Montreal vigil marks 2nd anniversary of Joyce Echaquan's death

The 37-year-old Atikamekw mother of seven died two years ago in a Joliette hospital after filming herself as female staff insulted her.

About 75 people gathered Wednesday afternoon in downtown Montreal to remember Joyce Echaquan and denounce what several speakers said is systemic racism in Quebec and Canadian society.

Echaquan, a 37-year-old Atikamekw mother of seven, died two years ago Wednesday in a Joliette hospital after filming herself as female staff insulted her. The video of her pleading for help, which she broadcast on Facebook Live, sparked widespread indignation across Canada.

“Joyce was a mother. She was a little girl. She was a friend, a cousin, a sister, a member of the community who just wanted to have access to adequate health care — something that we all have a right to as human beings,” Stéphanie Héroux Brazeau, a Montreal health worker originally from the Anishinaabe community of Lac Simon, told the crowd.

“We have the right to have access to a health-care service that respects us and takes into account who we are,” she said. “We are talking about having access to health care without having to endure racism.”

Attendees of the vigil at Place du Canada lit candles and twice paused for a moment’s silence in honour of Echaquan, husband Carol Dubé and their children. At the same time, a larger gathering took place in Manawan, Echaquan’s home community.

Several speakers at the Montreal event urged Quebec to recognize systemic racism and adopt “Joyce’s Principle,” a document produced by the Atikamekw Council of Manawan that formally requests a commitment by the governments of Quebec and Canada to respect and protect Indigenous rights to access health care and social services.

Quebec institutions such as police, fire departments, ambulance companies and the youth protection administration are all guilty of systemic racism, said Nakuset, executive director of the city’s Native Women’s Shelter and co-manager of the Resilience Montreal shelter.

As a result of racism, First Nations people are “in a position where we are going to have to be pretty much close to death before we go to the hospital. That is not right,” she said. “Something needs to change.”

Systemic racism exists all across Canada, and not just in Quebec, stressed Stanley Vollant, a Montreal-based surgeon, professor and lecturer originally from the Innu community of Pessamit. He encouraged attendees to keep pushing for change with elected officials.

“Together we will be stronger,” Vollant said. “Together, we help each other and we realize our dreams. The dream is to see a society where everyone is treated equally, regardless of their skin colour, their language, their religion or their culture.”

Vollant also took exception to from Coalition Avenir Québec Leader François Legault, who ignited a controversy earlier this month when he said the problems at the Joliette hospital that led to Echaquan’s death had been “settled.” Legault added he had spoken to Echaquan’s husband.

After Dubé expressed shock at Legault’s statement, the outgoing premier apologized. Dubé also said that despite appeals for an official meeting with Legault, none had taken place.

While some things have improved in recent years, much remains to be done, Vollant said.

“We are starting to see changes,” he said. “People are coming to me to ask how they can help First Nations people. I see the openness. But when I hear the premier saying that everything has been settled, it’s not true. We have made a small step, but the road is still very, very long. I hope that my children will one day see a Quebec where there is no systemic racism.”

ftomesco@postmedia.com

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