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<font face="Arial">FYI...<br>
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<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://intercontinentalcry.org/public-health-report-quietly-released-in-canada/">http://intercontinentalcry.org/public-health-report-quietly-released-in-canada/</a><br>
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<b>Public Health Report Quietly Released in Canada </b><br>
By John Schertow -- <span class="timejump">August 3, 2008</span>
<p>Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. David Butler-Jones,
released his <a
href="http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/publicat/2008/cpho-aspc/index-eng.php">first
annual Report on the State of Public Health in Canada</a> a few weeks
ago. </p>
<p>There’s been little to no commentary about the report since then, be
it from the government or the public. It’s almost like it doesn’t exist
— a sad irony considering its purpose is “to inform Canadians and
stimulate discussion of the many factors that contribute to good health
and what can be done individually and collectively to advance public
health in Canada.”</p>
<p>The report offers some particularly important considerations. For
instance, it points to “cultural preservation and continuity, as well
as living in communities with self-government, settled land claims, and
access to self-managed education, health, cultural and policing
services” as having positive benefits to indigenous peoples health.
How many government officials do you know that would dare say
something like that? Perhaps that’s why it’s not getting any attention.
</p>
<p>The report also provides a number of statistics concerning the
health of Canadians and Indigenous People. Unfortunately, this is where
it falls apart --- through failing to provide a full and accurate
picture
of indigenous peoples health. </p>
<p>For example, it glosses over the
housing and water crises, as well as the substance abuse epidemic.
Further, it ignores the serious physical and sexual abuse problems on
reserve(s), and the ongoing and long-term (cumulative) effect of<br>
environmental contaminants (like mercury exposure, PCB’s, dioxins,
oil…). <br>
</p>
<p>If there is to be a genuine discussion about “our” health, there has
to be a full disclosure of facts.</p>
<h3>A Better look at the state of Indigenous Peoples health in Canada</h3>
<p>Using the report as a backdrop, here’s a better look at the state of
Indigenous Peoples health in Canada (minus the issue of environmental
contaminants, which will be added at a later date).</p>
<p><strong>1.</strong> “Inadequate housing and homelessness continue to
plague Aboriginal Peoples…” [<em>a
rather large understatement. According to the National Aboriginal
Health Organization's , Preliminary Findings of the First Nations
Regional Longitudinal Health Survey 2002-2003, Housing density is twice
that of Canadians. Nearly 1 in 4 adults on reserve live in crowded
homes; 423,000 people live in 89,000 overcrowded, substandard and
rapidly deteriorating housing units; 5,486 of the 88,485 houses
on-reserve are without sewage service; and Mold contaminates almost
half of First Nations households. <a
href="http://intercontinentalcry.org/indigenous-land-canadas-toxic-storehouse/">Asbestos
is another major problem</a></em>]</p>
<p><strong>2.</strong> “First Nations on reserve report lower rates of
alcohol use (65.6%) but higher rates of heavy drinking than the overall
population. More than 42% of First Nations youth on reserve report
using alcohol and 27% report heavy drinking at least once a month. In
addition, approximately 64% of First Nations reported that no progress
was being made within these communities on reducing both frequent
alcohol and drug use.” [<em>For more detailed information see the
report, "<a href="http://www.ahf.ca/pages/download/28_13222">Addictive
Behaviours Among Aboriginal People in Canada</a>" by the Aboriginal
Healing Foundation.</em>]</p>
<p><strong>3.</strong> “Infant mortality rates among Aboriginal Peoples
and those living in Canada’s northern communities are estimated to be
higher than the general population. The infant mortality rate among
First Nations people living on reserve is estimated at 7 deaths per
1,000 live births. This rate may be an underestimate because of current
limitations associated with data coverage and quality related to
Aboriginal infant births and deaths in Canada. Recent research related
to First Nations in British Columbia puts the estimate as high as 7.5
