Howard Levitt: It's completely legal for your employer to spy on you — but there's a catch

© Provided by Financial Post Your employer may be listening or even watching you at any hour of the day.

It should not have taken a pandemic to realize how much we rely upon technology although we intuitively understood that.

The amount of technology devices we rely upon is, in many respects, not good for us. We reflexively pick up our phone with every jingle or buzz. It sometimes seems that our smartphones know more about what we are thinking than we do ourselves. We utter a mere thought and our phone has an advertisement turning that thought into reality.

It’s no surprise that, while privacy has always been a concern, it became a greater one once Canadians were sent home to work in the midst of the pandemic. With many employees being told that they will not see the inside of their offices until 2021, a prevalent question is: what are my privacy rights when it comes to working at home?

The thought of your phone listening to you seems unhinged. It will alarm the Canadian public to know that their employer may be listening or even watching them at any hour of the day, too.

It is somewhat routine for various organizations to monitor their employees’ customer calls but some of these organizations have now taken up monitoring their employee’s screens.

The software, referred to as tattleware, is being downloaded on personal computers to allow employers to track employees’ mouse movements. This means your employer can observe your interactions with clients or what you are searching for on the internet while on the clock. Some versions of this software actually allow employers to download videos of their employee’s screens.

It may surprise you to know that this is completely legal. But there is a catch, or rather, a balance.

An employee must be aware of how their information is being used and collected and it must be balanced with the employer’s justification. For example, if it’s being used to properly manage the organization’s operations, your employer can do so. If your manager is wondering what you have on your desktop for pure entertainment, then that would be offside to a court.

At the end of the day, the employer has a right to ensure that employees are doing what they are paid to do. Otherwise, employers should refrain from randomly checking in on their employees unless it’s tied to a reasonable justification related to work productivity or operations.

At this point, there is no case law on the topic of tracking software specifically, but there are general privacy laws.

Canada’s main statute governing privacy is the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). The act applies to private-sector organizations across Canada, except provinces that have enacted their own privacy legislation such as British Columbia, Quebec and Alberta, regarding the collection, use or disclosure of personal information in the course of a commercial activity. In those provinces that have their own legislation, PIPEDA will still continue to apply to federal bodies, such as telecommunications and banking sectors.

© Getty Images/iStockphoto An employee must be aware of how their information is being used and collected and it must be balanced with the employer’s justification.

The law defines a commercial activity as: “any particular transaction, act, or conduct, or any regular course of conduct.”

An employee covered by PIPEDA, who believes their personal information has been mishandled can file a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC). Once a complaint is filed, an investigation will take place. One of the remedies that can be rendered is a compliance agreement, which is enforceable by the Federal Court, where the employer will commit to implementing certain measures to resolve the original dispute.

Specifically, section 16 of PIPEDA allows a court to award damages. In one of the first cases, Randall v. Nubodys Fitness Centre, the court confirmed that there is a very high bar for the award of damages under this section and it is only to be used for the most “egregious situations.” In this case, the Fitness Centre disclosed Randall’s frequency of gym attendance to his employer, without the necessary consent.

In the alternative, an employee may bring a suit under the tort of “inclusion upon seclusion.” The leading case is Jones v. Tsige from Ontario’s Court of Appeal. In order to prove this tort, there must be conduct that was intentional or reckless, a defendant who invaded, without lawful justification, the plaintiff’s affairs, and lastly, that a reasonable person would regard the invasion as highly offensive causing distress, humiliation, or anguish. In this case, which involved an extraordinary outrageous privacy breach, the plaintiff was still awarded damages of only $10,000.

But before filing a complaint or getting a court involved, there are steps both employees and employers can take. Employees should ask questions as to what kind of personal information is being collected and why. Employers should be advising their employees of the mechanisms they use for monitoring, their reasoning, and finally the consent of their employees. If employers do not advise their employees, they may be hit with a complaint that can lead to damages.

Employees should not be too keen on bringing matters of this nature to court. Aside from extensive legal fees, the employee is jeopardizing their position in a COVID-19 economy. You may be angered that your employer has been monitoring you, but surely, you would rather be monitored then have no job at all. That is the modern, arguably ugly truth.

