follow this story. Please write to your MP

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The barely visible Leona Aglukkaq

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The H1N1 virus was the first time I've seen Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq quoted in the news since her appointment. For the most part she seems content to let her press secretary Josée Bellemare do her public speaking for her. I am not the only one to notice:

Rookie minister praised for quick, open response
Globe and Mail
OTTAWA — It is the first test for the rookie health minister: a flu, with early cases reported in Canada, that could evolve into the pandemic predicted by medical experts for so many years. Leona Aglukkaq has been one of the least visible cabinet ministers since her swearing-in last winter. She rarely gives interviews. She has made few national policy announcements. She has seemed content to let other ministers take the limelight.

So while I agree with the Globe and Mail that Leona Aglukkaq has been invisible, I fail to understand their interpretation that her behaviour is some how a cutesy/endearing/bashful/modest attempt to allow others to take the limelight. It's not cute at all. It's irresponsible, unaccountabile, and inept. She needs to step up and do her job and address the issues.

Allow me to give a few examples.

Ottawa leaves marijuana issue in limbo
The federal government is not saying when it is going to comply with a court ruling nearly 16 months ago that struck down a section of its regulations regarding the medical use of marijuana.The regulations restricted designated producers to growing cannabis for no more than a single approved user of marijuana.Federal Court Justice Barry Strayer ruled in January, 2008, that the restriction is "arbitrary," not "rationally related to legitimate state interests" and violates the principles of fundamental justice. It is estimated that more than 400,000 people in Canada use marijuana for medical reasons, according to evidence presented in a case in British Columbia. Less than 20% of the nearly 3,000 people approved to smoke marijuana for medical reasons access it from the government-approved supplier, because of complaints about the quality."Our government is now looking at a range of legal options and will come forward with a policy response very soon," said Josee Bellemare.

Chief begs Ottawa for better health care
Another infant from Garden Hill is fighting for her life in a Winnipeg hospital under similar circumstances that contributed to the death last month of a six-month-old baby from the northern reserve.The incident occurred less than a month after six-month-old Chace Barkman died of meningitis. His parents were sent home from the nursing station repeatedly with instructions to treat his fever with a cool bath and Tylenol. By the time he was finally medivaced to Winnipeg it was too late and he died eight days later, on March 27. On Tuesday, the parents of the year-old baby tried repeatedly to have their daughter seen by nurses at the nursing station in Garden Hill, but the overworked staff sent her home. Harper said he has repeatedly asked Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq to visit Garden Hill and see for herself the poor state of health care delivery but the invitations have been ignored. He hoped to meet with her in Ottawa but instead met with Health Canada bureaucrats and Aglukkaq's chief of staff. Aglukkaq's spokeswoman, Josee Bellemare, said the government is committed to providing quality health care in Garden Hill.
"We are currently looking into Chief David Harper's concerns," she said.
She said Garden Hill has a new nursing station, built in 2004, which provides primary health care, public health and emergency services 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Toronto to host global meeting on fighting TB
...And the Inuit, their TB rate is 90 times higher The most recent numbers from Statistics Canada suggest at least 70 people died across Canada in 2004 of TB-related causes. Newly minted federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq, who hails from Nunavut, knows the issue all too well. "She does recognize that tuberculosis is a big problem," said her press secretary, Josee Bellemare.

Wakey wakey Ms. Aglukkaq. Do your job or resign and gve your job to Bellemare. And while we're at it let's give the Globe and Mail a shake too. Since when did it become their job to write government press releases instead of news?

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