Indigenous OPP officer says WSIB denied her culturally sensitive care
An Indigenous OPP officer who is off work with post-traumatic stress disorder says the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) ignored her request for culturally sensitive healthcare for a year, and she calls it racial discrimination.
“In August 2024, I asked my case manager if I could get an Indigenous mental healthcare provider, mainly a psychologist and occupational therapist,” said Amanda Hill, a constable in Orillia, roughly 100 kilometres north of Toronto.
Traditional wellness and healing is an important part of First Nations health that is often overlooked by healthcare systems, Hill said.
“I told my case work that Indigenous people need a different kind of treatment, but she didn’t seem to understand. She didn’t say ‘no,’ but she also said I needed to find my own provider.”
However, WSIB only accepts progress reports from WSIB-recognized health providers.
“WSIB had a list of healthcare providers, but none of them was Indigenous, so I asked if they had a list of Indigenous healt care providers and was told ‘no,'” Hill said.
She said she was “dealing with discrimination and racism.”
“There is no reconciliation.”
A non-Indigenous psychiatrist and occupational therapist was provided for her, but under the care of the occupational therapist, Hill said she has had virtually no improvement.
“She doesn’t understand me. I feel like there is a barrier between her and I, and I feel she is pushing me too hard when I need something that is culturally sensitive,” said Hill.
Hill reached out to the Ontario Provincial Police Association (OPPA) and even wrote a letter to the OPP commissioner but was told by a staff member there was nothing they could do, she said.
“I was a little bit shocked. I was a bit discouraged that I was just left,” she said. “I felt helpless.”
When she still didn’t have any WSIB-recognized Indigenous healers offered to her by June, she had a legal letter drafted and delivered to the WSIB. Paralegal Angelo Procopio, of WorkAid & Associates, cited Ontario Human Rights Code and Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action violations.
The letter, headlined “Failure to facilitate Indigenous healing services in violation of equity,” calls WSIB’s response “passive non-accommodation.”
The letter states Hill has “repeatedly requested access to culturally appropriate Indigenous-led healing services” and that those requests have “gone unfulfilled for nearly a year.
“While WSIB staff have verbally supported the idea, she was told that she must locate the agency herself and that no internal list or framework exists to assist Indigenous clients — an unacceptable burden and systemic barrier.”
WSIB’s own 2021 Reconciliation and Indigenous Inclusion Statement commits the board to support culturally relevant services and reduce barriers for Indigenous workers.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action 22 and 23 mandate inclusion of Indigenous healing practices in all public health systems.
Under the Ontario Human Rights Code, the WSIB is required to provide reasonable “accommodation on the basis of ethnic origin and culture,” including traditional health practices.
The letter requests WSIB fulfil its obligations or face further measures.
A month later, when Hill had not received a response to the letter, she reached out to OrilliaMatters, which questioned the OPPA and WSIB.
On July 29, Scott Mills, strategic communications co-ordinator with the OPPA, responded by email, saying, “We are committed to supporting all our members and take matters of discrimination very seriously. We do not comment on the individual engagement or status of specific members within the association.”
On July 30, Christine Arnott, public affairs manager with WSIB Ontario, responded by email, saying, “The WSIB is here to help people who experience a workplace injury or illness. With respect to mental health coverage, we are proud to be helping people through their work-related mental stress injuries by providing the services and support they need to return to work.”
The email goes on to say that under the Mental Health Specialized Care Program, there is access to a traditional healer, who provides spiritual services, support and ceremonies, a room designated for smudging, and a traditional sweat lodge. These services are provided in Penetanguishene at Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care, in Guelph through Homewood Health Centre and in Toronto through the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. It also states clients outside of these geographic areas “may be able to receive some treatments online.”
“We have been working with Const. Hill for some time, but for privacy reasons, we cannot provide detailed information on the Indigenous treatment options already offered to her,” Arnott stated, suggesting Hill contact WSIB about her claim and treatment options.
Also on July 30, Hill emailed OrilliaMatters, saying, “WSIB is now actively accommodating my request now, and this Indigenous agency they are working with is WSIB-approved.”
