CDSBC joined together with the BC College of Nurses and Midwives and the College of Pharmacists of BC to develop a three-part series of educational webinars about cultural safety and humility, trauma and Indigenous-specific racism in healthcare for their staff and Boards.

This series was a first step in enhancing cultural safety and humility in the governance and operations of each organization.  

May 11, 2021  

Indigenous people (First Nations, Métis and Inuit) have waited far too long for their legal rights to be recognized. And they have waited too long for health-system leaders to dismantle the racism that was built into our colonial health-care system—racism that continues to cause harm to this day.  

As the leaders of the four largest health regulatory colleges in British Columbia, we offer our apology to the Indigenous people and communities who have experienced racism while engaging with us and the health professionals we regulate.  

As regulators, we govern more than 90,000 professionals who provide the foundational health services that British Columbians rely on, including physicians and surgeons, nurses, midwives, dentists and pharmacists.  

Our job is to protect patients and the public by ensuring that the professionals we regulate provide ethical, safe, quality care. However, Dr. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond's report, In Plain Sight, provided evidence of widespread fear and mistrust of the health-care system due to the prevalence of stereotypes, discrimination, racism and abuse experienced by Indigenous people. The report’s findings illustrated how our current health-care system continues to limit access to medical treatment and negatively affects the health and wellness of Indigenous people—and that Indigenous women and girls are disproportionately impacted.  

We must take specific actions, as individual leaders, within our organizations, and as partners in the wider health system.  

Our pledge now is to become anti-racist and to support the health professionals we regulate to do the same.  

We will take this journey together, knowing that recognizing racism in ourselves and others will not be comfortable or easy. We will be guided by Indigenous elders and professionals, the recommendations contained in the In Plain Sight report, and by the legal and ethical requirements to provide respect, dignity and equitable health care for the Indigenous people of this province.  

It is only through consistent concrete action to uphold Indigenous rights and eliminate racism within the health-care system that we can begin to slowly earn the trust of Indigenous people.  

What you can expect from us

As leaders, we will:  

• Apologize to Indigenous people for the harms suffered in a racist health-care system, of which we are a part
• Be anti-racist leaders who will foster a speak-up culture, where stereotypes, discrimination and racism are called out and eliminated
• Establish clear accountabilities for cultural safety and humility within our leadership teams

As health regulatory colleges, we will:  

• Draw on Indigenous Knowledge Keepers and professionals to guide our work
• Provide education and develop practice standards to ensure Indigenous people receive culturally safe health care
• Invest in supports and remove barriers to ensure that Indigenous people do not feel isolated or unsafe when filing a complaint
• Ensure board, staff, and committee members are trained in cultural safety and humility, anti-racism, unconscious bias, and, as appropriate, trauma-informed care
• Broaden Indigenous participation on our boards and committees and staff teams
• Promote anti-racism and Indigenous cultural safety and humility as core competencies for current and future health-care providers

As part of the health-care system, we will:  

• Build partnerships with Indigenous-led organizations to promote system change and dismantle racism
• Work with our fellow provincial health regulators to implement the recommendations of the In Plain Sight report
• Identify and support changes in legislation and bylaws to deconstruct colonialism, value Indigenous ways of knowing, and eliminate harm for Indigenous people

November 30, 2020  

The report from Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond’s independent investigation into Indigenous-specific racism in B.C.’s healthcare sector was released on Monday, November 30. Dr. Turpel-Lafond described “widespread and insidious” issues in B.C.’s healthcare system during the briefing held to share the findings and summarize the 24 recommendations contained in the report.

 

Minister of Health Adrian Dix called for system reform and issued a bold apology on behalf of the province, stating a commitment to address systemic racism by taking decisive action on the recommendations contained in the report.

 

The following recommendations contained in the report will have direct implications for CDSBC as a health regulatory body:  

• Develop a joint strategy to improve the patient complaint processes to address individual and systemic Indigenous-specific racism (recommendation #5).
• Collaborate with Indigenous peoples to develop and adopt an accreditation standard for achieving Indigenous cultural safety (recommendation #8).
• Recruit Indigenous individuals to senior positions to oversee and promote needed system change (recommendation #14)

The full report, In Plain Sight: Addressing Indigenous-specific Racism and Discrimination in B.C. Health Care, is available here: https://engage.gov.bc.ca/app/uploads/sites/613/2020/11/In-Plain-Sight-Full-Report.pdf (A summary version of the report is here).  

Read the BC government’s media release here: https://engage.gov.bc.ca/addressingracism/review-recommends-steps-to-solve-widespread-racism-in-b-c-health-care/  

Our Declaration of Commitment to Cultural Safety and Humility is an important step towards advancing cultural safety and humility among regulated health professionals who are involved in the delivery of health services to First Nations and Aboriginal people in British Columbia.  

On March 1, 2017, health professions regulators in B.C. became the first in Canada to pledge their commitment to making our health system more culturally safe and effective for First Nations and Aboriginal peoples. The declaration has three main pillars:  

• creating a climate for change;
• engaging and enabling stakeholders; and
• implementing and sustaining change.

San'yas Indigenous Cultural Safety Training Program