The committee met at 9:01 a.m.

[N. Sharma in the chair.]

N. Sharma (Chair): I’ll begin our final day of presentations here with the Health Committee.

I just want to start by acknowledging that I’m on the traditional territory of the Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh and Musqueam people and invite everybody that’s on this call, Zooming in, to think about the traditional territory, acknowledge that and think about how it shows up in the work that we do.

It’s my pleasure to welcome our presenters here. I’ll just read all of your names for the record, and then we’ll do a little bit of introductions on our end. So welcome to Métis Nation B.C. We have Jillian Jones, director, ministry of health and harm reduction; Stephen Thomson, director, ministry of health and governance; and Mike Mercier, manager, provincial harm reduction.

Thank you so much for coming and helping us learn from you today. We have your presentation that’s been provided to all of us, and we can follow along on our screens.

My name is Niki Sharma. I’m the Chair of the committee and the MLA for Vancouver-Hastings.

I’ll just go over to our Deputy Chair, Shirley for an introduction.

S. Bond (Deputy Chair): Good morning, everyone. My name is Shirley Bond, and I’m the MLA for Prince George–​Valemount.

T. Halford: Hi there. Trevor Halford, MLA for Surrey–​White Rock.

R. Leonard: Good morning. I’m Ronna-Rae Leonard, MLA for Courtenay-Comox.

S. Furstenau: Good morning. Sonia Furstenau, MLA for Cowichan Valley.

M. Starchuk: Good morning. Mike Starchuk, MLA for Surrey-Cloverdale.

D. Davies: Good morning, everyone. Dan Davies, the MLA for Peace River North.

N. Sharma (Chair): Wonderful. I don’t think I missed anybody, so over to you.

We have about 15 minutes for the presentation. There’s a timer right there. You can see it on your screen. Then the rest of the time is for questions and discussion.

Briefings on
Drug Toxicity and Overdoses

MÉTIS NATION B.C.

J. Jones: Thank you so much, everyone. Happy Friday to you all. I’m so excited that we’ve been invited to share in this space today.

To confirm, everyone will be following along with the slides there? Okay. Perfect. I’ll just try to guide where we’re at in the presentation.

Mike, Stephen and I are going to be sharing today about the need for a distinctions-based approach as it relates to the toxic drug crisis for Métis individuals. We’ll start with some introductions.

Our second slide here is just our intro page. My name is Jillian Jones. I am the director of mental health and harm reduction for Métis Nation B.C.’s ministry of mental health and harm reduction.

I join this work from the lands of the Lək̓ʷəŋin̓əŋ-​speaking people, the Esquimalt and Songhees First Nations, here in beautiful Victoria, which is also the lodging place of the Métis chartered community of greater Victoria. I walk alongside this work as a third-generation Canadian settler with mixed European ancestry, primarily Russian and Italian.

I will pass it over to Stephen.

S. Thomson: Good morning, everyone. My name is Stephen Thomson, and I’m a proud Métis citizen. I trace my heritage to the Pope family and scrip given out in Medicine Hat in 1901. I’m currently the director of health governance in Métis Nation British Columbia.

I’m honoured to be calling in today from the traditional and unceded territory of the Semiahmoo, Katzie, Kwantlen, Kwikwetlem and Qayqayt Nations as well as the treaty lands of the Tsawwassen First Nation, in what is today known as Surrey.

I would also like to acknowledge that Surrey is home to the Surrey Delta Métis Association.

I’ll pass it to Mike.

M. Mercier: Hello. Taanishi. My name is Mike Mercier, manager, provincial harm reduction.

It’s with gratitude and respect that I’m calling in from the unceded, traditional territories of the Nuu-chah-nulth people.

I’d also like to acknowledge that this is the community home for the Alberni Clayoquot Métis Society.

[9:05 a.m.]

I was born and raised on Treaty 1, also known as Winnipeg, Manitoba. I am Cree-Métis. I am a Sixties Scoop survivor, and every day, I feel the effects of intergenerational trauma brought by this. My grandmother was a residential school survivor.

I’ve spent the last 25 years in Winnipeg, Manitoba. I graduated from the University of Manitoba with a degree in community development. I hold a diploma in interprofessional mental health and addictions as well.