Got a question about employment law during COVID-19? Write to me at levitt@levittllp.com.

Howard Levitt is senior partner of Levitt LLP, employment and labour lawyers. He practises employment law in eight provinces. He is the author of six books including the Law of Dismissal in Canada.

Banned Book Week 2020: Many banned books center on LGBTQ stories, American Library Association says

By Scottie Andrew, CNN



Some school libraries ban books because characters use witchcraft. Others do because of profanity or sexual content, or because of uncomfortable themes like racism.  

© Simon & Schuster "Uncle Bobby's Wedding," a picture book designed to teach young children about same-sex relationships, ended up on the top 100 most frequently banned book list.

But a great deal of the most frequently challenged books of the last decade center around LGBTQ characters and themes, an analysis from the American Library Association revealed.

In honor of "Banned Books Week" the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom published lists of the top 10 most challenged books of 2019 and the top 100 most frequently banned books of the decade.


Lists from years past show that censorship of LGBTQ stories is a recent trend.

On the top 10 most challenged books of 2019 rankings, eight were challenged because of LGBTQ content. Several of them centered on transgender characters, like "George," about a fourth-grade trans girl, and "I Am Jazz," a picture book about real-life activist Jazz Jennings, who transitioned at a young age. 

 

© Penguin Random House Many of the most frequently challenged books in the US focus on LGBTQ characters and experiences, the American Library Association said during Banned Book Week. "The Color Purple" explores sexual identity, violence and abuse, among other themes, and often ends up on most-banned lists.

Others range from classics like "The Color Purple," which features a lesbian relationship, to contemporary comics aimed at grade schoolers like "Sex is a Funny Word."

Other frequently challenged books focused on Black characters, including "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas, which centers on police shootings and racism, and Toni Morrison's "The Bluest Eye" and "Beloved."

Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom, told CNN that her office has seen a "growing trend" of censoring books that prominently feature LGBTQ characters.

"There are members of every community that need and wanted these resources, that want to find themselves reflected in their library's collections and programs," she said. "This allows them to understand themselves in the world and affirm their identity."

The dangers of censoring LGBTQ stories

Henry Cody Miller, an assistant professor of English at the College of Brockport, State University of New York, wrote about the high number of LGBTQ books for Teaching Tolerance Magazine in 2019. Omitting narratives from schools can perpetuate harm, he said.

"Framing a book that features LGBTQ characters as 'controversial' places the onus of conflict on LGBTQ people," he wrote. "There is nothing controversial or problematic about being a member of the LGBTQ community."

Books about diverse experiences are beneficial for every reader, Caldwell-Stone said.

"Books, novels, true stories and memoirs are ways of developing empathy for other people and their lives," she said. "If we take that away from young people, we're really depriving them of opportunities to develop as individuals, to understand the world."

The number of frequently challenged LGBTQ books, though, also signals that books with these themes and characters are being published more frequently and read more widely.

But if a book is censored by school officials, it's almost impossible for a librarian or teacher to get that book into a student's hands, Caldwell-Stone said. That's why Banned Books Week focuses on advocacy, too, and features talks with authors on access to literature.

Caldwell-Stone said it's necessary to champion the inclusion of diverse books in collections, even if those books don't align with one's personal views, "so that everyone can find what they need in the library."

National Post newsroom employees apply to unionize with Unifor


TORONTO — Employees in the National Post newsroom are working to unionize, Unifor said Wednesday.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

Unifor filed an application with the Ontario Labour Relations Board to represent staff at the newspaper, according to Unifor spokesman Stuart Laidlaw.

"The company has just received the application and we are reviewing it," said Phyllise Gelfand, Postmedia vice-president communications.

Unifor organizer Chris MacDonald said a majority of the workers must vote to join the union within the next week for it to be successful. There will be a notice put up in the workplace to let workers know that Unifor filed the number of membership cards needed to trigger a vote to create a union in the workplace, MacDonald said.

"They have come to us seeking an opportunity to organize. It's not a huge number of workers, so most will be involved in the process, I would imagine," MacDonald said.

"This is about their working conditions, their relationship with their employer and compensation. Those are the reasons people seek out a union ... they would like someone to bargain on behalf of their interests, collectively."

