Canadian Medical Association Apologizes for Harms to Indigenous Peoples

The organization representing Canada’s doctors has issued a formal apology for the harms the medical profession has caused Indigenous Peoples.

The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) made the apology Wednesday at a ceremony in Victoria, attended by representatives of First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples.

CMA president Dr. Joss Reimer said the organization was “deeply ashamed” for the “deplorable” racism, discrimination and physical and psychological harms Indigenous people have faced as a result of the actions and inactions of physicians both historically and today.

“To Indigenous Peoples living in Canada, we apologize to you, we are sorry, we are sorry we have lost your trust and the harms that you,  your ancestors, your families and your communities have experienced,” she said.

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The said association conducted a review of its records regarding the treatment of Indigenous Peoples as a part of its commitment to reconciliation.

CMA board member and Mi’kmaw physician Dr. Paula Cashin said that research had revealed how the association contributed to systemically embedding and upholding anti-Indigenous racism in Canada.

Examples included the racially segregated “Indian hospital” system, where “Indigenous patients received substandard and unsafe care. Patients were subjected to abuse, experimental treatments and forced and coerced sterilization,” she said.

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The association also acknowledged that physicians’ participation in systemic racism through the use of “outdated, racist terms,” and accepting “racist, colonial and paternalistic attitudes toward Indigenous Peoples.”

It said many Indigenous people have suffered mistreatment and lack of care, leading to ongoing health issues and death in the present day.

Jimmy Durocher, a Métis elder and former president of the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan, said the CMA’s apology and acknowledgement of historical wrongs was a crucial first step to real reconciliation.

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