One First Nations physician says the Canadian Medical Association’s apology to First Nations, Inuit, and Metis peoples falls short. Dr. James Makokis says with it’s records, the CMA should have been able to provide the number of people harmed by the medical system. He also says the apology failed to name the racism responsible for the harms done, which he says is white supremacy.
CMA President, Dr. Joss Reimer speaks at CMA apology news conference in Victoria, B.C. Sept. 18, 2024
The Canadian Medical Association’s (CMA) recent apology for the harms done to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples fell short on several fronts, according to a Nehiyaw doctor from Treaty Six territory.
An elaborate news conference Sept. 18, in a Victoria B.C. hotel which included First Nations drum groups and singers, saw the CMA say it was sorry for historical and modern cases of harms done. High profile cases such as Joyce Echaquan, who recorded racist slurs directed at her moments before she died in a Quebec hospital in Sept. 2020 were not mentioned.
Dr. James Makokis called the apology an important first step but said it could have gone further.
“There wasn’t a specific number of people (given) that were harmed by physicians when the CMA did an introspective look at their records,” he told APTN News. “Many Indigenous women were sterilized that we’re aware of, many Indigenous children were experimented on to create vaccines, many Indigenous students-children-were experimented on in terms of depriving them of food, so that scientists and pediatricians could learn off of their suffering.”
In its apology, the CMA said it was “deeply ashamed” of the racism and discrimination that Indigenous patients and health care providers face.
“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. We accept responsibility for the CMA’s actions and inactions,” CMA President, Dr. Joss Reimer said in the apology.
“We know there is nothing we can do to take back what has been done. We can only move forward — beginning with our commitment to work in partnership and reciprocity with Indigenous Peoples to advance reconciliation in health care.”
But, Makokis said it’s important to be specific when making such statements, and not make generalities. He also pointed out none of the victims or their families were in attendance to accept the apology.
“It’s such a historic opportunity for an apology, give people the specific information that can open up conversations,” he said. “Because we see what happened in some other instances, like with residential school denialism. So, if people were given the exact numbers, not only could Canadians learn from that, but also physicians in the medical community.”
Makokis said the apology also didn’t use specific language to identify the root cause of the racism that continues to cause harm.
“If our non-Indigenous, white physician colleagues can’t even name the impact that white supremacy-white privilege-have, which continues to perpetuate racialized violence and medical harm and negligence within the medical system, then how can we actually move forward if they’re not prepared to use the appropriate vocabulary?”
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When asked about the non-specific language used and the other criticisms Makokis levelled at the organization, the CMA provided this statement:
“The CMA welcomes hearing feedback about the apology to Indigenous Peoples. Different voices and perspectives are essential to help guide the CMA as it moves forward with its reconciliation action plan.”
Makokis said another gap in the apology was the lack of acknowledgement that the sterilizations and other harms are part of a genocide of Indigenous people.
“We didn’t hear the language of physicians being complicit in genocide, we didn’t even hear the term genocide. This was an opportunity to educate largely non-Indigenous, white European Caucasian physicians which continue to make up the majority of medical leadership across the country,” he said.