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Alvin Fiddler is Grand Chief of Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN), a political-territorial organization which represents 49 First Nations across Treaties 9 and 5. (Sarah Law\/CBC)<\/p>\nFirst Nation leaders and health-care providers in northwestern Ontario are demanding the federal government make urgent changes to the federal Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) program.<\/p>\n
The program provides coverage for medical transportation, accommodations and meals for those who must leave their communities for health-care services that aren\u2019t available at home. This often means travelling hundreds of kilometres to places like Sioux Lookout, Winnipeg or Thunder Bay.<\/p>\n
However, those who use the program say it\u2019s broken, and that people are missing their appointments because travel isn\u2019t being arranged in time or communicated to the recipients at the last minute.<\/p>\n
Well over 100 people gathered outside the Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) office in Sioux Lookout, Ont., Monday, calling for a complete system overhaul.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe system and the issue is not getting any better, despite the fact that there’s been commitments made from the government on improving the service,\u201d said Wayne Moonias, former chief of Neskantaga First Nation, which organized the rally.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not just a Neskantaga issue; it’s right across the northern First Nation communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alvin Fiddler is Grand Chief of Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN), a political-territorial organization which represents 49 First Nations across Treaties 9 and 5. (Sarah Law\/CBC)<\/p>\n
The event drew participation from several communities, including Bearskin Lake, Cat Lake, Deer Lake, Kasabonika Lake, Mishkeegogamang, Nibinamik, Poplar Hill, Wapekeka and Wunnumin Lake First Nations.<\/p>\n
Leaders from Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN), Matawa First Nations, and Kiiwetinoong NDP MPP Sol Mamakwa, a member of Kingfisher Lake First Nation, also spoke.\u00a0<\/p>\n
NAN Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler said he recently met with NAN leaders to discuss the urgency of health-care improvements in the north, \u201cand at that meeting, I described NIHB as Canada\u2019s worst insurance company.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir objective is not to keep you well or to keep you alive. Their job and their objective is to operate within the regional envelope that they get every year \u2014 that is it,\u201d he told Monday\u2019s crowd.<\/p>\n
ISC \u2018working diligently to improve service levels\u2019<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for ISC provided an emailed statement to CBC News Friday, saying the department is working to address people\u2019s concerns.<\/p>\n
\u201cISC has been working diligently to improve service levels in the Ontario Region medical transportation call centre. To improve service efficiency, we have increased staffing and training, and simplified internal processes as well as travel request documentation,\u201d wrote ISC spokesperson Mary\u00e9va M\u00e9tellus.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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More than 100 people attended Monday’s rally in Sioux Lookout, Ont., over ongoing concerns with the federal Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) program. (Nishnawbe Aski Nation)<\/p>\n
The federal government announced $764 million for NIHB in April<\/a> for the 2026-2027 year.<\/p>\n \u201cThese changes aim to improve travel request processing times, reduce delays, and decrease phone wait times.<\/p>\n \u201cFollowing feedback from clients, First Nations communities and health partners, we are taking action to continually improve. Call centre performance and service levels are continually re-assessed to support improvements to client-focused service,\u201d M\u00e9tellus wrote.<\/p>\n Delayed diagnoses, worse health outcomes<\/p>\n Dr. Anna Banerji is a pediatrician who provides regular services in Sioux Lookout. She\u2019s also an associate professor at the University of Toronto\u2019s faculty of medicine.<\/p>\n While there have been challenges with the NIHB program for years, Banerji said something has shifted in recent months whereby people are no longer able to confirm the status of their travel arrangements.<\/p>\n \u201cOften you can send three or four faxes and no one responds and you don’t hear anything about your appointment \u2014 so sometimes people don’t even know that they have an appointment. The transportation is not arranged,\u201d Banerji said.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes what happens, someone will call them and say, \u2018OK, you’ve got an appointment this afternoon, get ready and go.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cMany people have children or elders that they have to take care of or they have a job, and they can’t just drop everything within an hour to get on a flight to go down to their appointment.\u201d<\/p>\n The program needs to be fixed and as soon as possible, because anywhere else, other Canadians would absolutely not tolerate it.- Dr. Anna Banerji, pediatrician and associate professor<\/p>\n Missed appointments can mean delayed diagnoses, resulting in poorer health outcomes among people who don\u2019t have access to specialists in their home communities, she said.<\/p>\n The problem also has a ripple effect on health-care providers.<\/p>\n \u201cI was speaking to the general surgeon when I was last up there [in Sioux Lookout] last week who said that he had four pages of patients booked for scopes and only one showed up,\u201d Banerji said. \u201cThat was because they were not being transferred out for their appointments.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781014573_742_default.jpg\")
Dr. Anna Banerji is a pediatrician, an associate professor at the University of Toronto\u2019s faculty of medicine, as well as the school’s director of global and Indigenous health. (Michael Cooper\/University of Toronto)<\/p>\n
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Dr. Joseph Dooley is chief of staff and former chief of obstetrics at the Sioux Lookout Meno Ya Win Health Centre. (Sioux Lookout Meno Ya Win Health Centre)<\/p>\n