Four of the five candidates running in the Churchill Keewatinook-Aski riding for the federal election participated in the “I’m First Nations and I Vote” forum last Thursday.

 

When asked about healthcare for Indigenous communities, Liberal Candidate Judy Klassen says she had advocated for more healthcare services to be made available to the north while she was an MLA for Keewatinook, but the provincial government cut those ideas.

 

Green Party candidate Ralph Mclean said it’s important to invest in interpreters for Elders who go down to Winnipeg for medical treatment, as they may not be able to speak English, while the Conservative’s Cyara Bird says it’s the Elders are vital in keeping indigenous culture alive, and adds that it’s important that they get the medical treatment they require while making sure they are as close to their communities as possible.

 

The NDP’s Niki Ashton talked about how the life expectancy of Indigenous people is getting lower, and says that she supports Island Lake activists in calling a public inquiry into medical services.

 

On the topic of Indigenous youth and the drug crisis, Bird says the youth need to be brought back to their culture, and says she would start up land-based sobriety camps in First Nations communities led by the Elders.

 

Ashton explained these challenges are linked to inter-generational trauma, and how the government should invest in rehab programs designed for young people, while Mclean talked about how most of the illicit drugs are being sent to Indigenous communities through the mail, and that he would work to get police dogs stationed at post offices to sniff them out.

 

Klassen says she had worked to get drug dogs stationed at airports to prevent illicit drugs from being sent to First Nations while she was an MLA, and that Indigenous youth don’t have the same opportunities to pursue good jobs, which leads them to turn to crime and substance abuse.

 

Canadians head to the polls on October 21st.