British Columbia's information and privacy commissioner just announced they're going to hear our complaint over the BC government’s withholding of critical public health information on COVID-19 cases from BC First Nations.¹

Your pressure is working — but we can’t stop now.

COVID-19 cases are spiking and there was a 40% increase on-reserve in BC just last week. We can’t afford to waste time².

And with an election coming up, the BC government is paying particularly close attention to what voters are saying, and we know phone calls are especially powerful.

We’re going to target the offices of key decisions makers who have the power to ensure First Nations have critical information about COVID-19: Premier John Horgan, Minister of Health Adrian Dix, Deputy Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Doug Caul, and David Byres, Associate Deputy Minister of Health. 

Can you make a phone call now to double your impact? Our easy-to-use dialing tool will connect you with the office of one of our targets. Just follow the instructions below!

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Instructions

• Enter your information in the right hand box, including your phone number.
• Click the “Call Now” button.
• Our system will call you back and connect you to one of our target’s office.
• You will likely get a staff member or a voicemail. You can say you have a message for the target and to please pass it on.

Talking points

• We demand that the BC government authorize the release of life-saving public health information to First Nations governments. First Nations governments are best positioned to respond with culturally appropriate contact-tracing and safety measures to prevent disaster.
• First Nations governments are best positioned to respond with culturally appropriate contact-tracing and safety measures to prevent disaster. Government’s refusal to share this crucial health data with First Nations throughout the pandemic is a contemporary example of systemic racism.
• Nations have been requesting transparency about the location of presumptive COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began. BC’s own law adopting UNDRIP (DRIPA) requires that government “must take all measures necessary” to ensure the laws of BC are consistent with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous people (UNDRIP) which includes rights to self-determination self-government and to develop and determine programs for maintaining the health and well-being of Indigenous people.
• Families live in multi-generational homes due to housing shortages, hospitals are hundreds - if not thousands - of kilometers away, and communities face a chronic shortage of essential health workers and supplies: in many communities the equipment itself is outdated, or in extremely short supply.
• The stakes for First Nations could not be higher. First Nations are among the most vulnerable populations in B.C., with the most to lose. The loss of an Elder represents a loss of language, culture and history.
• Reduced access to healthcare, food insecurity, and lack of government services are just a few of the problems that could turn a bad outbreak into a devastating crisis.