The last 15 years I’ve spent on the west coast working in various communities to bring health and wellness to their communities.

Thank you, maarsii, for letting me speak today.

S. Thomson: Great. If we can go to the third slide, I’ll just give a brief introduction to Métis Nation British Columbia. We represent about one-third of the Aboriginal population in B.C. There are over 90,000 self-identified Métis in the province, and currently 22,000, give or take, citizens registered with Métis Nation British Columbia.

MNBC is recognized by the federal and provincial governments as the governing nation for Métis in British Columbia. We are recognized by the Métis National Council as the governing member for Métis in B.C. and are authorized to hold the registry for Métis citizens in the province.

I just also wanted to mention that in 2006, MNBC and the province signed the Métis Nation relationship accord, which was renewed again in 2016 and is currently undergoing further renewal. It jointly committed Métis Nation and the province to working toward the betterment of Métis people throughout B.C. It includes a commitment to improve the health and wellness of Métis as well.

Going to slide 4, this is sort of a breakdown of where Métis in the province are located. We have 39 Métis chartered communities across the province, and we are organized into seven regions which comprise our governance structure. Our elected board are elected by citizens of the nation, and there’s one representative from each of our seven regions, as well as a president, vice-president and women’s and youth chairs.

I want to acknowledge that all 39 of our chartered communities are entirely volunteer-run and organized. They are put together by the sweat and tears of our community members and are really the grassroots way in which our community comes together. We do all of this work to represent them as best we can and to honour their commitments and their time in everything that we do. They’re definitely the backbone of our nation and our organization.

Moving on to slide 5, talking a little bit about the history of Métis in B.C. We were officially recognized as an Aboriginal people under the constitution in 2003, through the Powley decision, and in 2016, through the Daniels decision, at the Supreme Court of Canada. It was acknowledged that the current definition of Métis, which will be on the next slide….

It’s really our mandate to push for the betterment of Métis in the province to really demonstrate the will and the need of our people to have representation for them. That is our mandate and our goal in all of our work.

I think we can go on to slide 6 and pass it to Mike.

M. Mercier: Distinction-based approaches are how we handle this. The Métis are, as you know, one of three recognized Indigenous groups in Canada. Métis share a common cultural practice,bonded through family and family ties and share a common history. Unfortunately, due to colonialism, there’s a lack of specific data to the Métis population.

S. Thomson: So kaa-wiichitoyaahk is a Michif word which means “we take care of each other.” It’s really the guiding principle behind our concept of cultural wellness, which is sort of the Métis Nation’s take on cultural safety and humility. It’s a recognition of the unique nature of Métis culture, our distinct history as a people and our continued need for Métis-specific programs, services and things like that.

We’ve published Kaa-wiichitoyaahk, which is our perspectives on cultural wellness. I would encourage everyone to take a read through that, at some point, if you have a chance.

I’ll pass it to Jillian.

[9:10 a.m.]

J. Jones: We’re on slide 8 now, which will be a bit of an overview of our ministry of mental health and harm reduction.

What we do in our ministry is advocate for culturally appropriate mental health and addictions and harm reduction programs at the national, provincial and regional levels. Our mental health and harm reduction team provides support, education and advocacy to Métis people across B.C. in Métis chartered communities for all mental health and wellness–related and harm reduction initiatives across the province.

What we’re really striving to do in our ministry is to improve mental health and harm reduction services and increase the access to programs to meet the needs of the Métis Nation in B.C. Our team is always working to continue to highlight and address the ever-present gaps in existing services and advocate for the changes needed at the health authority, provincial, federal and regional levels for Métis Nation to have better mental health and wellness outcomes.

If we move on to slide 9, I’m excited to share some of our mental health initiatives that we’ve got in our work here. One of our most exciting updates was that we recently hired four regional mental health navigators to join our team. Our ministry of mental health and harm reduction has been absolutely growing like wildflowers and expanding our ability to serve the community.

With this expansion, our regional mental health navigators work to support Métis individuals and communities to navigate the mental health, harm reduction and substance use system. Having that advocate by your side — that Métis advocate that brings that lens of cultural wellness, cultural safety — can support individuals in navigating what can be a very, very daunting and complicated system.

