Addressing health, social inequities faced by Red River Métis communities

Ottawa – Canada is one of the healthiest countries in the world, and everyone in Canada deserves opportunities to thrive and lead a healthy life. The Government of Canada has taken action to address systemic health challenges and barriers so that every individual has the resources and opportunities for good health and wellbeing.

Health inequities are systematic, unfair, and avoidable differences in health outcomes. Health inequities have long existed in Canada but became even more evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic disproportionately affected the mental and physical wellbeing of many groups in society, including Indigenous peoples, Black and racialized communities, as well as people from lower income households, children, youth, and seniors.

Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Health, announced that the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF)-led project How We Get There: A Transportation Needs Assessment for Individuals Living with Chronic Illnesses, funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), has successfully concluded. The project, which received $250,000 through the Intersectoral Action Fund (ISAF),  examined how access and barriers to medical transportation and care differ for those in urban, rural, and remote communities. It then explored how they vary over time, providing insights into the unique transportation needs and impacts on the health and wellbeing of Red River Métis Citizens by geographic location throughout Manitoba.

For this project, the MMF has:

• created a regional plan of action, in consultation with Métis Community Liaison Department of MMF, to involve all seven MMF Regions in cross-regional needs assessment initiatives;
• conducted focus groups and one-on-one interviews with key stakeholders to understand the transportation needs of Métis living with chronic disease;
• identified similarities and differences in the experiences of Métis Citizens living in urban, rural and remote areas, and by gender;
• identified policy actions to improve transportation equity; and
• continued to develop and establish targeted policies and programs to address these issues and improve equity in accessing medical transportation for all Red River Métis Citizens.

The insights gained through this project will guide future policies and programs to help all Red River Métis Citizens have equitable access to medical transportation and care, regardless of gender, where they live, their unique needs or whether they experience chronic diseases.