During Question Period last week Northern Manitoba Member of Parliament Niki Ashton called out the Liberal Government for rejecting half of the nursing requests from First Nations communities. She noted this week the Auditor General made clear what’s obvious to First Nations in our region and the country, the government consistently fails them. She explained First Nations began the pandemic with nowhere near enough personal protective equipment and struggled to catch up.  When communities cried out repeatedly for more nurses more than half of their requests were rejected.  Whether its water, housing or this pandemic we’re getting monthly condemnations from the Auditor General and monthly commitments from the government to do better.  She asked where’s the political will from the Liberals to act on the repeated neglect and deliver for First Nations.

The Parliamentary Secretary for the Indigenous Services Department Pam Damoff responded the ministry is continuing to review its practices to improve the delivery of its supports during the pandemic.

She goes on to say Indigenous Services Canada is working with communities and organizations across the country to receive real-time feedback and look to better their processes  even beyond COVID-19.