By: Sonal Gupta, Local Journalism Initiative ReporterSource: Canada\u2019s National Observer<\/p>\n
Gaps in federal funding and authority expose many First Nations and Inuit Elders in Canada to inadequate long-term care, forcing them to leave their home communities, language and culture, documents show.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The document obtained by Canada\u2019s National Observer through an Access to Information and Privacy request shows that limited funding, unclear responsibilities and gaps between jurisdictional powers have created a significant shortfall in long-term care infrastructure.<\/p>\n
While Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) runs the First Nations and Inuit Home and Community Care Program and the Assisted Living Program, the programs \u201cdo not completely meet the long-term care needs\u201d of Indigenous communities, says the briefing note prepared for the minister.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThese Elders are in their final golden days \u2026 but they [the system] plug and pull them from their homes, pull them from their loved ones, they pull them from their food that used to be their diet and they put them in homes and there\u2019s some places where it\u2019s hard for their family to see,\u201d said Mark MacNeill, Indigenous law and policy expert and researcher on Inuit long-term health.<\/p>\n
Many Inuit Elders are forced to leave their northern communities for distant southern care homes, MacNeill said, describing the situation as a \u201cdouble whammy\u201d for Elders who have already lived through the lasting impacts of residential schools and colonial policies and now face further cultural isolation and trauma in unfamiliar care environments far from their communities and support networks.<\/p>\n
Sharlene Webkamigad, Anishnaabe-Kwe from Wiikwemkoong as well as an Indigenous health researcher and assistant professor at Laurentian University, said the relocation can be especially hard for those living with conditions such as dementia or Alzheimer\u2019s disease or for Elders who revert to their first language later in life and cannot communicate easily in English. When older adults are placed in facilities where \u201cthey can\u2019t speak any other language,\u201d they may become \u201cvery closed off or not able to ask for what they need, just basic things,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Government documents show that current federal support ranges from in-home health services to per-diem funding for low-income individuals in long-term care, but ISC cannot fund the construction or full operation of care homes on reserve.\u00a0<\/p>\n
To address this, the department drafted a Memorandum to Cabinet and a Budget 2025 proposal seeking authority for a \u201cmore comprehensive and holistic approach,\u201d including infrastructure funding that does not currently exist. The department said it would not share the contents of that memo.<\/p>\n
\u201cMemoranda to Cabinet are subject to Cabinet Confidence and their contents cannot be shared,\u201d Mary\u00e9va M\u00e9tellus, spokesperson for ISC, told Canada\u2019s National Observer in an email response.<\/p>\n
Jurisdictional ambiguity
Webkamigad said the gaps in Indigenous long-term care stem partly from jurisdictional ambiguity. Under the Canada Health Act, long-term care is considered \u201cextended healthcare\u201d and mainly a provincial responsibility. This setup leaves federal obligations unclear, even as Indigenous health ties directly to treaties with Ottawa.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Canada, provinces are responsible for funding and licensing long-term care homes,\u201d M\u00e9tellus said. Construction and maintenance of care homes on reserves relies on partnerships with provinces, federal agencies and communities. Many existing facilities were funded through Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, provincial governments or local revenue.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cISC is passing the buck, also known as shirking its fiduciary duty. Health care is a jointly shared responsibility under the Constitution and even more importantly, our First Nations and Inuit relationship is in the first instance with our federal Government,\u201d MacNeill said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
MacNeill said Indigenous health services should be funded federally in the same manner as veterans\u2019 hospitals.<\/p>\n
Despite no infrastructure authorities for long term and continuing care currently in place, some communities have received one-time federal support. In January 2023, ISC provided $5 million through the Health Facilities program and $250,000 through the Lands and Economic Development program to fund architectural design for a care home in the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. But that was a one-time thing, the ministry said. \u201cThe funding through the Health Facilities Program was an exceptional circumstance using a funding stream that is no longer available,\u201d M\u00e9tellus said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
M\u00e9tellus added that the Grassy Narrows Mercury Care Home in Ontario is also being built as part of legal settlements with Ontario and Canada.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Webkamigad said older adults remain central to cultural survival in several First Nations communities in Ontario and removing them from their homes affects the broader community.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t pass down our languages and our understandings of our lands and waters if the people who carry that knowledge are sent away to live out the rest of their lives somewhere else,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
As a result, there is an urgent need for a \u201cdistinctions-based\u201d culturally informed approach \u2014 meaning recognizing and respecting the unique rights, cultures and needs of First Nations, Inuit and M\u00e9tis peoples individually, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to draw on the knowledge of those in the community and those older adults to start talking about what is even needed \u2014 long-term care facilities, intergenerational housing or close-knit community support,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
M\u00e9tellus said that efforts to improve long-term care for First Nations and Inuit communities have been ongoing. In 2019, the government provided $8.5 million for Indigenous Services Canada to create a holistic care framework. Indigenous-led regional consultations were completed in 2022 and their findings helped guide joint policy discussions in 2023.<\/p>\n
M\u00e9tellus added that while budget 2025 does not specifically earmark funding for long-term care for First Nations or Inuit, it includes measures to support Indigenous communities more broadly, such as development of an Indigenous Housing Strategy.<\/p>\n
The government document also notes that the absence of federal provision for long-term care on reserve has been raised repeatedly in human rights complaints.<\/p>\n
M\u00e9tellus acknowledged ongoing complaints before the Canadian Human Rights Commission and Tribunal alleging discrimination against First Nations adults with disabilities based on race, age and disability, but couldn\u2019t provide further details.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the matters are currently before the Commission and Tribunal, Indigenous Services Canada will not be commenting on the specifics of the cases to protect the integrity of the proceedings and the privacy of those involved,\u201d M\u00e9tellus said.<\/p>\n
Sonal Gupta \/ Local Journalism Initiative \/ Canada\u2019s National Observer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By: Sonal Gupta, Local Journalism Initiative ReporterSource: Canada\u2019s National Observer Gaps in federal funding and authority expose many…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":324179,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[49,48,84,392],"class_list":{"0":"post-324178","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-healthcare"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=324178"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324178\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/324179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=324178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=324178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=324178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}