The Toronto-based newspaper's parent company, Postmedia Network Canada Corp., said at the end of May it would lay off about 40 employees after a number of its unions would not approve a temporary salary reduction.

At that time, the media conglomerate already had 43 collective agreements, including with CWA Canada and Unifor, across the company.

Postmedia’s latest financial results in July showed quarterly sales down nearly 30 per cent from the year prior, even as the company cut costs through additional layoffs, closing 15 of its 125 publications and slashing salaries.

Unifor, which says it is Canada’s largest media union with 11,900 members in the sector, has been pushing for more government support for Canadian journalism.

"COVID has sped up the unravelling of media's business model, thanks to Google and Facebook sucking ad dollars out of Canada," Unifor National President Jerry Dias said in August.

"Just in television local news, we've seen a 23 per cent decline in editorial and operations jobs since 2014. The numbers in print journalism are worse, more like 44 per cent."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 30, 2020.

Companies in this report (TSX:PNC.A, TSX:PNC.B)

Anita Balakrishnan, The Canadian Press

US says it will block palm oil from large Malaysian producer

The United States will block shipments of palm oil from a major Malaysian producer that feeds into the supply chains of iconic U.S. food and cosmetic brands. It found indicators of forced labour, including concerns about child workers, along with other abuses such as physical and sexual violence

.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

The order against FGV Holdings Berhad, one of Malaysia’s largest palm oil companies and a joint-venture partner with American consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble, went into effect Wednesday, said Brenda Smith, executive assistant commissioner at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Trade.

The action, announced a week after The Associated Press exposed major labour abuses in Malaysia’s palm oil industry, was triggered by a petition filed last year by non-profit organizations.

“We would urge the U.S. importing community again to do their due diligence,” Smith said, adding companies should look at their palm oil supply chains. “We would also encourage U.S. consumers to ask questions about where their products come from.”

Malaysia is the world’s second largest producer of palm oil. Together with Indonesia, the two countries dominate the global market, producing 85 per cent of the $65 billion supply.

Palm oil and its derivatives from FGV, and closely connected Malaysian state-owned Felda, makes its way into the supply chains of major multinationals. They include Nestle, L’Oreal, and Unilever, according to the companies’ most recently published supplier and palm oil mill lists. Several huge Western banks and financial institutions not only pour money directly or indirectly into the palm oil industry, but they hold shares in FGV.

Smith said the agency carried out its own year-long probe and combed through reports from nonprofits and the media, including the AP’s investigation.

AP reporters interviewed more than 130 former and current workers from eight countries at two dozen palm oil companies — including Felda, which owns about a third of the shares in FGV. They found everything from unpaid wages to outright slavery and allegations of rape, sometimes involving minors. They also found stateless Rohingya Muslims, one of the world’s most persecuted minorities, had been trafficked onto Malaysian plantations and forced to work.

Many of the problems detailed by Smith mirrored those found by The AP. She said the Customs agency found indicators of restriction of movement on plantations, isolation, physical and sexual violence, intimidation and threats, retention of identity documents, withholding of wages, debt bondage, abusive working and living conditions, excessive overtime, and concerns about potential forced child labour.

FGV issued a statement over the weekend outlining its commitment to human rights, including steps it was taking to make sure its workers have access to their passports and wages. Felda and the Malaysian government did not respond to questions from AP about the findings of its investigation.

“Despite ongoing criticism and allegations against FGV, we will continue with our effort to strengthen our practices to respect human rights and uphold labour standards,” FGV said. “Our commitment to sustainability is clear, and we are determined to achieve the goals and targets we have set as a responsible and sustainable business.”

FGV Holdings has been under fire for labour abuses in the past and was sanctioned by the global Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil certification group two years ago. The association promotes ethical production -- including the treatment of workers -- with members that include growers, buyers, traders, and environmental watchdogs.

Though Asian banks are by far the most robust financiers of the plantations, Western lenders and investment companies have poured billions of dollars into the industry in recent years, allowing for the razing and replanting of ever-expanding tracts of land. Some hold shares in FGV itself — including Vanguard Group, BlackRock, Charles Schwab, State Street Global Advisors, HSBC, and even the California Public Employees’ Retirement System — according to the financial data analysis firm, Eikon.

