Quote:
Originally Posted by vid
Thunder Bay is a city of 110,000+50,000. The +50,000 is the 600,000sqkm hinterland with 50,000 severely impoverished people living in 75 communities who depend on Thunder Bay to access almost every service, and since they have absolutely no mental health of addictions treatment *at all*, they put the people suffering from those problems on planes to Thunder Bay. With one way tickets. And tell them to never go home.
They don't want to do this, but the way government and taxation is structured in Canada makes it too difficult for them to deal with it themselves, and no amount of "Why aren't the chiefs doing something?????" seems to change fundamental aspects of how the country operates. Which is weird. Because people here say it often and loudly.
Honestly, some people's approach to this crisis is about as logical as asking someone tied to a chair to just walk away.
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There a few actions than can be, and should be taken......some action, albeit too slowly may be in progress.
1) Building up a second regional centre in the north-west; Kenora. A new hospital there is in the planning stages and it will add an MRI and a several other new services, perhaps, addiction treatment/mental health as well. This would be a good addition for all residents of the north-west and bring services closer to home for many, while also reducing the strain on T-Bay.
I should add the existing hospital supports outpatient addiction treatment, and its a question of adding in-patient services, and/or supports in non-core hours (weekends/evenings etc.)
Kenora is only 15,000 but is at the centre of an area of about 45,000 and that could be built on if the community had a better range of core services.
2) The Treaty 9 first nations are the only group I'm aware of to have healthcare rights in their treaties. This provides a sound basis to begin a shift of healthcare services, where practical to that group and allow them to find ways to deliver more of the care they need, where and when they need it.
There is a clear obstacle with remote, fly-in/out communities; I have long argued that most of these should be phased-out. To be clear, I'm not proposed any kind of forced assimilation, but rather, allowing the first nations with help and dollars from professional planners to create one or more new hub centres that would be predominately aboriginal, but connected to the outside world by year-round road, with greater economic opportunities, and with a critical mass of population that would support High Schools and even Community College services within the new centre.
If you could consolidate 5 smaller communities that range of a few hundred to a few thousand to a single community of 10,000 or more, a huge new range of jobs and services would become viable. Not cheap, but surely worthy of examination for its potential social and economic benefits.
3) Beyond these issues, there needs to be a real change in mindset in some communities such as T-Bay.
Its not merely a matter of reducing overt racism, though that would surely help.
But of completely shifting a mindset.
The most important part after containing and diminishing 'racism' is to address the form kindness takes.
It needs to shift from pity which is often a form of condescension and systemic racism to one of equally positive expectation.
If you believe everyone is capable of succeeding, from the school child to the middle-aged man, you will make it happen.
If you truly pity someone, you'll never believe they can be the best student or employee etc.
Changing that mindset will take time and effort, but would be worth it.
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