The Canadian Medical Association has formally apologized for its role in past and ongoing harms to Indigenous people in Canada’s health system.
Dr Joss Reimer, president of the Canadian Medical Association, or CMA, delivered the apology on Wednesday in Victoria, on the traditional territory of the lək̓ʷəŋiʔnəŋ-speaking people of Songhees and Xwsepsum Nations. It was live streamed online.
“The racism and discrimination that Indigenous patients and health care providers face is deplorable and we are deeply ashamed,” she said. “As the national voice of the medical profession, we are sorry for the actions and inactions of physicians, residents and medical students that have harmed Indigenous Peoples.”
Reimer said the purpose of the CMA is to support the medical profession and create a more sustainable, accessible and equitable health system for patients and providers.
In failing to address anti-Indigenous racism in healthcare, ensure the highest standard of care for all patients and foster trust with Indigenous people, she said the association had failed to fulfill that purpose.
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“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,” she said. “We acknowledge there are ripple effects on future generations.”
Reimer said the CMA takes responsibility for its actions and is committed to rebuilding a relationship of trust, accountability and reciprocity with Indigenous people.
The CMA said in preparation for the apology, it reviewed more than 150 years of archival records that revealed how the association had contributed to systemic anti-Indigenous racism in health care. They highlighted harms to Indigenous people from the Indian hospital system, relocation to tuberculosis sanatoriums, medical experimentation, forced and coerced sterilization, child apprehensions, neglect, and abuse.
“By offering this apology, we hope to build trust with and support Indigenous Peoples, communities and organizations and inspire medical learners, physicians and medical organizations to undertake their own reconciliation journey, professionally and personally, as Canadians,” a press release from the CMA states.
