Connect with us

International

Hospital Staff in Canada Caught Berating Indigenous Patient Shortly Before Her Death

Published

on

  • An indigenous woman in Canada died Monday shortly after live-streaming a video that showed her hospital nurses calling her “stupid” and slut-shaming her.
  • The death of that woman, Joyce Echaquan, has increased calls to address systemic racism against indigenous people in the country.
  • One nurse in the video has been fired and two investigations are underway, but so far, no criminal investigation has been opened.

Woman Berated by Nurses in Livestream

A Canadian woman has gone viral for live-streaming an incident where she’s seen being berated by two nurses who are supposed to be treating her.

Shortly after filming that seven-minute Facebook Live on Monday, 37-year-old Joyce Echaquan died.

Echaquan, an indigenous mother of seven, originally checked into a Quebec hospital on Monday after experiencing stomach pains.

In the video she captured just before her death, Echaquan’s nurses can be heard making derogatory comments to her in French. Both nurses remain off-camera during the live-stream.

“You’re stupid as hell,” one says. Another nurse tells Echaquan that she’d made bad life choices and asked what her children would think of her behavior. One of the nurses also says that Echquan was “only good for sex” and that they’d have to pay for her medical expenses as taxpayers.

All the while, Echaquen can be seen tied to a hospital bed, where she screams, begging for the nurses to stop.

Nurse Fired, Investigation Launched

On Tuesday, Quebec Premier François Legault, the head of government in the province, announced that one of the nurses heard in the video has since been fired. Legault additionally denounced the nurses’ remarks as “unacceptable” and “racist.” 

When asked if he believes if this was a situation that arose from systemic racism, Legault rejected that notion.

“I really don’t think we have this kind of way of dealing with First Nations people in our hospitals in Quebec,” he said.

While speaking to reporters, Legault said Echaquan’s death is now being investigated by regional health authorities, as well as by a forensic pathologist.

However, so far, no criminal investigation has been opened into her death. In fact, the Quebec police have said that much will hinge on the results of the autopsy.

Despite this, Echaquan’s family has accused the nurses of negligence. They believe those nurses gave Echaquan too much morphine, as Echaquan had a history of heart trouble. 

If it’s found that the two nurses in the video caused Echaquan’s death, the hospital would almost certainly face significant liability damages.

Indigenous People Receive Poorer Healthcare in Canada

Contrary to Legault, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described the incident as “another example of systemic racism that is simply unacceptable in Canada.”

In recent years, Canada has grappled with racism directed toward its indigenous population.

In 2015, one report found that racism in Canada’s healthcare system contributed to overall poorer health outcomes for indigenous people.

Last year, a government inquiry found that Canada was complicit in “race-based genocide” against indigenous women. That inquiry determined that indigenous women are 12 times more likely to be killed or to disappear than non-indigenous women in Canada. 

In June, the province of British Columbia opened an investigation after it was found that healthcare staff in at least one hospital were betting on the blood alcohol levels of indigenous patients. 

“There needs to be a thorough police investigation and that investigation has to be full and professional and must include a full investigation of any criminal misconduct, whether partly or fully motivated by a hate crime,” Alisa Lombard, a partner with a law firm that’s currently representing two indigenous women in a forced sterilization lawsuit, said of Echaquan.

“Not undertaking this kind of investigation would be further demonstrative of the contempt held by the health-care providers for Indigenous people” Lombard added in an interview with CBC. “Joyce, when she was dying, was met with contempt. Their remarks show… hate and really clear racism.”

More People Speak Out About the Hospital

In the days since Echaquan’s death, more people have come forward with allegations against the hospital where she died. 

On Wednesday, Echaquan’s cousin, Karine Echaquan, told the Montreal Gazette that this wasn’t the first time Echaquan had experienced similar discrimination. According to Karine, Echaquan checked into the same hospital in August because of her heart condition.  

Karine added that Echaquan frequently live-streamed on Facebook while receiving care at the hospital because she worried about how she would be treated by staff.

“I think it was a sort of protection for her,” Karine said. “She was always suspicious of public health.”

That claim of similar discrimination was later corroborated by another woman, Jennifer Mac Donald.

Also speaking to the Gazette, Mac Donald said that in late August, she had rushed to the hospital to be with her father, who had been admitted following a heart attack. 

While in the hallway, Mac Donald said she could hear a woman screaming and expressing concerns over her care. Mac Donald went on to describe the attendants on duty as indifferent and even verbally aggressive, quoting one as saying of the woman, “Will she ever shut up?”

Mac Donald, an off-duty patient attendant, said she then tried to approach the woman to see if she needed help, but the staff told her to mind her own business. 

One month later, Mac Donald said she recognized Echaquan in her live stream as the same woman from that incident in August.

The full scope of systemic racism against indigenous people in Canadian hospitals extends well beyond just Echaquan’s experiences, though her experiences do seem to capture a microcosm of the inequities at play.

“Every time we have to bring someone to a hospital, we escort them, because we know that there will be racist comments toward them,” Nakuset, executive director of the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal, told the Times Colonist. “We have a form because we anticipate what’s going to happen.” 

