Health, economic reform top election priorities for Indigenous leaders in Manitoba

Indigenous leaders in Manitoba place health-care reform and economic development among their top priorities for the provincial election, which will be held on Oct. 3.

First Nations people living in remote northern communities have suffered from a lack of access to health services, said Garrison Settee, grand chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, a non-profit political advocacy organization. 

"The current model has not worked, so I think we need to really reset the system and actually have First Nations who actually know the needs and situations be at the lead," Settee said in a phone interview on Monday.

Many First Nations people need to travel to cities to receive health care. Settee wants to see more services provided in their communities. 

Cathy Merrick, grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, which represents 62 of the 63 First Nations in the province, said communities have nursing stations but not a lot of services.

"We don't have health centres, we don't have dentists, we don't have diagnostics, we don't have birthing, we don't have any hospitals," Merrick said.

Meanwhile, First Nations people suffer disproportionately from a variety of health issues.

As of 2016, life expectancy for First Nations people was 72 for females and 68 for males, compared with averages of 82.8 for other females and 78.5 for other males in the province, according to a 2022 report on the health status of Manitobans.

Indigenous people make up a larger proportion of the population in Manitoba than in any other province, at 18.1 per cent in 2021, according to Statistics Canada census data.

Despite that, Merrick said she hasn't heard much about First Nations issues from any of the parties.

"Some [election] candidates have talked a little bit of the issues that affect First Nations in Manitoba, but it has to be more, because we are 165,000 strong here in Manitoba," Merrick said.

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'Economic reconciliation'

The provincial government also needs to do a better job of accommodating and compensating First Nations for resources extracted from their lands, Merrick said.

"Because a lot of the resources come from our homelands, and we are protected through the treaties and inherent rights of our people."

Settee said many of the issues facing First Nations communities — poor physical and mental health, addictions, and crime — are linked to a lack of economic opportunities.

"The number one thing that is the cause of all of this is the lack of economic opportunities for people … to provide for themselves an honest living," he said. 

"I think that … has to do with the economic reconciliation not being a priority for governments."

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Resource rights for First Nations are constitutionally protected through their inclusion in the treaties.

The grand chief of the Southern Chiefs' Organization said he is also frustrated at not hearing provincial leaders address Indigenous priorities such as rural health care and economic development in the election campaign.

"The rhetoric just doesn't follow what the real challenges are.… We're not hearing that from anybody," said Jerry Daniels.

The Manitoba Métis Federation, the national government of the Red River Métis, also emphasizes the need for health-care and economic reform. The federation sent a list of priorities to each of the political parties, asking for their support.

It asks the next provincial government to work with them to provide self-governed and administered programs and services.

It also asks the province to co-operate on issues like housing, wildlife management and education.

'We're just as human'

Another top priority for Settee is child welfare.

Manitoba has the highest number of children in care among the provinces, and the vast majority of them are Indigenous. 

"You cannot continue to apprehend children, because there's so much damage to these children already, and perpetuating these systems that are very harmful is something that we have to stop as Manitobans," he said.

Settee would also like to see the province expand restorative justice programs for First Nations people.

The Progressive Conservatives have made their opposition to a landfill search for the remains of two First Nations women a central plank in their platform.

Settee said the proposed search is a cultural issue, not a political one.

"It is about the lives of our people, and I think that we have to look at it from an ethical standpoint and also from a compassionate standpoint," he said.

"I don't think that such an issue like this should be politicized. It is unfortunate that it has gone down that path."

For Merrick, the top election issues are about closing the gaps between Indigenous people and the rest of Manitobans.

"We are a people and we're just as human as anybody else, and we're not asking for any treatment over and above any Manitoban."