The president of Métis Nation BC is recommending the province create a tip line for anyone who’s seen or experienced racism in the health-care system.
Clara Morin Dal Col says ever since Health Minister Adrian Dix announced allegations of racism in the health-care system, Métis Nation BC has been flooded with calls “from health-care staff who have witnessed this and had stories to tell, but were afraid to lose their jobs.”
She says the province should create an anonymous tip line for anyone who sees or experiences racism in the health-care system, adding it’s important the investigation into the allegations, led by B.C.’s former representative of children and youth Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, gets it right.
The recommendation comes in the wake of allegations about health staff betting on the blood alcohol level of primarily Indigenous patients.
“This is beyond racism, we as Métis have long-standing issues regarding health,” Dal Col said. “This is important, this is just the tip of the iceberg.”
Métis Nation CEO Daniel Fontaine said he notified the province when he heard about the allegations around the so-called “Price is Right” game.
He said he is also aware of reports from 2019 that “catalog literally dozens of incidents, almost as egregious as what we’ve heard with this Price is Right game.”
“There are documented cases with the government’s own health workers who are indicating that this is systemic and it will require some significant changes and it may even require some people being removed from the health-care system if, in fact, it can be proven that they were participating in racist activities,” he said.
— With files from Jon Azpiri
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