OMA apologizes after angering Indigenous leaders

Association president says flap should not reflect negatively on doctors who serve First Nations

The president of the Ontario Medical Association has issued an apology after the organization voted against a motion to open meetings with an increasingly standard acknowledgement of Indigenous peoples’ traditional lands.

“I am deeply sorry for the hurt we have caused any Indigenous community,” Dr. Nadia Alam said in a statement Tuesday.

She issued the statement within hours of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation emailing a letter to the OMA, expressing disappointment over the vote.

“The widely-adopted practice recognizes our territories and the inherent and Treaty rights of Indigenous Peoples,” Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler wrote of the land acknowledgement, which is increasingly cited in schools and gatherings of all sorts.

“The defeat of this motion is a major step backwards and calls into question the OMA’s commitment to the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the national movement toward recognition.”

The governing council of the OMA defeated the motion during a meeting Saturday in a vote of105 to 65. Eleven council members abstained.

The motion, moved by members of the Ontario Medical Students Association, asked that: “The OMA open General Council Meetings with a traditional territorial statement to recognize Indigenous people in Canada as traditional stewards of the land, and show respect for Indigenous people and culture.”

It was defeated in a show of hands and again in a recorded vote, with no debate or discussion. Doctors who supported it took to Twitter to express dismay.

“Embarrassed (OMA Council) chose not to open meetings w/ traditional territorial statement to recognize Indigenous people in Canada as stewards of the land & show respect for Indigenous people and culture,” tweeted council member Dr. Kaif Pardhan.

He asked the OMA’s board and specifically outgoing president Dr. Shawn Whatley and new president Alam to address the issue.

The following day, in a statement tweeted by another doctor, Alam expressed “disappointment” over the extent of the Twitter discussion:

“Within seconds (of the vote), tweets went out condemning Council, condemning the OMA, condemning colleagues, and condemning Shawn Whatley and I.”

Naysayers should “have the courage to ask why when you disagree with your colleagues … Resist assumptions. Resist rushing to judgment. Resist blame and shame. Look at them and just ask why,” Alam wrote.

She said she spoke to those who voted against the motion because she “sought to understand rather than condemn” and learned they felt it was insufficient:

“Among other reasons, the majority of responses had to do with a concern about tokenism. They wanted more from the OMA.”

In her statement of apology, Alam said the outcome of the vote should not reflect negatively on doctors who serve First Nations communities.

She wrote : “I can commit to you that the Ontario Medical Association will be playing a role going forward by engaging with Provincial Territorial Organization Affiliations to join the dialogue on these issues. In addition, I will discuss with our board ways in which we can adopt recommendations from the Canadian Medical Association’s Public Policy Forum on Indigenous issues. I can also assure you that our discussions and findings will be brought back to council as promised, so that they can engage in this meaningful process.”

In fact, the Public Policy Forum is a separate entity from the CMA. The CMA was one of a number of partners that participated last summer in a forum conference on Indigenous health.

The conference featured discussions on how to implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s health-related calls to action.