The recent shipment of body bags to a remote First Nations community in Northern Manitoba provoked high-stakes media drama and a public relations disaster for Health Canada.
Aboriginal leaders were outraged when 3o or more body bags arrived on their doorstep, seemingly in preparation for a resurgence of the H1N1 outbreak this Autumn. Condemned by politicians of all stripes as unacceptable and insensitive, Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq ordered an immediate investigation of the matter. Twenty-four hours later, a Health Canada official fell on his sword, taking responsibility for an overzealous approach to a routine restocking of supplies.
Three days after the story broke, Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq and Indian Affairs and Northern Development Minister Chuck Strahl held a Saturday morning press conference with newly elected Assembly of First Nations Chief Shawn Atleo to announce a new communications protocol with aboriginal communities that will, hopefully, prevent this kind of blunder from happening again.
This event, while politically embarrassing yet well managed by the Health Minister, appears to be one large miscommunication. As Health Canada official Jim Wolfe stated, this was a routine restocking of supplies. Did officials overestimate the quantity of supplies needed? So it appears. Should they have been more sensitive to communities that have already suffered recent medical tragedies Yes. But if the Province of Ontario had shipped additional body bags to a Northern Ontario hospital as part of a quarterly restocking of supplies, no one would have batted an eye. Yet, in our politically charged minority government situation, and in the midst of heightened sensitivity to and concern about H1N1, everyone, from Health Canada officials to local First Nations leaders to opposition parties overreacted, providing great fodder for the media.
Local First Nations leadership should have been in contact with Health Canada officials concerning their needs, and officials should have more accurately estimated those needs. If body bags were being supplied to address all possible health concerns, this should have been made clear. Opposition parties made political hay of the issue, but failed to acknowledge that First Nations leaders also have a role to play in ensuring their communities are prepared for the pandemic. Has anyone stopped to ask whether the communities in question are prepared to address the next wave of the pandemic? If not, a significant opportunity has been lost. Rather than publicly protest the shipment of body bags, local First Nations leadership could have taken the opportunity to demonstrate their preparedness, possibly serving as an example for other communities. If they’re not ready, a much bigger problem is at hand. Let’s hope the new communications protocol and recent expressions of goodwill enable all concerned to start working together for the good of those who will fall ill this flu season.