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The Sturgeon’s JourneyAs the Ontario Human Rights Commission embarks on work to investigate Indigenous-specific racism in Ontario’s healthcare system, we turn to the sturgeon as a symbol. The Sturgeon, called Anameway, or Big Fish, in the Ojibwe language, represents a time pre-contact, pre-colonization when Indigenous peoples had their own healthcare systems. Their current endangerment from pollution is analogous to the damage to Indigenous peoples from the pollution of racism in our healthcare system. The sturgeon was similarly used in 2022 by the Wabano Aboriginal Health Centre in Ottawa on their “Share Your Story” report on Indigenous-specific racism and discrimination in health care in the Champlain region in Ontario. The OHRC’s use of the same symbol acknowledges the work that has already been done by Indigenous leaders, communities and organizations such as Wabano. The sturgeon's passage through waterways symbolizes a journey to healing and connection. From a time, pre-contact when the sturgeon flourished in clean waters, through the devastation of colonization and environmental degradation, to a hope for a future where the waters are once again clean, the Commission hopes that with the work being undertaken today, and with the leadership of Indigenous communities, Indigenous peoples will be served by a culturally safe healthcare environment.
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The OHRC is working with Indigenous partners to develop human rights policy guidance to address and combat longstanding and widespread Indigenous-specific discrimination in Ontario’s healthcare system.
Indigenous partners have called on the OHRC to take urgent action to address this serious issue.
The OHRC acknowledges that, for years, Indigenous organizations and communities have documented the many ways Indigenous-specific discrimination manifests in healthcare delivery – see, for example, the Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health and Ottawa Aboriginal Coalition Share Your Story Project. The Commission is grateful for all the invaluable work that has already been done. Together with Indigenous partners, the Commission seeks to build on it by applying a human rights lens.
Healthcare providers in Ontario have an obligation to prevent and address Indigenous-specific discrimination. The OHRC is committed to developing practical guidance setting out what healthcare providers should do to meet these legal obligations. The guidance will also help First Nations, Inuit, Métis, and urban Indigenous people understand how they are protected by the Human Rights Code when seeking healthcare and provide a tool Indigenous organizations and communities can use to hold healthcare providers accountable.
What’s next
Key informant discussions
Over the coming months, the OHRC will meet with Indigenous health professionals, organizations, and communities across the province to gain a better understanding of systemic concerns, barriers, and priorities related to Indigenous-specific discrimination in the delivery of healthcare in Ontario.
Survey
The OHRC has launched an online survey to hear about lived experiences of discrimination.
The OHRC invites the following people to complete the survey:
- First Nations, Inuit, Métis, and urban Indigenous people who have experienced discrimination when receiving healthcare;
- Non-Indigenous people who have experienced discrimination when receiving healthcare because they are perceived to be Indigenous; and
- Family members, caregivers, service providers and other people who have witnessed Indigenous-specific discrimination in healthcare
If you cannot complete the survey online, you can print a hard copy, fill it out, and mail it to:
Rita Samson,
Ontario Human Rights Commission,
180 Dundas St W, Suite 900, Toronto,
ON M7A 2G5
or scan and email it to: indigenous.health@ohrc.on.ca
Personal Experience Survey – for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people who want to share their experience(s) of discrimination when accessing healthcare services in Ontario and for non-Indigenous people who experienced discrimination in healthcare because they were perceived to be Indigenous
- Accessible PDF (for printing)
Witness Survey – for people who have witnessed Indigenous-specific discrimination in healthcare in Ontario and want to share what happened
- Accessible PDF (for printing)
Report back
The OHRC will report back on what it hears during the meetings and through the survey in an engagement report. Watch this page for further updates.
Contact information
Any written submissions, documents, or comments about this initiative can be sent by email to: indigenous.health@ohrc.on.ca or by mail to: Rita Samson, Ontario Human Rights Commission, 180 Dundas St W, Suite 900, Toronto, ON M7A 2G5