I had never read such a disturbing research report.
Women, mostly between the ages of 17 and 33, have been sterilized without their consent, here in Quebec, as recently as 2019. It’s odious.
We cannot speak of isolated cases when 22 Aboriginal women, from different nations who have experienced it in different regions, bear witness to this.
Especially when you understand that this is only a sample!
The report by Suzie Basile and Patricia Bouchard of the University of Quebec in Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT) also mentions other forms of obstetrical violence as well as abortions imposed on First Nations and Inuit women in Quebec.
Systemic racism
Like the horrors of residential schools and the dramatic story of Joyce Echaquan, these testimonies hurt.
They also complement the findings of numerous analyzes and reports that highlight different forms of systemic discrimination and racism in our public services.
In addition to this latest report, I invite you to read the Viens report, published in 2019 and more recently the Kamel report. The empirical data accumulates and becomes increasingly difficult to deny.
Of course, we would like it to be otherwise. Denial is a normal reflex individually and collectively. Nobody likes to be criticized.
Honestly acknowledging our own cognitive biases and our own mistakes is, however, a first step to take when we want to progress both as a human being and as a society.
The idea is not to blame yourself, but to take responsibility. It is impossible to change the past, but we can transform the future.
Denouncing the unacceptable and proposing solutions contribute to “systemic progress” to use the words of Edith Cloutier, director of the Val-d’Or Native Friendship Centre.
She notes that great strides have been made in recent years. The population is much more concerned about the realities of First Peoples and is asking for systemic changes.
This is why governments are finally starting to make commitments and finally taking action.
Recommendations
The report by Suzie Basile and Patricia Bouchard contains 31 recommendations for change so that the fundamental rights of First Nations and Inuit women are respected.
One of them is the recognition of systemic racism.
The authors also call directly on the College of Physicians to immediately end the practices of forced sterilizations and abortions as well as the pressure exerted on Aboriginal women to accept these procedures.
Rightly, they are asking for the implementation of sanctions and the withdrawal of licenses to practice if such acts are committed.
I hope the College of Physicians will be proactive. Some testimonies are indeed so disturbing that they could lead to legal action against its members.
A class action has also been filed in Superior Court against the Lanaudière Integrated Health and Social Services Center and against two doctors by Atikamekw women from Manawan who denounce sterilizations undergone without free and informed consent.
We hope that the recommendations of this report will be implemented and that it will thus contribute to systemic advances on the path to reconciliation.