Hill said her home community is the Magnetawan First Nation. She grew up in Sudbury in a home where her family practised Indigenous “mind, body and soul” ceremonies, and that is what she understands and finds helpful. She said she wants to get healthy and get back to work in some capacity.
Hill started work as a front-line officer in 2011 with the Nishnawbe Aski Police Service in northern Ontario, where she served for four years before being hired by Orillia OPP in 2015. She was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in 2020, and she went off work and has been under the care of WSIB since then. nwonewswatch.com
I am getting tired of the accusation of ‘racism’ turning up in every other news item. I am also sure that I am not the only one. The more that accusation is made, the less power it has.
There was a time when ‘racism’ and ‘racist’ were terms that meant something. Used rarely. Not something you wanted to be accused of.
Today, those accusations are made all the time. I don’t think anyone even knows what the Canadian Government’s legal definition for ‘racism’ is. I honestly do not think most people even care about the subject anymore.
The question that the WSIB has and I am sure everyone else has is: Does the treatment work? Its that simple.
Hopefully the WSIB will be observing this ‘Cultural Sensitive Care’ and taking note of the results. Knowledge is power.
Could have been worse for the officer. She could have been a veteran of the Canadian Military…..
RCMP called to investigate multiple cases of veterans being offered medically assisted death
Four — perhaps even five — Canadian military veterans were given the option of medically-assisted death (MAID) by a now-suspended Veterans Affairs Canada caseworker, the country’s veterans minister told a House of Commons committee late Thursday.
Lawrence MacAulay said the matter is now being turned over to the RCMP for investigation and his department’s internal review is ongoing.
“We expect all Veterans Affairs candidate employees to interact with veterans with care, compassion and respect and the actions of this one employee is simply disgusting,” MacAulay told the veterans affairs committee. “And I condemn this behaviour in the strongest terms.”
He went on to say there was “no way to justify” the actions and he wasn’t about to defend the employee.
Last summer, Global News first reported a case where a veteran claimed to have been pressured by a veterans affairs case worker to consider medically assisted dying.
That prompted MacAulay to order an internal investigation, which has now uncovered a total of four cases where veterans were allegedly offered MAID — all apparently by the same caseworker.
Earlier Thursday, the National Post reported on a possible fifth case involving a still-serving member of the military who told the podcast Tango Romeo that he was also unexpectedly offered MAID by a caseworker in November of last year.
MacAulay told the all-party committee that the most recent revelation was not among the cases his staff has uncovered and he urged the veteran who spoke in the podcast to come forward and contact him — or the deputy minister — directly.
“We remain confident that this is all related to one single employee, and it’s not a widespread or a systemic issue,” he said.
Conservative MP — and veterans committee vice-chair — Blake Richards questioned whether the minister and the veterans department had a clear indication on the scope of the problem.
Cause for alarm, says Tory MP
The fact the fifth case may have escaped the attention of the department review is cause for alarm, he said
“So in that case, either something was missed in this investigation, or there is another employee involved,” Richards said. “Now, it’s a matter of determining which of those two things it is. In either case, that’s concerning.”
Based upon what he sees, Richard said he believes the veterans department “investigation is not nearly thorough enough.”
He said that might mean “there’s a need for an outside investigation.”
MacAulay walked the committee through what his department knew, thus far, saying the first case that came to light occurred last summer where the caseworker repeatedly pushed the notion of MAID to an unnamed veteran who had called seeking help with post-traumatic stress.
A second occasion reported happened last May where the same caseworker provided assisted dying information to a veteran.
Another incident is alleged to have happened in December 2021, said MacAulay. It involved a veteran who contacted the department to ask questions about MAID. The committee had already heard testimony about that event during a previous hearing last month.
Minister apologizes
The fourth known case apparently happened in 2019, where a veteran called VAC specifically asking for information about assistance in taking his own life.
MacAulay offered an apology.
“I am sorry you had to endure these appalling interactions, and we’re doing everything we can to ensure this never happens again,” the minister said. – cbc News
This is a story for another time. MAID is coming for us all. Its cheap and with our health care system and pension plans nearing bankruptcy, government are going to look for ways of saving money. Old people are expensive to maintain. Just saying…