Another area we’d like to highlight is our [Michif was spoken.] “Here is Medicine” life promotion program for Métis youth. We’ve been working to create a series of five online modules that focus on preventing suicides through the strength-based approach of life promotion for Métis youth. This project is entirely by Métis, of Métis, for Métis, and is led by the wisdom of the Métis advisory group. The ongoing development of everything we’ve been doing with this program has been grounded in Métis voices and perspectives.

What this program is going to look like. It’ll be five online modules that are centred and grounded in the themes of connection for Métis youth: connection to culture, connection to wellness, connection to nature, connection to land and connection to community. These modules are kind of ever-growing and an ongoing project we’ve had, but the tentative targeted public launch for these modules will be March of 2023 — fingers crossed.

Another area we’d like to highlight is the Métis youth mental health and wellness initiative, which is absolutely one of my favorite projects. It’s made up of ten core members of Métis youth from across the province. Together they work to raise awareness, to empower Métis youth in communities and to make a difference in mental health within Métis communities through actioning projects, fostering education, reducing stigma and providing opportunities for community discussion and engagement.

The Métis youth mental health and wellness initiative has really been a thread that has been woven through so many of the initiatives that I’m sharing with you today, most strongly in Resilient Roots, a Métis mental health and wellness magazine, which, if we flip to the next slide, I can share a little bit more about. Resilient Roots is the cornerstone project of the Métis youth mental health and wellness initiative.

Our minister of mental health and harm reduction, Dr. Kate Elliott, has a beautiful quote about the magazine which I’ll share with you now: “This magazine hopes to be a testament to the shining strength and resilience of the Métis community. Every part of this magazine — from the stories to the art, to the poetry — comes from the powerful voices of our Métis contributors.”

Since publication began in 2020, several thousand hard copies of Resilient Roots have been distributed across the province. We publish this magazine yearly, with issues coming out each spring. We just launched our third issue in May of 2022, and we distribute these out to Métis youth, health authorities, our Métis chartered communities and beyond. We also make sure that these publications are available for free download on MNBC’s website.

Moving on to the next program I’d like to highlight. Métis counselling connection offers Métis citizens up to ten counselling sessions through counsellors, psychologists or psychiatrists who are registered through their professional associations.

[9:15 a.m.]

Only limited funding is available, as it is not yet sustainable funding. We’re really hoping that that’s something we can seek in the future, to ensure that we can continue to address that ever-present gap in individuals being able to access services like this.

Living Life to the Full is a partnership we’re doing with the Canadian Mental Health Association, where we have trained up nine Métis facilitators to be able to deliver this program to the community. We have delivered ten cohorts, including seven adult cohorts, and youth cohorts and Métis-only cohorts across B.C.

Moving on to slide 11, highlighting our mental health and harm reduction sash, this was created by a project we did with community members that focused on alcohol abuse and community health in the Métis community. This custom sash was guided by the wisdom of participants and the themes that emerged from the dialogue sessions. It’s a testament to Métis resilience and wellness, and while the impacts of colonization have contributed to the mental health and substance use concerns in the Métis community, we know also we continually encounter the resilience of communities that are rooted in the strengths of Métis culture and worldviews.

I will pass it over to Mike.

M. Mercier: Thank you. Very briefly, due to time constraints, I’ll just highlight the five harm reduction initiatives that MNBC is going through.

First of all is the Métis perspectives on cannabis. It’s community-led dialogue sessions. A final report will be aimed for publication late 2022, and it revolves around reducing stigma in cannabis use for the development of a Métis harm reduction framework.

Second harm reduction initiative is the Lifeguard app. This app works to Métis individuals with life-saving information for their communities to help each other, providing the right care at the right time. Lifeguard’s goal is to reduce harm and prevent unintentional deaths for people of all ages with culturally-sensitive imagery and language specific to the Métis. It’s the first Indigenous nation to do so in Canada.

Third is nasal naloxone program. In June 2021, we partnered with St. John Ambulance to utilize the nasal naloxone program. It’s an ongoing partnership for three years and will incorporate staff training in addition to community members.