See what others are saying: (BBC) (CBC) (Montreal Gazette)

International

95-Year-Old Woman Dies After Police Tases Her in Nursing Home

Published

on

The officer involved was suspended with pay and charged with assault.


A 95-year-old Australian woman whom police tasered in a nursing home last week has reportedly died from her injuries.

Clare Nowland, who had dementia and required a walking frame to stand up and move, was living at the Yallambee Lodge in Cooma in southeastern Australia.

At about 4:15 a.m. on May 17, police and paramedics responded to a report of a woman standing outside her room with a steak knife.

They encountered Nowland, then reportedly tried to negotiate with her for several minutes, but she didn’t drop the knife.

The five-foot-two, 95-pound woman walked toward the two officers “at a slow pace,” police said at a news conference, so one of them tasered her.

She fell to the floor and reportedly suffered a fractured skull and a severe brain bleed, causing her to be hospitalized in critical condition.

Nowland passed away in a hospital surrounded by her family, the New South Wales police confirmed in a statement today.

After a week-long investigation, the police force also said that the senior constable involved would appear in court next week to face charges of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and common assault.

NSW police procedure states that tasers should not be used against elderly or disabled people absent exceptional circumstances.

Following the incident, community members, activists, and disability rights advocates expressed bewilderment and anger at what they called an unnecessary use of force, and some are now questioning why law enforcement took so long to prosecute the officer involved.

See what others are saying: (Reuters) (The New York Times) (CNN)

Continue Reading

International

U.K. Police Face Backlash After Arresting Anti-Monarchy Protesters

Published

on

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said that some of the arrests “raise questions” and “investigations are ongoing.”


The Public Order Act

A controversial protest crackdown law in the U.K. is facing criticism after dozens of anti-monarchy protesters were arrested during the coronation ceremony in London over the weekend.

The law, dubbed the “Public Order Act” was passed roughly a week ahead of the coronation for King Charles III. It gives police more power to restrict protesters and limits the tactics protesters can use in public spaces. It was condemned by human rights groups upon its passing, and is facing a new round of heat after 52 people were arrested over coronation protests on Saturday.

In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said protesters were arrested for public order offenses, breach of the peace and conspiracy to cause a public nuisance. The group said it gave advance warning that its “tolerance for any disruption, whether through protest or otherwise, will be low and that we would deal robustly with anyone intent on undermining the celebration.”

It is currently unclear how many of those arrested were detained specifically for violating the Public Order Act, however, some of those arrested believe the new law was used against them.

“Make no mistake. There is no longer a right to peaceful protest in the UK,” Graham Smith, the CEO of anti-monarchy group Republic tweeted after getting arrested. “I have been told many times the monarch is there to defend our freedoms. Now our freedoms are under attack in his name.”

An Attempt to “Diminish” Protests

During a BBC Radio interview, Smith also said he believes the dozens of arrests were premeditated. 

“There was nothing that we did do that could possibly justify even being detained and arrested and held,” Smith claimed. 

“The whole thing was a deliberate attempt to disrupt and diminish our protest.”

Yasmine Ahmed, the U.K. Director of Human Rights Watch, also tweeted that the arrests were “disgraceful.”

“These are scenes you’d expect to see in Russia not the UK,” she wrote. 

When asked about the controversy, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told reporters officers should  do “what they think is best” in an apparent show of support for the Metropolitan Police. 

For his part, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he is looking into the matter.

“Some of the arrests made by police as part of the Coronation event raise questions and whilst investigations are ongoing, I’ve sought urgent clarity from Met leaders on the action taken,” Khan tweeted.

See what others are saying: (The Guardian) (CNN) (The Washington Post)

Continue Reading

International

Foreign Nationals Make Mad Dash out of Sudan as Conflict Rages

Published

on

The conflict’s death toll has surpassed 420, with nearly 4,000 people wounded.


As the 10-day-long power struggle between rival generals tore Sudan apart, foreign governments with citizens in the country scrambled to evacuate them over the weekend.

On Sunday, U.S. special forces landed in the capital Khartoum and carried out nearly 100 American diplomats along with their families and some foreign nationals on helicopters.

An estimated 16,000 Americans, however, remain in the country and U.S. officials said in a statement that a broader evacuation mission would be too dangerous.

Christopher Maier, the assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity warfare, said in a statement that the Pentagon may assist U.S. citizens find safe routes out of Sudan.

“[The Defense Department] is at present considering actions that may include use of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities to be able to observe routes and detect threats,” he said.

Germany and France also reportedly pulled around 700 people out of the country.

More countries followed with similar efforts, including the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Canada, China, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Indonesia.

Yesterday, a convoy carrying some 700 United Nations, NGO, and embassy staff drove to Port Sudan, a popular extraction point now that the airport in Khartoum has closed due to fighting.

Reports of gunmen prowling the capital streets and robbing people trying to escape, as well as looters breaking into abandoned homes and shops, have persuaded most residents to stay indoors.

Heavy gunfire, airstrikes, and artillery shelling have terrorized the city despite several proposed ceasefires.

Over the weekend, the reported death toll topped 420, with nearly 4,000 people injured, though both numbers are likely to be undercounted.

See what others are saying: (The Guardian) (The New York Times) (The Washington Post)

Continue Reading