Indigenous Health at the CFPC

Dr. Mandy Buss is Métis from Red River Settlement in Manitoba and was born and raised in Manitoba. She works as a family physician at Northern Connections Medical Centre with the Northern Remote Family Medicine program, is a past President of the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada and is a member of the Indigenous Health Committee at the CFPC.

She is also the Project Lead on the Team Optimization Project Responding to the Call: Centering Indigenous Knowledge Systems to Strengthen Comprehensive Primary Care. This project aims to provide culturally safe primary health care that is rooted in ‘structural competency’ and embraces trauma-informed, strength-based, non-judgement, and anti-racist pedagogy among an interprofessional team that operates from a place of knowing who they are and where they come from, to operationalize transformative care.

Dr. Buss was also recently featured in this episode of Primary Focus, where she talks about how to implement culturally safe care.

Dr. Janelle Syring is Métis with roots in the Red River Settlement now living in Mohkinstsis (Calgary) and is a member of the Indigenous Health Committee at the CFPC. Dr. Syring brings a trauma-informed and harm reduction lens to her medical practice, which includes full spectrum family medicine care, obstetrics, gender affirming care, and supporting people living with substance use.  A champion for reproductive justice, Dr. Syring advocates daily in the medical system for her patients—many of whom experience limited access to resources and supports. 

In addition to her practice, Dr. Syring is a passionate educator who is helping to create a vision of an Indigenous approach to educational leadership as a Clinical Educator Fellow at the University of British Columbia’s Centre for Health Education Scholarship. She believes that the pathway to systemic change is rooted in having foundational knowledge of the factors and conditions that lead to health inequity and oppression, and in possessing critical reflexivity as a practitioner to understand their social location, address power imbalances, privilege, and bias.

Dr. Ojistoh Horn is a Mohawk/Haudenosaunee woman who practises family medicine in the Kahnawake and Akwesasne communities. She is the President of the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada, and a member of the Indigenous Health Committee at the CFPC.

Dr. Horn is a board member of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) and actively uses her voice to advocate for environmental justice. In 2024 Dr. Horn provided powerful testimony for the Standing Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources where she recommended the passage and swift implementation of Bill C-226, National Strategy Respecting Environmental Racism and Environmental Justice Act “…stressing the recognition that environmental justice, human health and ecological biodiversity are intertwined and all are impacted by environmental racism.” The Bill received Royal Assent in June 20, 2024.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action provide specific recommendations to address historical injustices and acknowledge the impact of residential schools. Calls 18 to 24 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, authored by residential school survivors, relate directly to the health care system.

Please note that the time to earn Mainpro+ credits for this session has passed.

In 2022 the CFPC made its commitment to cultural safety and humility in health services delivery for Indigenous peoples across Canada. In this first event, we come together to explore what this commitment means for the organization and why it is significant and offer an opportunity to discuss how we can all engage in the process of reconciliation.  

The CFPC recognizes the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30th, which is also known as Orange Shirt Day. This day holds profound significance as we collectively acknowledge and reflect upon the painful history of the residential school system and its devastating impact on Indigenous peoples, families, and communities across Canada.

As we pause on September 30th to listen to, learn from, and stand with Indigenous peoples, we encourage you to:

• Learn about the tragic legacy of residential schools
• Wear an orange shirt or an orange ribbon from an Indigenous business or company, such as the Orange Shirt Society to show your support
• Volunteer your time at First Nations, Inuit, or Métis-led events marking the observation of Orange Shirt Day
• Watch The Unforgotten, a short film about the health and well-being of Indigenous peoples in Canada and reflect using the Indigenous Health Committee resource list for the film

Be mindful of Indigenous colleagues during this sensitive time. Please consider ways you can advance learning opportunities within your working environment that do not ask more of Indigenous colleagues.