Third is the substance use and addictions program supported by Health Canada, AAWEAR. Our program is called the “peer outreach through a Métis lens,” where we hire people with lived and living experience who identify as Métis. It will be specifically embracing culturally safe and harm reduction services within the Downtown Eastside and Surrey.

The fourth is the smoking-vaping cessation program. It rolls to work with and to strengthen the working relationship with B.C. Lung programs and the health authorities for the reduction of smoking.

I will pass that over to Stephen.

S. Thomson: If we go to slide 14, I have a little bit of a breakdown of the Métis overdose cohort. This was developed through the information-sharing agreement we have signed with the office of the public health officer which led to the release of Taanishi Kiiya? in February of this year, which was our baseline public health report. That data linkage linked Métis citizen registry data with MSP data at a provincial level and allowed us to provide public health information about the Métis population for the first time in B.C. and really for the first of its kind anywhere in Canada.

Following this sharing agreement, we were able to create a similar version of it for the overdose cohort, linking it to the CDC’s existing program as well as the B.C. Coroners Service. We’re expecting release of that data sometime later this year. That will report out on toxic drug related deaths and emergency services calls along with all of the other indicators listed.

Then if we just go to slide 16. I know we’re out of time, but we have just our recommendations for how to proceed in a good way.

J. Jones: If we flip over to slide 16, our recommendations are: continued engagement with MNBC’s ministry of mental health and harm reduction; a commitment to the utilization of a distinctions-based approach in examining and responding to the illicit drug toxicity and the overdose crisis in B.C.; and supporting fully realized mental health and wellness for Métis people. Without utilizing this distinctions-based approach and engaging with MNBC and Métis bodies, it can really contribute to that erasure of Métis representation in B.C.

I know we kind of sped it up a little bit near the end there. That timer was a little bit daunting. I see we’re at zero, so we will pause now. I know we’ve got time for questions, so thank you so much.

N. Sharma (Chair): Thanks for that presentation, and there’s plenty of time for questions and discussion and for you to add more to the dialogue. No worries about that.

[9:20 a.m.]

S. Furstenau: Thank you so much for this presentation. It’s really inspiring to see the work you’re doing and the holistic approach that you’re taking. Yeah, it’s great to see.

I guess what I’d like to know is some elaboration on continued engagement. Particularly, I’m also curious about funding — what the funding relationship is between the province and Métis Nation, specifically related to this. What does that continued engagement look like, and how can it improve?

J. Jones: Yeah, absolutely. I’ll take the continued engagement part, and perhaps I’ll pass it over to Stephen to speak to the funding.

Really, what we’re looking for, for continued engagement, is being invited to have a seat at the table — to hold that space and advocate for those Métis lenses and perspectives. A lot of times in this work we see the pan-Indigenous approach utilized, which is lumping the three distinct Indigenous groups across Canada as though they are one body and not recognizing the unique and beautiful strengths and differences between cultural practices, histories and practices as unique nations.

What we do at MNBC is really try to have representation at these different tables to advocate and bring those Métis perspectives to it. What’s been really incredible, with our ministry expanding…. Up until now, we have been a very, very tiny but mighty team. There had only been three staff on our ministry of mental health and harm reduction. However, we recently, over the summer, grew to 11 staff, and we’re continuing to grow right now.

With that growing, and specifically with the regional mental health navigators that I mentioned earlier, we have been able to really get in and nurture our relationships with the community to get those localized community insights at the Métis chartered community level across B.C. Not only are we able to hold that space at a provincial level, but we’re able to bring to the table what specific communities need right now. We find there are so many unique differences from community to community.

Now that we have these navigators in place to grow these relationships and understand these localized needs, we’re able to sit at the table and really, really speak to and hold that space for Métis communities across B.C. So really, continued engagement means having MNBC at the table, allowing us to be a part of these conversations and just really weaving us into these processes and dialogues.

Stephen, I’ll pass it over to you to add on your per­spective.

S. Thomson: Yeah. I think you’ve kind of covered the bulk of what I would talk to about the need for engagement and continued engagement. I think opportunities like this and other connections with Members of the Legislative Assembly and the provincial government have been really, really beneficial for our needs, to serve our population and serve our nation.

