A first of its kind health care clinic in Montreal opened its doors. Native Montreal’s Family Clinic aims to provide culturally safe services to the Indigenous community.
MONTREAL A mobile vaccination clinic has been deployed to inoculate Indigenous people in Montreal s urban areas against COVID-19. The unit has been administering not just the vaccine but giving out a symbol of their clients origins in the form of traditional herbal medicine. The sachet of herbs was the idea of Montreal Autochtone, the organization that organized the clinic, in conjunction with the CIUSSS du Centre-sud-de-l Ile-de-Montreal. “It represents healing,” said Montreal Autochtone general manager Philippe Meilleur. On Friday, Meilleur was at his organization s community centre, which had been converted into a special vaccination centre. The campaign has not only its own clinic but its own registration system.
Saskatoon coronavirus case rise being eyed warily by province
Month-long effort in Montreal focuses on vaccinating the urban Indigenous.
Read more: Find out why the Department of Defence isn t providing details about a virus outbreak at the Petawawa base; on the history of Canadian vaccine production and attempts since COVID-19 to spur homegrown efforts.
Customers sit on a terrace in Amsterdam on Wednesday as the Netherlands government eased some restrictions put in place to curb the spread of COVID-19. (François Walschaerts/AFP/Getty Images)(Francois Walschaerts/AFP/Getty Images)
Auditor general slams Ontario s level of pandemic preparedness in long-term care
Although Indigenous people are prioritized in the national vaccine rollout, off-reserve and urban populations had been left out of Quebec s plan. It s why Philippe Meilleur, executive director of Native Montreal, has spent the last few months advocating and working to make the clinics a reality.
Philippe Meilleur is the executive director of Native Montreal. He received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in his home community of Kanesatake, Que., last month.(Submitted by Philippe Meilleur) I knew I was going to get the vaccine at some point through my community and I felt kind of ashamed, as a director and local leader, I wasn t able to convince the government at first to change those strict criteria, that if you re urban Indigenous, you re treated the same as the general population, said Meilleur.
Indigenous people living in urban areas were not originally on Quebec's vaccination priority list. Philippe Meilleur of Native Montreal talks about the efforts that went into getting this operation underway.