In Canada, Indigenous people and people of colour are negatively impacted by systemic inequities in social inclusion, personal health, and access to and quality of health and social services. We also know that Indigenous people and people of colour have been over-represented in statistics on those who experience violence across Canada – for example, Indigenous women 15 years and older are 3.5 times more likely to experience violence than non-Indigenous women. This is an important and urgent health care issue.

Family physicians have a role to play in addressing the systemic racism that Indigenous people and people of colour face every day in our country. Family physicians cannot treat the immediate health concerns of their patients without understanding and addressing the underlying social and economic factors that give rise to poor health. Health care professionals must take steps to eliminate the systemic barriers that prevent Indigenous people and people of colour from accessing the same services and care that are available to most Canadians. Some of these barriers are our own biases, which we must acknowledge and root out.

The BCCFP is committed to promoting anti-racism and cultural safety and humility in the practice of family medicine. We provide resources on health equity and cultural safety and humility on our website. We urge our members to review these resources and consider how you can improve your practice. We must all be actively anti-racist.

Our efforts towards anti-racism are only just beginning and there is much to be done. We are committed to identifying further actions we can take in the immediate and long-term future.

June – Indigenous History Month in Canada

National Indigenous History Month in Canada, celebrated every June, holds significant importance for family physicians. This dedicated month provides an opportunity to deepen understanding of the unique health challenges faced by Indigenous communities and the historical and social contexts that shape these challenges.

Click here to visit the Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada website for more information on how you can recognize and support Indigenous History Month.

Resources:

• Anti-racism resources for white people
• BC Patient Safety and Quality Council (BCPSQC) cultural safety and humility webinar series
• The BIPOC Project
• Black Physicians of Canada
• Canadian Medical Association: Equity and diversity in medicine
• Canadian Public Health Association: Racism and Public Health position statement
• CFPC: Health and Health Care Implications of Systemic Racism on Indigenous Peoples in Canada
• First Peoples, Second-Class Treatment: The role of racism in the health and well-being of Indigenous peoples in Canada
• In Plain Sight: Addressing Indigenous-specific Racism and Discrimination in BC Health Care
• San’yas: Indigenous Cultural Safety Training
• White Fragility
• White Privilege in a White Coat: How Racism Shaped my Medical Education
• Violence Against Aborginal Women Fact Sheet

Visit our Cultural Safety and Humility section for more resources specific to Indigenous cultural safety and humility.

We continue to develop these resources. Please contact us with any suggested additions.