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Nickel Belt News Volume 60 • Issue 20
Friday, May 15, 2020
Thompson, Manitoba
Serving the Norman Region since 1961
Temporary shelters for COVID-19 preparedness in Pukatawagan only part of federal government’s response
BY IAN GRAHAM
EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET
Media coverage of a company securing a bid to provide mobile structures for triage, isolation and accommodation in Mathias Colomb Cree Nation (MCCN) at Pukatawagan inaccurately portrayed the situation, Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) says. CBC Newfoundland and Labrador reported May 3 that Dynamic Air Shelters, in partnership with First Pac West from Vancouver and Dymond Group in Ottawa, had been awarded a contract to provide a medical shelter for screening and triage, four isolation units and four accommodation units. The shelters need to be in place by May 21 under the terms of the contract. Dynamic Air Shelters CEO David Quick told CBC the materials for the shelters are being packaged in small bundles that can be flown in by small aircraft that can land on the community’s short airstrip and be unloaded into the back of pickup trucks. That news prompted Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) Grand Chief Arlen Dumas to say May 4 that his organization was blindsided by the news and that
Indigenous Services Canada says it has also committed money to upgrade Mathias Colomb Cree Nation’s youth centre he would have preferred if First Nations in Manitoba and First Nations-owned construction companies would have been selected to complete the work. MCCN Chief Lorna Bighetty said in a May 6 press release that her First Nation wasn’t consulted on the contract, and that a solution MCCN proposed - to complete the First Nation’s youth centre, which would take two to three weeks and provide 6,000 square feet of space for pandemic response purposes as well as a permanent facility - would be preferable to bringing in outside workers to erect mobile shelters. ISC spokesperson Leslie Michelson said the department has been working with First Nations across the country to explore the feasibility of retooling existing spaces such as schools or band offices as temporary alternative health care facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic and providing funding for temporary health care infrastructure on a case-by-
case basis if such space is not available. ISC’s initial discussion with MCCN on infrastructure to support their COVID-19 preparedness took place April 24. “The department collaborated with Public Services and Procurement Canada to undertake a request for proposals for specialized mobile structures to support enhanced screening/ triage, the isolation of community members, and additional accommodation space for health professionals to ensure that Pukatawagan and other communities with similar needs have the resources they need, when or if they need them,” said Michelson. “In this case, the primary care staff working in the community indicated that the current facilities did not have sufficient capacity to respond to a potential outbreak.” When a proposal is accepted, Michelson said, ISC informs communities to discuss how many structures they need, with any surplus being placed in other communities based
Nickel Belt News photo courtesy of Dynamic Air Shelters Dynamic Air Shelters, a Calgary and Newfoundland-based company, was awarded a federal contract to erect temporary medical, isolation and accommodation shelters related to the COVID-19 pandemic in Pukatawagan, along with two partner companies. Indigenous Services Canada says it has also committed to providing Mathias Colomb Cree Nation with $353,000 for upgrades to its youth centre and that discussions with the First Nation related to temporary pandemic-related infrastructure continue. on their need. “However, the media coverage pre-empted this discussion with the community and also had an inaccurate portrayal of the initiative,” said Michelson. “The department deeply regrets the confusion and stress that this has caused
for the community and other regional First Nations leaders including the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and has apologized to the community leadership.” ISC has also committed $353,000 to MCCN for youth centre upgrades as an immediate prior-
ity. The department held discussions with MCCN May 5 and May 6 about options for temporary infrastructure related to the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to discuss further infrastructure needs, including the use of temporary structures.
Manitoba public health recording whether COVID-19 patients identify as Indigenous BY IAN GRAHAM
EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET
Manitoba’s public health department has been asking people who test positive for COVID-19 about their Indigenous identity since April 3, though the information is only being shared with Indigenous partners. Public health providers ask anyone who tests positive for the novel coronavirus if they self-identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit to help monitor the introduction and spread of COVID-19 among Manitoba’s Indigenous population both on and off-reserve, said a May 6 press release from
Number who have tested positive isn’t made public but is being shared with Indigenous partners, province says Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO). “Having access to this information will help First Nations better plan for and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said MKO Grand Chief Garrison Settee. “We currently do not have any confirmed cases of COVID-19 in MKO First Nations and we are working hard to ensure our communities stay free of the virus, however, knowing we will have access to
reliable, trusted information about positive COVID cases for First Nations citizens is reassuring.” The agreement with the province to collect and share this data was negotiated between the government and the Health Information Research Governance Committee (HIRGC), made up of First Nations health directors and First Nations academics, which was established in 1998. “There is nothing secret-
UP-TO-THE-MINUTE CORONAVIRUS UPDATES AT thompsoncitizen.net/covid-19
ive with the data sharing process: in fact it’s been a multi-collaborative initiative from the beginning,” stated Black River Chief Sheldon Kent, board chair of the First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba (FNHSSM), in May 5 press release. “This agreement further demonstrates the willingness to work together in unity while respecting the self determination of First Nations to have ownership, control, access, and posses-
sion of their own data and information. The parameters of the agreement further outlines how the First Nations data is accessed, how reports are generated and how information is shared, and respects all applicable privacy and information laws. The agreement was negotiated to ensure data accuracy to inform pandemic planning and preparedness and confirms the willingness of parties to work together at various levels to support First Nations data sovereignty.” Former MKO grand chief Sheila North told the Winnipeg Free Press that sharing the information collected with the public would help people make informed decisions. “I think we have to be as transparent as possible — as a community, as a province and as a nation — about who
is getting tested and what percentage, if any, is impacting First Nations,” said North, who also told the Free Press that she’d been tested for COVID-19 in March after travelling to Mexico and Ontario and then visiting Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation before developing flulike symptoms. She isolated herself and tested negative. During a May 4 press conference, Manitoba chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin said that there have not been any positive tests for COVID-19 in any First Nations community in Manitoba to date, though he did not divulge how many people who tested positive have self-identified as Indigenous. “I would only release such numbers in collaboration with our Indigenous partners.” Public health nurses recently started asking COVID-19 patients about other race and ethnicity information apart from Indigenous self-identification.