deaths per 1,000 live births for First Nations living in rural areas.”</p>
<p><strong>4.</strong> Concerning water, “There are still challenges to
be addressed, particularly in small and remote communities and on First
Nations reserves.” [<em>"Challenges?" <a
href="http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fniah-spnia/promotion/water-eau/advis-avis_concern-eng.php">As
of July 25th, 2008</a>, <strong>there are 102 indigenous communities
across Canada under a Drinking Water Advisory.</strong></em>]</p>
<p><strong>5.</strong> “Aboriginal Peoples… have higher rates of many
chronic diseases than the Canadian average. Figure 3.14 [to the right]
shows that, with few exceptions, the proportion of First Nations adults
living on a reserve who report being diagnosed with some chronic
conditions is higher than that of the overall population.”</p>
<p><strong>6.</strong> “The highest smoking rates can be found among
Canadians with lower income, Aboriginal populations and people living
in Northern Canada, which likely contributes to the higher rates of
cardiovascular and respiratory diseases found in these populations.”</p>
<p><strong>7.</strong> “Among Aboriginal Peoples living off reserve 38%
of adults and 20% of children are obese (based on measured height and
weight). For First Nations living on reserve or in First Nations
communities, 36% of both adults and children are considered to be obese
based on self-reported height and weight measurements.” [<em>For more
detailed information see the journal article, "<a
href="http://www.ahf.ca/pages/download/28_13222">Overweight in First
Nations Children: Prevalence, Implications, and Solutions</a>" by
Noreen D. Willows</em>]</p>
<p><strong>8.</strong> Among First Nations adults living on reserve or
in First Nations communities, the [Type II] diabetes prevalence is
approximately 20% ? four times the rate of the general population<em>.
[The report goes on to say that Type II diabetes "is strongly related
to... obesity." Scientific evidence is mounting which suggests the
actual cause of diabetes is, in fact, <em>exposure to dioxin, PCB's
and other Persistant Organic Pollutants (POP's)</em>.
Obesity, while remaining a health problem, may only be a vehicle for
the pollutants. With that in mind, consider Health Canada's estimate
that by 2021, more than 25% of the indigenous population will have Type
II diabetes. For more on this, see the 2007 article <a
href="http://groups.google.com/group/Friends-of-AGG/browse_thread/thread/6c55197f12a569f1/2682009191be96b1?lnk=gst&q=diabetes#2682009191be96b1">Exposure
to persistent organochlorine pollutants and type 2 diabetes mellitus</a>,
the 2006 Report <a
href="http://groups.google.com/group/Friends-of-AGG/browse_thread/thread/4fc1c8191f49e6/385f9219aa6e6dd2?lnk=gst&q=diabetes#385f9219aa6e6dd2">Persistent
organic pollutants and the burden of diabetes</a> (click 'show quoted
text'), John H.W. Hummel's <a
href="http://www.nben.ca/environews/articles/archives/tox.htm">2000
Report for the Health Project of the Kahnawake Environment Office</a>,
and the article <a
href="http://www.thismagazine.ca/issues/2008/05/downstreamdisease.php%22">Downstream
disease</a> on This Magazine. For more general information on diabetes,
visit the <a href="http://www.ksdpp.org/">Kahnawake Schools Diabetes
Prevention Project website</a></em>]</p>
<p><strong>9.</strong> “Some infectious diseases are more prevalent
among Aboriginal Peoples than the general population. In 2006, there
were 27.4 reported new active and relapsed tuberculosis cases per
100,000 in the Aboriginal population, compared to just 5 per 100,000 in
the total Canadian population.” [<em>For more information, see <a
href="http://www.nationtalk.ca/modules/news/article.php?storyid=8743&keywords=Tuberculosis">Tuberculosis
(TB) Information and Prevention fact sheet</a> by the Assembly of First
Nations</em>]</p>
<p><strong>10.</strong> 209 Aboriginal Peoples also accounted for more
than 27% of all reported positive HIV tests in 2006 in the 11
provinces/territories that report ethnicity with their tests, although
they are estimated to make up only 6% of the population in those
provinces/territories.” [<em>For more information, visit the <a
href="http://www.caan.ca/">Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network</a></em>]</p>
<p><strong>11.</strong> “Reported spousal abuse among Aboriginal women
and men <strong>off reserve</strong> is much higher than the national
average (e.g. 21% compared to 7% for physical and sexual abuse in
2004).” [<em>On reserve, the numbers are even higher, as noted in the
July 2008 policy paper, "<a