The AP did not receive comment from any of those financial institutions on Wednesday, but when asked more broadly about their ties to the palm oil industry last week, most responded by noting their policies vowing to support sustainability practices, with many also incorporating human rights into their guidelines.

Multinational food and cosmetic companies responded in a similar way last week, saying they do not tolerate labour and human rights abuses and will immediately investigate complaints they receive and take action, including suspension of a supplier, if necessary.

This is the first time Customs has issued an order related to palm oil, though shipments from other sectors have been detained after similar investigations into forced labour were conducted. They include seafood, cotton and human hair pieces believed to have been made by persecuted Uighur Muslims inside Chinese labour camps.

Under Wednesday’s order, palm oil products or derivatives traceable to FGV will be detained at U.S. ports. If the company is unable to prove that the goods were not produced with forced labour, it can be exported.

“For all these years these companies have refused to pay for remediation or publicly cut ties with FGV, so now the U.S. government has acted for them,” said Robin Averbeck of the San Francisco-based Rainforest Action Network, which was among a group of nonprofits that filed one of two petitions against FGV last year. “Procter & Gamble and other brands must stop paying lip service to human rights and address forced labour and other labour abuses once and for all.”

Margie Mason And Robin McDowell, The Associated Press

Ryan Reynolds is using part of his salary to hire BIPOC crew members in Vancouver

hello-canada 

Ryan Reynolds wants to ensure diversity on his new upcoming Netflix production in Vancouver, and he is dedicating a portion of his salary to ensure there are hires from marginalized groups.

The effort is part of the Group Effort Initiative. Those who are interested in taking part in the untitled Netflix project are invited to submit their applications online to be part of the crew. The website opened on Sept. 24 and was so popular it crashed, but it is now functioning normally, according to the group's Twitter.

Video player from: YouTube (Privacy Policy, Terms)

The Vancouver-born star shared a YouTube video to promote the Group Effort Initiative.


"Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds. From the same wooden background," the funny actor began, glancing around the familiar room with wooden panelling.

"Today we're announcing something that I'm super excited about. It's called the Group Effort Initiative.

"Making a movie, well, it's a group effort. But for entirely too long, that group has systemically excluded Black, Indigenous, people of colour and a whole host of other marginalized communities, of all ages.

"Wait, ALL AGES?!" the 43-year-old paused. "Yes! Because it's never too late."

"I myself am actually way older than I appear on set. So, you're going to see what Ryan Reynolds looks like without the full... you know... beauty makeup," he said, pointing to his face as a photo popped up showing an "aged Ryan" in the Deadpool costume with white hair!

The new recruits for the project will be "paid, housed and travelled" using a part of Ryan's salary. They will gain experience on set and the opportunity to learn from others. The actor says if the new hires "aren't too disillusioned" after the project, they will then be able to use the experience to develop a career in the film industry.

He also encouraged others with privilege similar to him to embrace the name of "Group Effort Initiative" and join.

Those who are looking to get involved can register on the Group Effort Initiative website. The site provides further details on the new hires, who can be anywhere from 18 to 118+. The Group Effort Initiative is hoping to hire 10 to 20 trainees and begin filming the movie this fall, permitting COVID-19 restrictions allow.

Once registered, filming and application details will be sent out in the coming weeks.

© Provided by Hello!
Chadwick Boseman and Sienna Miller at a 21 Bridges photocall on Nov. 9, 2019 in Los Angeles. Photo: © David Livingston/FilmMagic

Ryan's Group Effort Initiative comes at the same time that Sienna Miller revealed how the late Chadwick Boseman gave up part of his salary on their film 21 Bridges to help her achieve equal pay. She described it as the "most astounding thing that I've experienced."

Buying food online? Farmers are paying to make that possible — and it might put them out of business



Grocery shopping online is convenient. A convenience farmers fear could put them out of business.


A handful of grocery chains supply Canadians with food and, with online sales predicted to surge beyond the pandemic, they’re racing to adapt. That means a suite of expenses — warehouses, robotics, software development, delivery trucks — that farmers and processors say are being passed down to them.

