What is National Indigenous Peoples Day for us at the Alliance for Healthier Communities? What is it for Canada and its institutions, and for each of us living on these lands, Indigenous and non-Indigenous?
To end police violence and killing of Black, Indigenous and other racialized people in Canada, we must defund the police and resource communities. The following statement traces how the Alliance for Healthier Communities and the 110 community-governed primary health care organizations that make up the Alliance arrived at this position, why, and what our next steps are to advocate for structural changes to policing in Canada.
Black History Month is a time to recognize and learn about Black people and their communities’ histories, honour and celebrate Black leaders and their work, both past and present, and acknowledge and celebrate their contributions to Canadian society. The Alliance for Healthier Communities is committed to advancing health equity and improving health outcomes of Black communities. Our work to advance Black Health is informed by our Black Health Committee, which is comprised of Black executive directors and chief executive officers of members of the Alliance for Healthier Communities.
"Everyone has the … freedom of peaceful assembly” in Canada, as enshrined in section 2, part c, of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Combined with the freedoms guaranteed under section 2 (b), freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, this means that everyone in Canada is entitled to gather with like-minded people to voice their opinions -- a right to demonstrate and to protest.
The Alliance for Healthier Communities (Alliance), the Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario (AFHTO), the Indigenous Primary Health Care Council (IPHCC), and the Nurse Practitioner-led Clinic Association (NPLCA) call on the government to address the inequities in the online health card renewal system.
Dear Premier,
Thank you for the opportunity to provide input on a province-wide vaccination mandate in hospitals.
We support mandatory vaccinations for healthcare staff and visitors in hospitals and a required COVID-19 test for patients. It is critical to do all we can to prevent transmission in hospitals and ensure we protect capacity. Hospitals are where providers and other staff are in regular contact with patients, and where patients are often most vulnerable. It is essential patients are comfortable pursuing care at a hospital when needed.
On the inaugural National Truth and Reconciliation Day being recognized today across Canada, the Primary Care Collaborative values the opportunity and responsibility to acknowledge some of the actions that can help support better understanding of colonization, the trauma of residential schools for Indigenous people and communities, and the ongoing impacts of systemic racism, and the steps to create safer spaces and change for Indigenous health and wellbeing.
The number of unmarked graves uncovered currently stands at more than 1,300 across Canada, with many Indigenous children still to be brought home to their peoples, and with many residential schools still unrecognized by Canada’s leaders, who’ve only focused on the 139 schools funded directly by the federal government.
To: Hon. Doug Ford, Premier; Hon. Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier, Minister of Health
Cc: Dr. Kieran Moore, Chief Medical Officer of Health, Ministry of Health; Matthew Anderson, CEO, Ontario Health; Helen Angus, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Health (outgoing)
Re: Directive 6 must apply to patient-facing team-based primary care providers during COVID-19
September 3, 2021
Dear Premier and Deputy Premier,
This Canada Day isn’t like any other, and it shouldn’t be. Like many, we feel as if the usual celebrations and recognition of a history from which so many Indigenous people and their lives are erased simply does not make any sense. This is a year and a time for reflection, understanding, and facing hard truths about Canada, its history, and ourselves.
So this year, on July 1, we: