Manitoba Métis call for public inquiry for not being prioritized in COVID-19 vaccine campaign – APTN
Province says no evidence Metis aren’t experiencing increased and severe outcomes because of COVID-19
Apr 01, 2021
While Indigenous Peoples across the country are getting their COVID-19 vaccinations, Métis and Inuit in Manitoba are not included in that rollout.
The Manitoba Metis Federation (MMF) says they will call for a public inquiry into why they are not included.
The province of Manitoba is continuing its vaccine efforts, however, Métis and Inuit in the province are not part of the immediate priority list, which has MMF president David Chartrand concerned.
“Why does everybody else, Alberta, B.C. have it and you don’t and we’re the only one that doesn’t in the prairies,” Chartrand told APTN News.
Other provinces have made all Indigenous adults priorities in their respective vaccine rollouts, and Chartrand says he is going to find out why Manitoba is different.
“I’m going to demand an inquiry into how come the Metis were treated the way we were,” he said. “Everybody’s been pushing our premier of Manitoba, and Dr. Reimer and Dr. Roussin and they just won’t listen. And they take the position that there’s no data, there’s no information and everybody is saying there is.”
