Training on Indigenous realities: Quebec did not reach its target

Less than 65% of health and social services personnel have completed the mandatory training on Indigenous realities, ordered after the tragic death of Joyce Echaquan. Remember that the objective was to have sensitized all workers in the sector by September 30, 2022.

According to the latest report sent by the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) to the QMI Agency, dated September 26, 2022, 62.25% of employees in the health and social services network in Quebec (i.e. 197,950 workers) took the mandatory “Awareness of Aboriginal Realities” training.

This percentage includes training considered equivalent, specified the MSSS by email.

“The pandemic context of the past few months has presented its share of challenges in the deployment of training,” it was explained.

The ministry says it continues to consider “the priority nature of training” and undertakes to reach the target as initially set, namely 100%. However, no new date has been given for this to happen. “Work is continuing for this purpose,” simply indicated the MSSS.

Remember that this training, made up of three modules and lasting 1 h 45 min, has been offered to employees in the sector since June 1, 2021. The objective is to “raise awareness as many people as possible about Indigenous realities”, in order to prevent a tragedy like the death of Joyce Echaquan at the Joliette hospital on September 28, 2020 from happening again.

The 37-year-old Attikamek woman died under racist insults from staff when she was filming her own agony live. She was the victim of anti-Indigenous prejudice leading to a misdiagnosis. In her report on the death of Joyce Echaquan presented in October 2021, coroner Géhane Kamel, stressed that her death was « accidental », but that systemic racism and prejudice against her contributed to it and that her death could have been avoided.