“This is coming from the imbalance of (market) power,” said Michael Graydon, CEO of Food, Health, and Consumer Products of Canada, an association representing Canada’s food, beverage, and consumer products industries.

“When you’ve got over 80 per cent of grocery retail consolidated into five individual retailers, it gives them (significant market power). That’s the root cause of the issue.”

Together, Loblaws, Sobeys/Safeway, and Metro make up 63 per cent of all grocery stores in the country.

That leaves farmers and food processors few options to get their products to market, and minimal negotiating power to set prices that reflect their costs of production. It’s a situation farmers say has contributed to skyrocketing farm debt in Canada and could have cascading impacts on Canada’s food supply chain.

“That makes farmers less resilient, less able to adapt to climate change, less able to have the reserves they need to protect themselves from unexpected events like pandemics,” said Darrin Qualman, director of climate policy and action for the National Farmers Union.

Canadian farmers have been increasingly pinched between rising costs for growing food and lower prices for years. They’re the only part of Canada’s food supply chain that is distributed across several thousand small businesses — a sharp contrast to heavy consolidation among both grocery chains and seed and fertilizer companies.

They’re also competing against producers in Mexico, the United States, and other countries where the cost of growing and processing food is cheaper, Graydon said. Eventually, farmers and processors can’t cut their costs any further. Unless they can convince domestic retailers that their food is worth a higher price tag, they’re forced out of business and that increases Canadians’ dependence on food grown across international borders or thousands of kilometres away.

Taken together, these forces have put farmers and processors in a difficult position, Graydon and Qualman agreed. A position that’s set to get worse as grocery chains race for online dominance, a competition best exemplified by a $3.5-billion e-commerce expansion project announced by Walmart Canada in July.

The company’s plans include renovating a third of its Canadian stores, building two new distribution centres to serve online customers, and incorporating robots and machine learning into its operations.

“This investment ensures we’re developing a supply chain that is the envy of the world. The better the supply chain, the quicker our customers can get the products they want,” said John Bayliss, senior vice-president of logistics and supply chains for Walmart Canada in a written statement in July. Canada's National Observer made multiple requests to Walmart for comment that were not answered by publication time.

The problem, Graydon said, is that the company has been clear the $3.5 billion won’t come from its coffers. Instead, it will be transferred down the supply chain as an “infrastructure fee” applied to the price received by the food processors and farmers supplying the U.S.-based company.

“There’s been this tradition to improve profitability while (keeping prices low for consumers) by putting all the risk and responsibility (of expansion) back onto the suppliers,” Graydon said.

That’s common among grocery chains across the country, he explained. What’s different with Walmart’s recent announcement is that the company told its suppliers directly it would be cutting into the prices suppliers received to fund the expansion project. And presented with few other places to sell their goods, producers don’t have much choice besides accepting the price cut and hoping they stay afloat.

“(Walmart) has just reported some of the best financial results in the history of their organization and is now putting what is traditionally the purview of the company themselves — capital investment in growth — onto its (suppliers),” Graydon said.

Walmart saw its sales jump 10 per cent in the first quarter of 2020, a direct result of pandemic panic purchases, and the fastest pace of growth in almost 20 years.

Nor is it alone.

The bulk of this growth went to the country’s three major grocery chains — Loblaws, Sobeys/Safeway, and Metro — companies that are also surging into online shopping, Graydon said. They’re just less transparent about how they’re funding these expansion plans.

Even the federal government is concerned.

“It is unfortunate to see grocers impose these costly (expansion) fees during this pandemic, which fall on the thousands of Canadian food producers who are working hard to feed Canadians and support their communities amid many challenges,” said Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau in an emailed statement.

However, she noted that “terms of sale are generally the exclusive domain between suppliers and buyers, and these areas fall under provincial jurisdiction ... Given that unfair business practices, including as they relate to terms of sale, are addressed at the provincial level, we encourage our provincial and territorial counterparts to examine this matter.”

The minister did not specify whether the federal Competition Act, which aims to “maintain and encourage competition in Canada ... to ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises have an equitable opportunity to participate in the Canadian economy,” could be applied in this context.

That doesn’t surprise Graydon.

