Abdulla: An apology to Indigenous Peoples from Canada’s doctors – Ottawa Citizen

Sep 17, 2024

We must foster trust with our Indigenous patients: listening to their stories, understanding their fears, and working to make our health-care spaces safe and welcoming.

I am an Indo-Pak Muslim family doctor in south Ottawa. I have a few Indigenous people in my family medicine practice and have interacted with many in my 32 years as a family doctor. I try my best to treat everyone with dignity and respect, but I accept that I have unconscious biases.

On Sept. 18, the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) will apologize to Indigenous Peoples for systemic interpersonal and relational racism that has led to suboptimal medical treatment and (sub)conscious discrimination. This apology should be taken seriously and promote meaningful action among non-Indigenous physicians like me.

Read More: https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/abdulla-an-apology-to-indigenous-peoples-from-canadas-doctors