I will speak a little bit to the funding as well. For mental health and harm reduction, we primarily receive our funding federally. We have agreements through Indigenous Services Canada to fund the mental health navigator program, so that is primarily federally funded. We do receive annual funding from the provincial Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions, which supports, for instance, Mike’s position and some of our provincial-level work. But the bulk of our funding is received federally for that ministry.

I will also mention that through In Plain Sight and the task team, we’ve received quite a large increase in funding through the provincial government supporting our Ministry of Health as a whole. That has definitely helped our ability to serve and work with and for our population.

It has really allowed us to take a step forward in terms of being at the table and being present and advocating strongly for our population and our nation. It has resulted in some really good and meaningful engagements, specifically around health legislation initiatives, such as the Health Professions Act and the health information management act, where we’ve been able to create some larger-scale engagement with our Métis population because of the work that’s happening at the task team.

T. Halford: Thank you for the presentation. In terms of the staff that you have — sorry if I missed this — I assume that they’re spread out in the various communities, and then they’re reporting back. I know that you said you are hiring up to 11, in the foreseeable future. Would they be just across B.C., reporting in?

[9:25 a.m.]

J. Jones: Yeah. We have, since July, expanded the team. We did hire the navigators. There are four of them. They align with the health authorities, for the most part. We’ve got one based in the Interior, one based on the Island, one based in the Lower Mainland and one based in the northern region. So we’ve expanded with them.

We’ve also hired some dedicated program specialists to support a program we’ve received funding for from the federal government related to suicide prevention initiatives. So that will be rolling out.

We recently had Mike join our team, gosh, only a month ago, and he’s already presenting to the Legislative Assembly, which is very exciting. Mike is one of those 11 that we’ve added there. Then we’ve got Mike’s future partner in crime, Angel, who will be our provincial mental health manager, starting.

Between all of us…. We really are based throughout B.C. With MNBC being a provincial body, it really makes sense for us to cover the different areas in the province to get that more regionalized insight. So our team continues to grow, with our navigators probably being the core of understanding what’s going on at the regional levels and then everything weaving in through there.

M. Starchuk: Thank you for the presentation. I’m really interested with regards to the substance use and addictions program, with peer outreach through a Métis lens. You had mentioned that it’s provided on the Downtown Eastside and in Surrey. I’m making an assumption why it’s there.

Can you go a little bit into more granular detail as to what that program is actually doing?

S. Thomson: I’ll start. Then I’ll pass it to you, Mike, if that’s okay.

The substance use and addictions program is really designed to address those on-the-ground needs of our population. In the recent homelessness count and work like that, we find that about 30 percent of the homeless population identifies as some form of Indigenous. Often there’s no real recognition of folks who are Métis in those counts. There’s no distinctions-based approach to actually understanding those populations. We just have knowledge that there are a number of Indigenous people that are being underserved and that require additional supports.

We know that statistically, across the province, we represent about a third of all Indigenous people in the province. It is really our priority to help those who are primarily in need and those who are currently being under underrepresented and undercounted.

I’ll pass it to Mike to speak a little bit about the specifics of the program, which we’re still developing.

M. Mercier: Thank you, Stephen.

The funding has come from Health Canada for the program. The way, the vision, that I see it is the first and second years dedicated to, really, boots on the ground, front-line work, finding and identifying Métis citizens in those hard areas and then really building a conversation, building a relationship, a therapeutic relationship, to understand what their needs are and how we can support them.

The funding has only been set up for the first and second years, but there is additional funding available. I see this continuing as just a foundation, a start, to conversations, face to face, with our Métis citizens that need help.

S. Thomson: If I can just add to that one more thing. We found that culture is a very strong protective factor among the Métis population, especially for mental health and wellness. Our hope is that through this program, we’ll be able to make some of those cultural connections and bring people back to the culture and to the nation and support them in that way as well.

R. Leonard: Good morning, again. Thank you for presenting. I really appreciate it.

I have that very beautiful cover book in my office. It’s available to anybody to pick up and have a look at and start to explore.

[9:30 a.m.]

At the very beginning, you talked about representing 22,000, of about a population of 90,000. I’m curious about people living their lives who are Métis. Do they know they are Métis? Is there a reason that they’re not registered? How does that affect your data, in terms of knowing who is overdosing, who is dying, who is Métis, who could have benefited from the services that you’re providing?