“The problem is the way the Competition Act is established today,” he said. The Competition Bureau, which administers the act, only looks at the consumer impacts of mergers and consolidation within an industry.

“(The Competition Bureau) doesn’t look at the impact (of consolidation) on the supply chain supporting these retailers.”

Impacts that the pandemic laid bare.

Two huge federally inspected meat-packing plants process about 80 per cent of all beef eaten in Canada. They’re preferred suppliers for Canadian grocery chains because only federally inspected meat can cross provincial borders, while consolidated processing capacity leads to economies of scale — and cheaper meat.

Both were hit hard by the pandemic, with one forced to close for two weeks to control a COVID-19 outbreak at the facility. That led to tumbling cattle prices, steers piled up in feedlots and farms across the country, and concerns of countrywide meat shortages, explained Qualman from the National Farmers Union.

That should be a wake-up call, Graydon said.

“It’s unfortunate that the competition laws in this country haven’t adjusted to the consolidation to protect the wider supply chain.”

Marc Fawcett-Atkinson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, National Observer

Racism common in health system says head of Native Women's Shelter of Montreal

© Provided by The Canadian Press

MONTREAL — The executive director of the Native Women's Shelter of Montreal says racism against Indigenous people is so common at local hospitals that her organization escorts clients to medical visits.

“Every time we have to bring someone to a hospital, we escort them, because we know that there will be racist comments toward them,” Nakuset, who uses only one name, said in an interview Wednesday. “We have a form because we anticipate what’s going to happen.”

That form, she said, has a checkbox for racist comments because she said they’re so common.

On Monday, Joyce Echaquan, an Atikamekw woman, filmed nurses making derogatory comments to her as she lay dying in a hospital bed in Joliette, Que., northeast of Montreal.

Nakuset said the video reveals the nurses thought they could get away with talking like that. “If Joyce didn’t have a camera, this wouldn’t be a story."

Dr. Alika Lafontaine, an anesthesiologist in Grande Prairie, Alta., who is of Cree and Anishinaabe heritage, said Indigenous people regularly experience discrimination in Canada's health-care systems.

"Patients experience this every single day, to varying degrees," he said in an interview Wednesday.

The Quebec government has promised two investigations into Echaquan's death, one by the coroner, the other by the regional health centre. And while Dr. Lafontaine said those investigations are important, they won't solve larger systemic problems because these kinds of racist incidents often don't get reported, he said.

“If we're really going to fix the system, we have to not just unpack the racial events that happened, but also the reasons why this person would think that it was okay to act this way,” he said. These experiences lead people feeling disempowered in medical environments and reduce trust, Lafontaine said.

As a result, he said people won't share information with medical providers and "they may delay going to access treatment, because they need to be really, really sick in order to deal with, kind of, that level of discomfort, or hostility, and that all leads to worse outcomes."

Echaquan's death took place almost a year to the day after a public inquiry, known as the Viens Commission, released 142 recommendations aimed at improving Indigenous peoples' access to government services.

The commission's report concluded it is “impossible to deny” that there is systemic racism against Indigenous people in Quebec.

Richard Budgell, professor of Inuit and northern health promotion at McGill University, says Indigenous people need to be meaningfully involved in the governance of health institutions.

“Because the only way you eliminate systemic discrimination is giving the people who have been discriminated against a role in those institutions,” he said in an interview Wednesday.

While Premier Francois Legault was quick to denounce the comments made by the nurses in the Joliette hospital as racist, he has maintained that systemic racism doesn't exist in Quebec.

Quebec's Indigenous Affairs Minister Sylvie D'Amours said Wednesday in a news release highlighting the one-year anniversary of the Viens Commission's report, that 51 of those recommendations have been adopted or are in the process of being implemented.

But Nakuset said she hasn’t seen any signs that that’s the case.

Liberal Opposition Leader Dominique Anglade called D'Amours news release insulting and said it shows she is no longer fit to be a cabinet minister.

D'Amours released another statement later Wednesday offering her condolences on behalf of the province to Echaquan's family and community.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 30, 2020.

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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

Jacob Serebrin, The Canadian Press

Canada: outcry after video shows hospital staff taunting dying Indigenous woman


Leyland Cecco in Toronto

© Photograph: Canadian Press/REX/Shutterstock People attend a vigil in front of the hospital where Joyce Echaquan died in Joliette, Quebec, on 29 September.

