Manitoba First Nation health care scholarship aims to ‘make the difference’

A team of stakeholders in Manitoba are pooling their finances in order to level out health care in the province.

Between the Southern Chiefs Organization (SCO), Business Council of Manitoba, and provincial government, $450,000 is being set aside to help Indigenous students, who are a part of SCO member nations, become health care professionals.

SCO Grand Chief Jerry Daniels said there is currently an under representation of Indigenous people in the field.

“The most current stats show only 1.5 per cent of nurses in Canada are First Nations, and fewer than 1 per cent of doctors identify as Indigenous,” he said, noting it’s important to change those numbers.

“First Nations health-care professionals understand our people, and our culture, and are able to take a holistic approach to health care. We believe this will make all the difference in reducing the 11-year life expectancy gap between First Nations and all other Manitobans.”

Daniels said the student funding will help break down economic barriers, which often stand in the way of First Nation youth fulfilling their career goals.

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In doing so, he said the Indigenous Education Award helps meet calls to action in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

“Call to action (number) 92 calls on the corporate sector to ensure First Nations people have equitable access to jobs and call to action. (number) 23 calls on governments to increase the number of First Nations professionals working in health care today.”

On Tuesday, minister of advanced education and training, Renée Cable, made a nod to ongoing issues in the province’s health-care system, particularly in First Nation communities.

She said funding like this will impact the broader Manitoba picture.

“Partnerships like this, opportunities like this, will help ensure that we have healthier communities, that our young people want to study and live and build families here, and really that the future of our province looks a lot brighter than right now,” Cable said.

The SCO said funding through the Indigenous Education Award will be presented to 30 students a year over five years in $3,000 amounts.

The Business Council of Manitoba said students can receive the award more than once in their education journey.

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