S. Thomson: For sure. I will start by saying that the majority of our programs are available to all self-identified Métis. For the programs like the Métis counselling connect, that is limited exclusively to citizens because of the limited funding. But things like the substance use and addictions program will be available to anyone who self-identifies as Métis.

What you’re touching on is a really large part of our history as a nation. In Canada’s method of addressing the Métis Nation, instead of working with the collective, as they did through treaties with our First Nations cousins, they decided to address this individually. That was done through the scrip system following the 1885 rebellion and murder of Louis Riel.

Our citizens, through that, were scattered all across Canada. We were often forced to travel hundreds of miles into what we felt was hostile territory to sign a document with the government, which would then assign us land somewhere in the country. We wouldn’t know where until we received the funding, and often it was hundreds of kilometres back in the other direction.

My family, for instance, received scrip in Medicine Hat, which meant that we had to travel from Batoche, where my family was located, to Medicine Hat to receive scrip. Our scrip was money scrip, which meant that instead of receiving land, we received $160 in 1901. That has led to Métis being scattered all across Canada, with very little ability to prove our heritage.

One of the core tenets…. If you flip to, I think, slide 6 of our slide deck, we have the definition of Métis. To become a registered citizen of Métis Nation British Columbia or any of the governing members of the Métis National Council, you have to self-identify as Métis; you have to belong to historic Métis Nation ancestry and be able to prove that; and then you have to be accepted by the Métis Nation, which means being accepted by a modern-day community and by MNBC.

That means that our registry team, which is one of the largest departments or ministries at MNBC, has to verify a person’s genealogy. To do that, we need five or six generations of long-form birth certificates, of proof of their genealogy and heritage, tracing them back to one of our historic communities or to documentation like scrip, which proves that we are Métis.

That is a very massive barrier for a lot of people in proving their heritage and actually becoming registered citizens. It’s one of the largest pieces of work that we have in front of us in terms of reclaiming our heritage, reclaiming our citizenry. It is why there is such a disparity between the number of folks who self-identify as Métis and the number of folks who are Métis citizens.

My wife, for instance, has knowledge that there is Indigenous ancestry in her lineage and has no way to prove who that is or what that looks like and will never be able to demonstrate that she could fit the definition of a citizen. That’s just one story. There are thousands of people in this province who will never be able to find the evidence to back up their claims or their self-identity.

Also, because we’ve been ingrained, for hundreds of years, to hide our heritage because of active persecution by the Canadian government, by the RCMP and other forces, it really has become a self-defence mechanism over the years to hide our heritage. It’s why we’ve earned the nickname the “forgotten people” in a lot of ways. It’s why many of our attempts to reclaim our status within Canada really are predicated on rediscovering our roots, rediscovering our history and connecting our people to that lost culture and heritage.

N. Sharma (Chair): Thanks, Stephen, for going over that. I think it was good for not only us to hear but all the people that are listening out there.

[9:35 a.m.]

S. Bond (Deputy Chair): Thank you very much. I very much appreciate the presentation and the work that you’re doing.

Yes, I would have a story like that as well. My daughter-in-law self-identifies, but trying to find the documentation, have family members…. Many of them don’t want to share that information from her past. I know she’s on that journey as well, and it’s been a very long time. I can personally understand the challenges with Métis citizenship.

I ask this fully recognizing the distinction that you are talking about. I think it’s an important reminder that this is not a one-size-fits-all issue and that there are distinct groups of people. I ask this respectfully. Do you have a connection with the First Nations Health Authority? Is there work that’s done mutually? Is there recognition that Métis are a distinct culture? I’m curious. Is there a connection with the First Nations Health Authority?

S. Thomson: I can start with this.

Then, Jillian, if you have anything you want to add, maybe, I can pass it to you.

The First Nations Health Authority is funded to support Status and non-Status First Nations in this province, and not Métis. So Métis are not able to receive or access programs and services through the First Nations Health Authority. We are not eligible for any of the programs that they offer, because we have never been given the federal benefits that Status First Nations are entitled to.

While the 2016 Daniels decision did declare that Canada owes Métis Nation a fiduciary obligation, which we infer to mean extended health benefits and services, the fiduciary obligation has never been defined or clarified. So we are not covered by those extended benefits or the programs and services offered by the First Nations Health Authority because of that.

