Ottawa tabs extra vaccine doses for on-reserve First Nations use

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This article was published 12/12/2020 (1805 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — The federal Liberals say they’re counting on provinces to prioritize COVID-19 vaccines for Indigenous people who aren’t part of the group Ottawa is constitutionally bound to protect.

On Tuesday, Health Minister Patty Hajdu confirmed Ottawa is fast-tracking part of Manitoba’s vaccine quota, to account for people living on remote First Nations, but not people living in Winnipeg, nor anyone who is Métis.

Her comments sparked alarm among Indigenous leaders.

Ottawa has said it expects to receive six million total doses of Pfizer- and Moderna-produced vaccines by April 1, and will distribute them to provinces and territories on a per capita basis.

However, Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister announced Tuesday that Ottawa was increasing the province’s early-2021 share of the Moderna vaccine, which is easier to transport than Pfizer’s but has yet to be approved.

That expedited quota means 4,800 more Manitobans getting a shot than if Ottawa only doled out vaccines on a per capita basis.

Hajdu confirmed Friday the early-2021 allocations will be weighted to look after First Nations living on reserve, who typically fall under federal health services instead of provincial ones — but not those living in cities.

“The decision has been made, and it is on a per-capita basis, with additional allotments for Indigenous people on First Nations,” Hajdu said. “It is with additional doses for the federal populations, that the federal government are responsible for — that is people on First Nations.”

Pallister had said Thursday he failed to get Ottawa to commit to a similar arrangement for other Indigenous groups, including First Nations who live in cities and Métis people.

Hajdu said she instead expects premiers will prioritize those groups.

“We expect in urban populations that Indigenous people, including Métis people that are living within urban populations, are treated like every other Canadian in that population, and have access in an equitable way.”

The premier has warned this discrepancy might incentivize people in Winnipeg to fly to their home reserve for shots, and inadvertently spread the novel coronavirus.

While Indigenous leaders have pushed back on that idea, they were also put off by Hajdu’s comments.

Grand Chief Arlen Dumas of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs noted nearly half of First Nations in the province live off-reserve, and have had disproportionately worse outcomes from COVID-19 than those living in far-flung communities.

“The problem with these national approaches is that they don’t appreciate the nuances or the specificities of Manitoba,” he said. “While we appreciate the federal government making more resources available, they need to have an appreciation of how unique we are here in Manitoba.”

The Manitoba Metis Federation has been pessimistic about working with the Pallister government on vaccines, despite the premier saying Métis are among his key concerns.

“If you pass my people’s vaccines through him, the likely chance of my people getting a vaccine is nil, and you are leading my people to death,” MMF president David Chartrand said this week.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca