The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) is holding a ceremony in Victoria, B.C., on Wednesday to publicly apologize for harms the medical profession has caused Indigenous Peoples.
“By offering this apology, we hope to build trust with and support Indigenous Peoples, communities and organizations and inspire medical learners, physicians and medical organizations to undertake their own reconciliation journey, professionally, and personally as Canadians,” said the CMA in a release.
CBC will livestream the ceremony beginning at 1 p.m. PT/4 p.m. ET, on the traditional territory of the lək̓ʷəŋiʔnəŋ-speaking people of Songhees and Xwsepsum Nations.
First Nation, Inuit and MĂ©tis dignitaries will join CMA officials at the event. The formal apology will be delivered by CMA president Dr. Joss Reimer.Â
“Our apology will be offered in humility in the hope we can build trust, and that in allyship with Indigenous Peoples, can advance Indigenous health and achieve a better future,” Reimer said in a statement.
Also scheduled to speak is past CMA president Dr. Alika Lafontaine, the association’s first Indigenous leader.
The ceremony will also include a screening of The Unforgotten, a short film about Métis elder Sonny MacDonald who, after being taken from his community, suffered abuse and torture at the Charles Camsell Indian Hospital in Edmonton after being diagnosed with tuberculosis at age seven.
On its website, the CMA acknowledges the “unacceptable health disparities” experienced by Indigenous people due to the legacy of colonialism, residential schools and systemic racism in Canada.