Despite that, we do have a working relationship with the First Nations Health Authority in many of our regions, and provincially as well. We do sit at a lot of joint tables with them. For instance, at the task team, there is a strong First Nations Health Authority representation alongside our representatives and representatives from the First Nations Leadership Council and others.

There is kind of a recognition that our people are not covered by FNHA, and vice versa. We try to work together to advocate for stronger programs and services for all Indigenous people, but we do recognize that need for a distinct approach, because we are not covered by FNHA, and we have unique needs that differ from those of our First Nations cousins in the province.

S. Bond (Deputy Chair): Maybe let me just say that I understand and appreciate the concern about benefits and fiduciary responsibility. I was speaking, in your latter part of the response….

We have people dying in British Columbia, and there is expertise there. Setting aside the bigger issue that the Métis Nation is working on from a national perspective, I’m glad to hear there is, at least, connection and a working relationship. That’s really what I was asking about, specifically, so I appreciate the distinction in coverage — the conversation about how we, together, try to support people who are at risk of losing their lives. So I do appreciate that, and it gives me some things to think about.

Thank you for that. Again, thank you for the presentation. I thought that the mental wellness and harm reduction sash is really poignant and the thinking around shining a light on Métis resilience. So thank you for sharing that and putting that in your presentation as well.

N. Sharma (Chair): I have a question. First, a comment. One thing we’re hearing quite a bit is that culture saves lives. Just to echo what Shirley was saying, all the programs that you’re talking about that integrate Métis culture on wellness with the people that you’re serving is pretty powerful.

[9:40 a.m.]

I was really curious about digging a little bit deeper into the data work that you’re doing, the overdose data cohort, and trying to look at what those numbers are. I think the thing that is interesting from the perspective you offer, is that you have provincewide reach. Your understanding, maybe, of what’s happening in different regions of the province for Métis people, then, can help us understand what the differences might be.

Can you tell me a little bit more about how you’re collecting that data, where it’s coming from, what the timelines are for that, and if you’re seeing anything at this point or if it’s too early to comment on it?

S. Thomson: For sure. The data linkage started in, I think, 2018 where we signed our information-sharing agreement with the office of the public health officer. That saw a registry of, at that time, I think about 17,500 citizens transferred to a secure server through the office of the public health officer. At that point, their data scientists linked and matched all of our citizens to MSP data. They tied that to public health numbers, and we were able to collect population public health data on that.

On slide 14, I do have a list of all of the indicators we initially started that linkage around. Those are the pieces that went into the Taanishi Kiiya? baseline report, which came out in February of this year.

The toxic drug crisis linkage. We started in 2021 using that same overdose cohort. Unfortunately, the pandemic has delayed a lot of the reporting. We were hoping to have release of that data by August of this year. But given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve not been able to receive it yet. It will require review by our Métis data governance committee before it’s available to be published. But we do know that that linkage is well underway and has started.

That linkage ties us to the historical data collected by the BCCDC, the regional health authorities and First Nations Health Authority, as well as the Ministry of Health, and will tie us into coroners service reports, will tie us into emergency ambulance calls related to the overdose crisis and a few other metrics within that.

We do recognize there are a few limitations in our data. If you do have a copy of Taanishi Kiiya?, it’s explained in one of the appendices. Because of our of our population being generally older, we don’t have robust data for those who are 15 years and younger, which does significantly impact our ability to report out on the impact on our youth.

Beyond that, it is generally people who have a little bit higher socioeconomic status who are able to receive citizenship. They’re the folks who have been able to maintain those connections to their culture and heritage or are able to track them down and prove their heritage that are generally able to become citizens. While Taanishi Kiiya? demonstrates our population has a significantly lower socioeconomic status than the non-Indigenous population in B.C., we do recognize that those who are citizens are generally in a higher socioeconomic bracket than those who may not have the ability to demonstrate their heritage.

There are going to be some limitations in our data, specifically from those sides of the reporting. We do anticipate that it will at least shine a light on how our population is being impacted by the overdose crisis. I think, in particular, that we’re looking to see those reports on the number of health service calls, because I think that will be a more robust data set than the coroners service, just given the small number of citizens that are going to be covered by that data.

