An association representing Indigenous physicians across the country and more than 100 doctors across Alberta is pushing back against the move to rescind a contract offered to the province’s former chief public officer of health.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw was set to begin working with the Indigenous Wellness Core (IWC), a program that partners Alberta Health Services with Indigenous communities and peoples to deliver health services for First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples in the province.
An internal memo went out to AHS employees on June 1, welcoming Hinshaw to the team, which led to backlash, mostly from those unhappy with how she handled the pandemic.
AHS issued a statement shortly after: “Dr. Hinshaw is not employed by AHS.”
Dr. Esther Tailfeathers resigned her position as senior medical director of IWC in protest. Tailfeathers told Global News that despite the extensive and competitive process to fill the IWC public health and preventive medicine lead, she was not told who rescinded the job offer and had concerns that having to restart the hiring process could cost Indigenous lives.
On Monday, the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada (IPAC) said it was “deeply painful” to watch a fellow Indigenous doctor be “tokenized and disempowered.”
“We echo the truth that she has shared – that this action by a non-Indigenous organization to nullify the hiring decision that she and her colleagues have made, echoes the role of Indian Agents asserting power over our affairs,” a letter signed by IPAC board chair Dr. Mandy Buss reads.
“It amounts to the same colonial pattern of imposed (and unwanted) control over our rightful autonomy and decision-making when it comes to the issues affecting Indigenous peoples.”
IPAC said its call for self-determination in healthcare is supported by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
“In 2023, at a time that we should be focused on reconciliation, we are still fighting for basic sovereignty over our rightful decision-making authority when it comes to healthcare administration, governance, research and provision in many parts of this country.”
Also on Monday, more than 100 Alberta doctors signed an open letter saying there’s been “significant harm” done not only to Hinshaw and Tailfeathers, but also to the relationship between all doctors and the province.
“(It) signals to all physicians in this province that their positions are unsafe and could be targeted for political gain,” the letter from Alberta doctors to Premier Danielle Smith and AHS official administrator Dr. John Cowell reads.
“There is no place for leadership which undermines the decisions, recommendations and sovereignty of the Indigenous Wellness Core, and no place for political interference in health care delivery.”
The president of the Alberta Medical Association echoed the doctors’ open letter and recognized those doctors’ bravery for speaking out.
“The toll to date of this issue is the loss of three highly qualified and respected leaders. Transparent accountability would go far to support physician trust, safety, and engagement,” Dr. Frekrykka Rinaldi said in a statement.
AHS reiterated its previous statement that the provincial health authority “doesn’t speak to personnel matters.”
“AHS remains firmly committed to working with Indigenous communities and will continue to work to provide culturally safe healthcare for all First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples throughout the province,” an AHS spokesperson wrote.
A spokesperson from the ministry of health also would not comment.
“Alberta Health Services is responsible for hiring decisions and the Government of Alberta does not comment on AHS personnel decisions,” Scott Johnston said in an email on Monday.
On Saturday, Smith denied she had anything to do with the decision to revoke Hinshaw’s offer.
“These are decisions that are made internally … I was briefed after the news became public,” Smith said on Your Province, Your Premier on Corus Radio. “It’s up to Dr. John Cowell to answer those questions.”
One doctor who signed the local letter said her colleagues are seeking answers on what changed from June 1 to when Hinshaw’s job offer was revoked.
“There was no change in Dr. Hinshaw’s qualifications from the time that they announced her role and to the time where they hired her,” Dr. Neeja Bakshi told Global News. “And so it begs the question of: what happened?”
The Edmonton-based internal medicine physician said the change in Alberta’s pandemic response from patient-centric to more politically-convenient appears to be at play with IWC now.
“The political overreach (in health care) has been happening for quite some time. I don’t think that we have seen it as blatantly as we’re seeing it potentially right now,” Bakshi said. “I would love to be wrong, but I do think that we need to get some answers as to what happened here.”
IPAC said it hopes AHS “will reflect on the damage this decision has caused, and seek to right its relationships with Indigenous physician leaders.”
The Alberta doctors called on an investigation into the integrity and ethics of Hinshaw’s job offer being pulled and for Cowell to publicly apologize to the former CMOH and Tailfeathers.
According to the 2021 census, nearly 285,000 Albertans identify as Indigenous.
–with files from Saif Kaisar and Paula Tran, Global News
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