‘This is a matter of pressing urgency’: Turpel-Lafond begins investigation of racism in B.C. ERs

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond’s phone starting ringing minutes after the province announced she would be leading a probe into allegations that B.C. emergency room personnel have been playing a racist ‘game’ targeting Indigenous patients.

Health Minister Adrian Dix said Friday that he had been made aware of “serious allegations of racist and completely abhorrent practices,” specifically that guessing the blood alcohol concentration of Indigenous patients is commonplace among physicians, nurses, and other staff.

RELATED: B.C. investigating allegations of ‘abhorrent’ racist game at hospitals

Turpel-Lafond, a former judge and provincial advocate for children and youth, was appointed to lead the investigation.

“To be very frank, once my name was announced by Minister Dix this morning calls started coming into my office. So I’m not sure what I’m about to find, but I do intend to look into this, I do intend to examine it, and I do intend to take seriously anything that comes forward,” she says, adding the calls she is fielding are not confined to information about the allegations she has been tasked to examine.

“They’re not necessarily the people who might have been involved in the particular matter that’s been raised by the minister but it’s clear that there is a real appetite to bring this forward and talk about it. They are alls about people who’ve had experiences in the healthcare system, particularly from Indigenous people, who felt that they have not been treated appropriately or fairly.”

She says while she accepted the job of looking into particular allegations, she is prepared for the possibility that other problems may be unearthed.

“Sometimes when there’s an investigator appointed, and there’s someone people can talk to they do reach out,” she explains.

“If there’s a whole range of matters that come forward I did say to the minister, ‘If it sounds like it’s a bigger issue, I’m going to be bringing it back to you to consider what needs to be done.”

RELATED: Racist game allegedly played by hospital staff in B.C. ‘unacceptable,’ say Indigenous health leaders

Turpel-Lafond says she can’t give specifics about which hospitals or staff are being investigated because she doesn’t have that information yet.

Her plan is to make sure the investigation is both full and fair, and to follow the facts.

“If there is nothing to this then I’ll make that report,” she says.

“If there is some differential treatment, disrespectful treatment, or in fact there is some racist treatment, that needs a bright light shone on it and we need to address it. The public healthcare system in British Columbia is something that everyone cherishes. It has to be there to make sure that people can receive the care that they need when they need it and that there are no personal characteristics that place them in a disadvantaged situation or make them subject to any negative comment or mistreatment.”

She plans to get to work right away.

“This is a matter of some pressing urgency,” she notes.

She is encouraging anyone who has information to share it.

“If any of your listeners are involved in some way in incidents please do participate, please do make sure the information does come forward because now is the moment to address it.”

However, she adds she is prepared to compel evidence or sue to get access to records if necessary,  as she did during some of her investigations as B.C.’s Representative for Children and Youth.

“This is going to be a priority, this is a public service responsibility, and I always feel a high obligation to put public service matters ahead and I will do my best.”

Turpel-Lafond is currently a professor at UBC where she heads up the Indian Residential School Centre For History and Dialogue at the Peter A. Allard School of Law.