href="http://www.travel-net.com/%7Enwacweb/en/documents/AddressingviolenceagainstAboriginalWomen.pdf">Addressing
violence against Aboriginal Women, the Elderly, and Children</a>" by
Native Women’s Association of Canada. <strong>A)</strong>
"Aboriginal people are three and one half times more likely to be
victims of spousal violence than non-Aboriginal individuals. One survey
found 24% of Aboriginal women said that they have suffered violence
from a current or previous spouse or common law partner in the five
years prior to the study." <strong>B)</strong> "Aboriginal women are
more likely than non-Aboriginal women to have suffered a physical
injury (51% versus 42%), taken time away from their daily activities
(44% compared to 27%), or experienced ten or more separate incidents of
violence from the same perpetrator (27% versus 18%)" </em>]</p>
<p><strong>12.</strong> “Social exclusion is experienced when some
people or groups have limited control and access to social, economic,
political and cultural resources. Aboriginal Peoples have a long
history of unequal access to and control over education and health
care, as well as lands and natural resources, which has resulted in
social disconnection. Health can be influenced by historical and
cultural experiences that not only affect individuals but whole
communities. For example, residential schools had a significant impact
on the health and well-being of many First Nations adults and
consequently their children and grandchildren. Almost half of
residential school survivors report that the experience negatively
affected their mental and physical health through isolation from
family, separation from community, and a loss of identity and language.
Among their children, 43% believe the residential school experience had
a negative effect on their parents’ parenting skills.” [<em>For more
about the effect of residential schools, see the 2005 report, "<a
href="http://www.ahf.ca/pages/download/28_101">Reclaiming Connections:
Understanding Residential School Trauma Among Aboriginal People</a>" by
the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.</em>]</p>
<p><strong>13.</strong> “High rates of suicide among First Nations
people, particularly among youth, are linked to social exclusion and
disconnection from their traditions and culture. However, research
suggests that it is a mistake to assume these challenges are systemic
within First Nations communities and points to protective factors that
can reduce these risks. Research from British Columbia has revealed
that 90% of Aboriginal youth suicides in the province occur in just 10%
of First Nations communities. Suicide rates in these communities
sometimes reach 800 times the Canadian average, while more than half of
the First Nations communities in the province have not had any suicides
in many years. Further research on language groups and community
identity suggest that cultural preservation and continuity, as well as
living in communities with self-government, settled land claims, and
access to self-managed education, health, cultural and policing
services [<strong>in other words, sovereignty</strong>] all have
positive impacts on the health of the local population. The British
Columbia studies found that communities with some level of self
government and/or multiple community control factors present had the
lowest rates of suicide.” [<em>For more, see the 2007 report, "<a
href="http://www.ahf.ca/pages/download/28_13246">Suicide Among
Aboriginal People in Canada</a>" by the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.</em>]</p>
<p><strong>14.</strong> “Access to health care is also an issue for
Aboriginal populations who live off-reserve, as they are less likely
than the overall population (77% compared to 79%) to regularly visit a
physician, and more likely to report having unmet health care needs
(20% compared to 13%). First Nations adults living on-reserve cite
barriers to accessing the health care system ranging from extensive
wait times, services not covered by benefits, a shortage of
doctors/nurses in the area and the cost of transportation, to
complaints that services provided were inadequate or not culturally
sensitive.” [<em>Read about the recent <a
href="http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=cf73bce0-ab0d-4c62-8c90-dba6244ff63b">call
for an independent health care system for Indigenous People</a></em>]</p>
<p><em>Thanks to <a href="http://www.turtleisland.org">Turtle Island
News</a>
for putting together the initial list. <br>
</em></p>
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