Cultural security | Lafrenière “shocked” by the exit from the College of Physicians

(Quebec) Ian Lafrenière considers the exit of the College of Physicians against his bill which aims to introduce cultural security in health to be “strong coffee”. The minister does not intend to review his “position” on systemic racism nor to “co-draft” his legislative text with the First Nations, as requested by the professional order.

“I found it strong in coffee this morning, quite honestly, but I am here to hear them,” said the Minister responsible for Relations with First Nations and Inuit, upon his arrival at the parliamentary consultations on the bill 32. The legislative text aims to introduce the cultural security approach into the health and social services network.

Minister Lafrenière was reacting to the release of the College of Physicians which strongly criticized the first version of the bill. The professional order opened the ball of consultations on Tuesday, during the parliamentary re-entry in Quebec. At the heart of the grievances: the refusal of the Legault government to recognize the existence of systemic racism in the health network.

“It’s not a surprise and my position won’t be a surprise either. […] It’s the same,” explained Mr. Lafrenière. Other groups who will be heard on Tuesday and Wednesday are asking the same thing. This is the case of Innu doctor Stanley Vollant who stated in an interview with Duty that it will be necessary to “name the elephant in the room” during consultations.

“This word divides, we cannot, we cannot come together,” reiterated the minister. “It’s profound to see to what extent this creates a schism so currently in Quebec, what we decided to do is to form a group of actions against racism, to have concrete actions, to do changes that are concrete,” repeated Mr. Lafrenière in the press scrum.

For the College of Physicians, “there will be no changes” as long as the government does not begin by recognizing systemic racism in the health network. According to them, the bill is not “binding” enough, is free from “the imprint of indigenous nations” and is characterized by a “colonialist and paternalistic” approach.

Co-writing

Furthermore, Ian Lafrenière rejected the professional order’s request that the legislative text be “co-written” with the First Nations. The minister said on Wednesday that he was “shocked” by this criticism. He recalled that he needs the support of doctors to successfully establish cultural security in the province’s hospitals and healthcare environments.

“Before even coming here, we consulted 13 groups, including the Health and Social Services Commission of the First Nations of Quebec and Labrador,” he argued. “What would that mean? [une corédaction] ? […] Does everyone have the same position in Quebec, even on the First Nations side? I do not think so […] I don’t see what form this could take,” continued the minister.

In parliamentary committee, Mr. Lafrenière affirmed that the government had “never gone this far” in consulting groups ahead of specific consultations. The president of the College of Physicians replied that it is possible to achieve this, explaining that their memory was co-written with the First Nations.

“We did not consult these people, we wrote the memoir with them. That’s what we mean by co-creating, co-constructing, co-writing, to do it together and not for them.”

Consultations continue on Wednesday. The Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador (APNQL), which represents 43 indigenous chiefs, considers the bill “disrespectful” and will not participate in the consultations.

Quebec committed after the tragic death of Joyce Echaquan, in September 2020, to establishing the concept of cultural security in the health network.

It is also a recommendation of the Commission of Inquiry into Relations between Indigenous Peoples and Certain Public Services in Quebec, known as the Viens Commission. It should be noted that the retired judge who chaired the proceedings, Jacques Viens, will be heard on Wednesday.