N. Sharma (Chair): Thanks. That’s helpful. So at this point, it’s hard to know when the data governance team and everybody will release those numbers. Is that right? You don’t have an idea?

S. Thomson: I’m unfortunately not able to share, but we’ve seen a very preliminary report from the OPHO and are expecting kind of a more finalized version of that in the next few months. Then we’d hope to have that reviewed by our data governance committee before the end of the year and ideally published early next year.

N. Sharma (Chair): Thank you. That’s very helpful.

Any other questions or comments, colleagues? I don’t see any.

On behalf of the committee, I want to thank you so much for coming today, for helping us learn about all the great work your ministry is doing and the challenges you’re overcoming to getting to serve the people you represent. I definitely have learned a lot, and I’m sure my colleagues would agree as well. We are really appreciative of that.

J. Jones: Thank you so much. We really appreciate the opportunity to be here and share today.

N. Sharma (Chair): Great.

I think, colleagues, we’ll just take a five-minute recess, if that’s okay, and maybe start at 9:50 with the latter part of our business today.

The committee recessed from 9:45 a.m. to 9:52 a.m.

[N. Sharma in the chair.]

N. Sharma (Chair): As Chair, I just wanted to say a few thank-yous. As everybody knows, we’ve now concluded our scheduled public hearings. Just to recap everything that we’ve done as a committee since May, we’ve heard 112 presentations. We’ve also received 900 written submissions from British Columbians during the public consultations.

I wanted to start by really thanking this committee. For the last few months, you’ve all showed up in a very compassionate, understanding and eager-to-learn way. You’ve all treated the presenters that have come before us — oftentimes in very difficult circumstances, talking about very personal things — with such respect and dedication to helping figure out how we tackle this crisis in B.C. I just want to acknowledge that and to really thank you.

In particular, Shirley, I want to thank you for acting as Deputy Chair these last few months and representing this committee and helping me work through all the steps we needed to get here — and the subcommittee, for their work.

I also want to thank the presenters and all the British Columbians that came forward when we asked them to, to tell us about their expertise and their experience and to share very personal stories. It has been quite the journey. We wouldn’t have been able to learn so much if they hadn’t made themselves available and taken the time to make those presentations, to come forward and answer all of our questions. So just a really big appreciation for all the people that came in person or virtually and that made written submissions.

I also want to acknowledge the staff team, who I know has worked so hard to pull this all together — to reach out to presenters, to take the time to sometimes juggle very difficult schedules of all the people that you see on this committee. That includes the people that we’ve seen — Artour, Lisa and Darryl, who have attended a lot of the meetings — but also those that we don’t see and that are working behind the scenes to bring that all together.

I know it has been quite the task. I’m sure you all have also been on this journey of hearing and trying to welcome all these different lived experiences and to learn. That journey has been appreciated — that we’re doing it together with you. I really want to thank you for that work.

Deliberations Process

N. Sharma (Chair): In terms of next steps, just to make sure that everybody knows where we’re going from here, the research staff has already been hard at work. That I’ve already acknowledged. We’ll continue to carefully review all of the submissions, and we’ll be compiling all of the recommendations that have been made for our consideration.

As everybody knows, in the next few weeks, the committee will begin the next stage of this process. That’s the deliberation process. During this time, we’ll be considering all of the recommendations put forward, all the testimony that we’ve heard and our terms of reference and come together to prepare and present a report that is due, by our terms of reference, on November 2, in the Legislature.

I wanted to make sure we, as a committee at this stage, now that we’re all together, have a chance to delve into the details of the next steps. I know our staff would like to provide more details on submissions that we’ve received and on the deliberation process.

I would ask for a motion for the committee to go in camera to receive that.

R. Leonard: So moved.

N. Sharma (Chair): That’s what we need to go in camera. We’ll go off the record and go in camera.

The committee continued in camera from 9:55 a.m. to 10:19 a.m.

[N. Sharma in the chair.]

N. Sharma (Chair): Here we are back, and I just need a motion to adjourn now.

I see mover Trevor.

We are adjourned.

The committee adjourned at 10:19 a.m.