Photo appearing to show elder on hospital floor in Thunder Bay, Ont., raises concerns about Indigenous care

A photo that appears to show an Indigenous elder lying in the hallway of a Thunder Bay, Ont., hospital is raising concerns about the region's health-care system and treatment of Indigenous patients.

A copy of the image, which was posted online earlier this month but has since been removed, has been obtained by CBC News. The family of the patient involved has asked for privacy as they focus on caring for their loved one. CBC News has chosen not to include the photo in this story out of respect for the family.

CBC News cannot independently verify what happened to the patient. The Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) "is unable to comment on patient-specific situations due to patient privacy legislation," says an emailed statement from spokesperson Marcello Bernardo.

Earlier this month, the Canadian Medical Association issued a public apology for harms to First Nations, Inuit and Métis patients and health-care providers across the country.

"Indigenous people enter the health-care system expecting the worst, and I think that's sort of what this [Thunder Bay] case illustrates, unfortunately," said Dr. Alexa Lesperance, an Anishinaabe family physician and vice-president of the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada.

"I think of how many stories similar to this go uncaptured because of shame or stigma or because of violence that Indigenous people experience on the daily."

Hospital, Ministry of Health respond

When asked about TBRHSC's policies around bed shortages, Bernardo said the hospital "provides assessments based on individual illness severity, injury emergence and acuity scores" to determine which patients are seen first.

As for cultural support, he spoke of the hospital's Indigenous care co-ordinators (ICC), who help Indigenous patients navigate services and advocate for appropriate care.

"For all patients, unfortunately at times they must wait until treatment providers are available and we can appreciate that waiting even a short period can be difficult for people," said Bernardo.

"TBRHSC is continuously working internally, with partners, and with [the Ministry of Health] to find the resources to always be improving care for our patients from across northwestern Ontario."

CBC News also reached out to the ministry. In an emailed statement, the ministry said it can't comment on specific patient cases. However, spokesperson W.D. Lighthall said all hospitals must have a process for patients and caregivers to voice concerns.

Regarding bed shortages, "we are getting shovels in the ground for over 50 hospital development projects across the province, building on the over 3,500 hospital beds we have added since 2020," said Lighthall.

"This includes an addition of 34 beds at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre as Minister [Sylvia] Jones and MPP [Kevin] Holland announced last year."

The ministry did not say whether those 34 beds are already in place.

First Nations, Inuit and Métis patients and caregivers can also access the Early Resolution Specialist – Indigenous Experiences program through the patient ombudsman, said Lighthall, adding the program aims to help them resolve concerns and file formal complaints.

Thunder Bay—Superior North MPP Lise Vaugeois told CBC News she is concerned about Ontario's health-care funding and money being diverted from the public system into private care.

Earlier this month, she attended a virtual town hall meeting by the Ontario Medical Association to address concerns about wait times and doctor shortages in the north.

"People are very, very stressed and worried about the health-care system, that they're waiting too long to get services," Vaugeois told CBC News upon seeing the photo. "The image of this elder really … represents in a very tangible way the fact that our system is not able to keep up with people's needs."

Failures of 'colonial health-care system'

In response to the photo, Grand Council Treaty #3 issued a statement saying it was "deeply concerned" about the patient, who was identified as a member of Treaty #3.

"This incident highlights an unacceptable approach to care by TBRHSC and is reflective of the ongoing failure of the colonial health-care system to uphold our treaty right to health and well-being," the statement said.

People from dozens of remote First Nations travel to Sioux Lookout and Thunder Bay for medical care. Kiiwetinoong MPP Sol Mamakwa, who is from Kingfisher Lake First Nation, said he wants to see better care closer to home.

"The nurses, the physicians do not have the tools to be able to properly assess, treat the people in the north," Mamakwa said, describing how communities have outgrown their nursing stations.

"We don't have paramedics up north, nothing. Those are some of the basic things that we do not have that everybody in Ontario, across Canada has, but we don't."

Lesperance, who grew up in Whitefish Bay and is a member of Rocky Bay First Nation in northwestern Ontario, said the CMA's acknowledgment of discrimination in the health-care system is a good first step.

However, it must be followed by actions — such as more cultural safety training and real-time reporting of discrimination that can be held publicly accountable. 

"What I didn't hear once in the CMA's official response are terms like white privilege, white fragility, white supremacy," Lesperance said. "Medical violence is entrenched in white supremacy.

"I do think non-Indigenous people need to be central to dismantling white supremacy, and that work can't come off the backs of racialized patients or physicians who are trying to survive within a system not intended for them and [that] continue to be harmed by its effect."