Health care racism probe gets tip line
Indigenous people urged to share their experiences with investigation
The commissioner leading an investigation into anti-Indigenous racism in B.C.’s health-care system promises to protect all whistleblowers after launching a tipline and website to gather their accounts of discrimination.
Health Minister Adrian Dix appointed Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond to conduct the independent investigation the day after the minister was made aware on June 18 of allegations that a number of doctors and nurses in a B.C. emergency department or departments played a “game” to guess the blood-alcohol level of Indigenous patients.
On Thursday, Turpel-Lafond, a former judge and legislative advocate for children’s rights, announced the tipline and website while outlining the terms of reference for the investigation.
She also made a plea for Indigenous people to fill out an online survey about their health-care experiences at engage.gov.bc.ca/ addressingracism.
“This investigation is not trying to determine whether racism exists in B.C.’s health-care system,” she said.
“It does exist, just as it does in every aspect of Canadian society. What we want to gauge through this investigation and this process is the range and extent of that racism, both individual and systemic, and how it affects the quality of health care for Indigenous people in this province.”
Turpel-Lafond and her small team will study data and information, conduct hearings and interviews, and make findings of fact.
They will look at alleged incidents of Indigenous-specific racism in emergency departments and hospitals, the potential extent of systemic racism in the healthcare system, and whether acts or omissions by people in positions of power contributed to that racism.
Turpel-Lafond must submit a report to the Ministry of Health by Dec. 31, but said Thursday that she expected to complete a preliminary report within months.
Any information obtained during her investigation that reveals a Criminal Code offence or violation of professional standards will be submitted to the appropriate authorities, she said.
The investigation will make recommendations such as measures to eliminate systemic racism against Indigenous people accessing health care and uphold their human rights. Dix has pledged to implement the recommendations, Turpel-Lafond said.
The terms of reference also describe how Turpel-Lafond and her team will protect the privacy of potentially vulnerable affected people and key informants.
Her team will “take all reasonable steps” to collect information in a way that protects their security.
Personal information won’t be disclosed without informed consent. Information will be treated confidentially and in accordance with B.C.’s privacy laws. Records will be sealed and held by Turpel-Lafond’s law firm.
“I want to assure all Indigenous people that you are safe to share the story with myself, with my team,” she said.
“It will be treated with utmost confidence and respect. It is independent from government. There will be no retaliation or recrimination.”
She offered the protections to health-care workers and others with knowledge of anti-Indigenous racism in the system.
Such assurances from Turpel-Lafond are important, said Lesley Varley, executive director of the B.C. Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres.
“Everybody trusts her so they’re going to feel very safe contacting her,” Varley said.
“And this is maybe the very first time in British Columbia that people will feel safe, especially Indigenous people, talking about their racist experiences in health care.”
Clara Morin Dal Col, president of Métis Nation B.C., which represents nearly 90,000 Métis people in the province, said she was pleased to hear about the tipline announcement — a move her organization called for when the investigation was announced.
Morin Dal Col said the Métis Nation also trusts Turpel-Lafond and will continue to support her investigation while ensuring it is culturally appropriate for Indigenous people.
“We know she’s going to do the job required in this investigation and not just a report that’s going to collect dust on the shelf,” Morin Dal Col said.