The author is an emergency pediatrician and associate professor in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at McGill University. He is involved in the Let’s Take Care of Social Justice collective and wrote the award-winning book No more indigenous children taken away. To put an end to Canadian medical colonialism (Lux publisher).
The confusion cultivated by the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) to deny the existence of systemic racism is distressing, but, in the end, it essentially serves to distract, as Toni Morrison, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, said. “The function, the very serious function of racism, is distraction. It stops you from doing your job. It forces you to explain, over and over again, your reason for being. »
Recognition of systemic racism on the part of the government is certainly necessary, but not sufficient to improve relations between Quebec and Indigenous peoples and nations as long as the government maintains its colonial approach. Ultimately, the goal in the health sector is not to convince the CAQ of the existence of systemic racism in the hope that it will adopt the Joyce Principle (PdJ).
Rather, what is important for Quebec society is to recognize the PdJ as a cornerstone and tool for decolonization and self-determination of indigenous peoples by implementing its six pillars, particularly in our health and social services network. Along the way, it is certain that the government’s stubborn refusal that we discussed on Friday in these pages will become more and more embarrassing and overwhelming. Already, in 2021, a Léger survey confirmed that at 66%, the proportion of the Quebec population recognizing systemic racism as an appropriate way to describe the level of prejudice and discrimination in the province was almost identical to that of certain provinces. (British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario) and the Canadian average.
In January 2018, our Hold My Hand campaign was launched to put an end to aeromedical evacuations of alone children in Quebec. The then Minister of Health, Liberal MP Gaétan Barrette, initially refused to accede to the campaign’s main demand — that a transfer policy focused on children and families apply to all these transfers. pediatrics — but following incredible public and media pressure, he finally gave in.
Since October 2018, few children requiring transfer by hospital plane are sent alone. This is to the credit of the Quebec aeromedical evacuation team (EVAQ), which has succeeded in changing a long-established culture to do things differently, and for the better. It shows that progress is possible.
This campaign was intentionally focused on a category of children disproportionately affected by this practice, namely Indigenous children living in regions far from urban centers, notably the Eeyou (Cree) and Inuit of northern Quebec. Our message has never wavered from this injustice rooted in the history of medical colonialism. But we have never stopped demanding the abolition of the no-accompaniment rule for all the children. The campaign therefore made it possible to improve the situation of all pediatric populations affected by the practice, indigenous or not, in Salluit, Chisasibi and Natashquan as well as in Gaspé, Sept-Îles and Blanc-Sablon.
We can draw a parallel with cultural security and, more broadly, the PdJ. In its brief about Bill 32 on cultural security within the health network, the Office of the PdJ indicated that “cultural security […] speaks of a broader vision of society — one in which every individual, regardless of background, culture or language, is treated with dignity, respect and fairness” and that by “working towards this vision, not only we do justice to the [Premières Nations et aux Inuits] as well as their contribution to what Quebec society could become, but we are also building a more just, inclusive and resilient society for future generations.”
Contrasting with this benevolent vision, the CAQ government maintained its untenable position during the hearings on Bill 32. The PdJ is explicitly named there, but Quebec refuses to adopt it. Almost all the interventions made it possible to plead in favor of the adoption of the PdJ. Until retired judge Jacques Viens who came out of his self-imposed silence since submitting his report in 2019 to do the same.
Before slamming the door on the hearings, Jennifer Petiquay-Dufresne, the director of the PdJ Office, said: “Today, I am more proud of Quebecers than of his government, noting the extent of the support received by both the Joyce Principle as well as efforts to recognize racism and discrimination established as a system in several Quebec public services. »
Since the violent, yet avoidable, death of Joyce Echaquan on September 28, 2020, the people of Quebec have experienced a major awakening. This explains why faculties of medicine and nursing, hospitals, health sector unions, professional orders and universities, among others, have already adopted the PdJ. This commitment challenges the regressive position of the CAQ in order to honor the memory of Joyce Echaquan and to promote fundamental cultural and epistemic changes that are likely to ensure dignified and respectful services to all people in need of health care. Above all, it inspires hope that the Quebec people are on the right track.
Despite all the criticisms of PL 32, Minister Ian Lafrenière persists in his approach: “Even if it is imperfect, let’s move forward. » Staying where others move forward gives the impression of going backwards; in the case of the government, the latter prefers to “move forward”, but in the wrong direction, that is to say without – or even against – the Aboriginal people.
In the conclusion of its brief, the PdJ Office advocates a unifying approach: “It is the time to unite in sincere co-creation, to reflect and to act. For Joyce, for all the voices that have been silenced, for all those that continue to be silenced by our inaction and for the future of all the citizens of Quebec. » Vigils are planned for September 28 in several cities to mark the third anniversary of the death of Joyce Echaquan. Let’s move forward together.