Coroner investigating Joyce Echaquans death urges Quebec government to recognize systemic racism

The Quebec government must recognize the existence of systemic racism within its institutions, according to the coroner tasked with investigating the death of Joyce Echaquan, who concluded that the racism and prejudice the Atikamekw woman faced in hospital contributed to her death.

Echaquan, a mother of seven, died on Sept. 28, 2020, at a hospital north of Montreal, moments after she recorded footage of herself in hospital as health-care staff hurled racist remarks at her.

Tuesday marked the one-year anniversary of Echaquan's death, which sparked outrage, protests and repeated calls for the province to recognize systemic racism.

Premier François Legault has repeatedly denied the existence of systemic racism in Quebec.

A three-week coroner's inquiry into her death was held last spring in Trois-Rivières, Que. 

The top recommendation in Quebec coroner Gehane Kamel's report is for the province to acknowledge that systemic racism exists and "make the commitment to contribute to its elimination."

Although Echaquan's death has been ruled accidental â€" she died of pulmonary edema â€" the "racism and prejudice Ms. Echaquan faced" contributed to her death, the report said.

"It is therefore my duty, as coroner, to do everything within my power to avoid having another member of the Indigenous community or any other origin receive care such as the kind that was offered to Ms. Echaquan," the report read.

In her report, Kamel said the nurse and patient attendant who treated Echaquan at a the Centre hospitalier de Lanaudière in Joliette. Que., denied having racial prejudices, and other health-care staff who were made aware of the video recording did not treat the matter seriously.

"If it weren't for the video footage, it's a safe bet that this event would've never been brought to the public's attention," the report reads.

"When the system [gets defensive], it is the very definition of systemic racism." 

When the inquiry wrapped up last May, Kamel promised to make sure the Atikamekw woman's death would not be in vain, telling her family that a "small revolution of reconciliation" had started thanks to Echaquan. 

Last May, Quebec Coroner Géhane Kamel presided over a three-week inquiry into Echaquan's death. She concluded that although the Atikamekw woman died of pulmonary edema last September, the racism and prejudice she experienced while in hospital were contributing factors. (Ivanoh Demers/Radio-Canada ) Premier Legault doubled down on denials

In the wake of Echaquan's death, Atikamekw leaders in Quebec drafted Joyce's Principle, a set of recommendations meant to guarantee health care for Indigenous people, free of discrimination, by having it enshrined in provincial law. 

The province has refused to draft legislation that included tenets from Joyce's Principle because they referenced systemic racism.

On Thursday, Indigenous communities across Canada celebrated the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Leading up to the federal statutory holiday, Legault once again said his government could not adopt Joyce's Principle.

"There's a large majority of Quebecers that say there is no racist system in Quebec," Legault said on Wednesday.

"There are racist people, but it's not true that the education network, the health care network have racist systems. I don't think there is [a system]. There are Quebecers who think there is one. We have to respect each other, but we have to work together to fight against racism."

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