A coalition of First Nations has applied to the Information and Privacy Commissioner for an order to have the Ministry of Health disclose proximate COVID-19 cases near their communities.
The coalition – which was filed by the Heiltsuk Nation, Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council and Tsilhqot’in National Government – feels that the location details of confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases can be “potentially life-saving” information.
The collective of First Nations have applied for the order on the basis that the BC government’s “refusal to share information violates Section 25 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA)“, which highlights that a Minister “must” release information about any risks that could cause significant harm to an affected group of people.
“If COVID-19 proximate case information does not represent information about a risk of significant harm to our communities, we don’t know what does,” said Marilyn Slett, Chief Councillor of the Heiltsuk Nation. “The idea that we need to have an outbreak – as we have just had in our community – before BC will share information, is reckless and colonial, and it goes against BC’s own laws and promises of reconciliation.”
In the coalition’s application, it is also outlined that BC’s own Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) requires that the provincial government “must take all measures necessary” to ensure the laws of BC are consistent with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP).
These measures include rights to self-determination, self-government and to develop and determine programs for maintaining the health and well-being of Indigenous people. The coalition believes that the B.C. government’s “failure to disclose information” isn’t consistent with the obligations under DRIPA.
“Giving lip service to reconciliation, while allowing public officials to continue to disregard our efforts to govern during COVID-19 is deeply wrong,” said Judith Sayers, President of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council. “We must have access to the same health datasets the BC government has, on a government-to-government basis, if we are going to get through this pandemic together.”
The coalition is pushing on the idea that the Ministry of Health has not yet explained why proximate COVID-19 cases do not present a risk of significant harm to the health or safety of First Nations communities.
“BC has an ethical and moral duty to reconsider its refusal, and to share the requested information as a means to reduce the unacceptable risks faced by First Nations living in remote communities,” said Dr. Don Wilson, FRCSC, and a member of the Heiltsuk Nation. “This government to government information sharing request is absolutely reasonable and is vitally important for effective prevention of outbreaks which could lead to community spread. Better information allows for better decisions and responses to this public health emergency.”
In a statement released from the coalition, it points to previous pandemics like smallpox and the Spanish flu as having devastating impacts on First Nations communities. Heiltsuk Nation, Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council and Tsilhqot’in National Government are suggesting that if the B.C. government doesn’t act, history could repeat itself.
In addition to the order, a public campaign has been launched asking British Columbians to also call on the government to release this information.
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