Police called on Cree family trying to access care for baby in distress in northern Quebec
CBC
A family in northern Quebec says they are in shock after non-Indigenous staff at a local medical clinic called police on them as they were trying to access medical care for an 11-month-old baby in distress from an infection from a severe outbreak of eczema.
"I was shaking uncontrollably, I couldn't sleep. I couldn't eat," said Jade Mukash, the mother of baby Slash, after trying to take him to the local CMC medical clinic around 1 a.m. Tuesday in the fly-in community of Whapmagoostui, Que.
The community is located a 1,200 kilometre flight north from Montreal. The clinic is run by the Cree Board of Health and Social Services of James Bay.
Slash has eczema and was showing signs of an infection they had seen before. Mukash says they were also concerned because his feet and lips were blue and he had been lethargic for two days.
After initially refusing to see the boy, the nurse on duty eventually said to bring him in, according to Mukash. But then, Mukash said the nurse refused to call in the doctor so Slash could be seen.
Mukash said while tensions were high, they never threatened any of the staff at the clinic nor yelled. Still, according to Mukash, the nurse on duty said she felt threatened and police were called to remove the family from the clinic.
"I just keep reliving the fear of being forcibly removed from the clinic, just for trying to get antibiotics for my baby," said Mukash, adding the experience has made her lose faith in the local clinic.
Mukash said she feels they were subjected to inadequate care and discrimination.
"I knew there was discrimination at this point, because they told me calling the Cree police was conflict of interest," said Mukash.
Whapmagoostui is side by side with the Nunavik community of Kuujjuarapik and police from both forces were called to the clinic, according to Mukash. It is not clear who called in the Eeyou Eenou Police Force.
The 22-year-old Mukash also said the family has been trying to get a referral to have Slash seen by a specialist in the South for five months, because other than eczema, he also struggles with digestive issues and low iron levels.
She said they have seen five different doctors at the Whapmagoostui clinic and all of them have refused to send the family South to see a specialist, something the Cree health board does routinely.
Mukash filed a complaint about the challenges of getting care for Slash three weeks ago and was sent to see a pediatrician in Chisasibi, Que., but there was still no referral to see a specialist.
A spokesperson at the Cree Board of Health and Social Services of James Bay said this most recent incident is under investigation and declined to comment further for now.
For years, there has been “glaring inequity” in the way the province has allocated the millions of dollars in its county roads budget, according to Department of Transportation Minister Chuck Chiasson.
Six months after passing a law aimed at making it easier for new grocery stores to open, Manitoba's premier says lower grocery bills could be on the horizon.
Timothy Smith was acting in self-defence when he punched Landon Waddell, and shouldn't be found guilty of manslaughter, his lawyer says.
Thoroughbred horse racing at Vancouver’s Hastings Racecourse is ending after more than a century, with the operator announcing Friday it will no longer run a racing season at the historic facility.
A memorial to remember lives lost to gender-based violence was held in Charlottetown Friday, ahead of the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, which is marked annually on Dec. 6.
A Calgary dentist who defrauded five insurance companies over a decade should spend up to three years in prison, the prosecution argued Friday.
B.C. Conservation Officer Service says it has called off its search for a bear responsible for an attack on a group of school children in Bella Coola, B.C. on Nov. 20.
The union president called it a rally for solidarity as Iqaluit Housing Authority employees gathered Friday while negotiations are ongoing between the Nunavut Employees Union and the employer.
The federal government is stoking Quebec separatism by walking back its climate commitments — including in its recent deal with Alberta — Liberal MP and former cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault says.
Four more Alberta MLAs are facing recall petitions organized by their constituents, including the first NDP representative to be caught in the province's ongoing wave of recall efforts.
Frank Gehry, the Canadian-born renegade architect behind some of the world's most recognizable buildings, has died at 96.
Hundreds of P.E.I. parents can't find child-care spaces, especially for infants. The provincial government says expanding those spots remains a top priority — and it recognizes the concern.
An Alberta judge says a referendum proposal on Alberta separating from Canada goes against Charter and and Treaty rights, in a decision given less than 24 hours after the provincial government introduced legislation that would have ended the court proceeding.