A shocking video showing hospital staff in Canada taunting a dying Indigenous woman has left a community in mourning and renewed calls for the country to confront the realities of systemic racism.

Joyce Echaquan, a 37-year-old Atikamekw woman, arrived at a hospital in the Quebec city of Joliette on Monday, complaining of stomach pain.

The mother of seven had previously suffered similar issues and told staff she had a heart condition. Echaquan started livestreaming her experience on Facebook as her pain escalated, and staff at the hospital appeared indifferent to her pleas for help.

In the footage, Echaquan is seen grimacing as nurses call her “stupid as hell”. “Are you done acting stupid? Are you done?” asked one nurse in French as Echaquan moaned in pain.

“You made some bad choices, my dear,” another nurse said. “What are your children going to think, seeing you like this?”

“She’s good at having sex, more than anything else,” the first nurse said.

Indigenous leaders say the video exposes the grim realities of systemic racism that have long gone ignored throughout the country.

“Discrimination against First Nations people remains prevalent in the health care system and this needs to stop,” the Assembly of First Nations national chief, Perry Bellegarde, said in a statement.

The Quebec premier, François Legault, condemned the actions of the staff, telling reporters at least one of the nurses had been fired.

But the premier rejected the notion that Echaquan’s death was representative of a broader problem of racism within Quebec, despite a public inquiry concluding the opposite.

“I really don’t think we have this kind of way of dealing with First Nations people in our hospitals in Quebec,” he said.

The province’s coroner office has announced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Echaquan’s death. The local health board is also investigating.

‘‘We will not tolerate any remarks of that type from our personnel,” the board said in a statement.

Related: Violence against indigenous women is woven into Canada’s history | Jaskiran Dhillon and Siku Allooloo

Marc Miller, federal Indigenous services minister, extended his condolences to the community who were traumatized by the “gut-wrenching” video.

“This is the worst face of racism,” Miller told reporters. “This is someone who is at their most vulnerable. And they are dying, having heard racist words expressed towards them.”

Contrary to remarks by Legault, however, Miller said Echaquan’s death was reflective of broader barriers Indigenous peoples still face in Canada.

“This is not an isolated event,” said Miller, pointing to the case of a hospital in British Columbia, where staff allegedly bet on the blood alcohol content of incoming Indigenous patients.

For those who have experienced similar treatment to Echaquan’s, the video marked a jarring reminder of the inequities present within the country’s healthcare system.

“I’m not sure I can adequately explain how watching the video of #JoyceEchaquan’s last moments is weighing on me. As an Indigenous woman w/ chronic illnesses the treatment she endured is my ultimate fear,” tweeted Frances Elizabeth Moore, an outreach worker from Timiskaming First Nation.

“I always need to advocate for myself. At times, I’ve brought others to appointments b/c I did not feel safe going alone. This isn’t new. This isn’t unheard of. You just haven’t been listening. I hope some serious reform comes from Joyce’s heroic actions. Rest well sister.”

Que. nurse fired, coroner to investigate after dying Indigenous woman taunted in hospital

Stephanie Marin

Joyce Echaquan, an Indigenous mother of seven, filmed a nurse insulting her as she lay dying in a Quebec hospital.

The Canadian Press Tuesday, September 29, 2020 

MONTREAL -- A nurse has been fired after an Indigenous woman who was dying Monday night in hospital was subjected to degrading remarks, Quebec's premier said Tuesday.

The Quebec coroner's office confirmed it will investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of Joyce Echaquan, a mother of seven who had gone to the hospital in Joliette, Que., northeast of Montreal, complaining of stomach pains.

Before the Atikamekw woman's death, she filmed herself from her hospital bed while she was in clear distress and pleaded for help.

Toward the end of the video, two female hospital staff can be seen entering her room and are heard making insulting comments, saying she's "stupid as hell," that she's only good for sex and better off dead.

Amid protests from Echaquan, a staff member tells her she made poor choices and asks what her children would think to see her in that state.

"That's why I came here," Echaquan can be heard replying quietly.

The video circulated widely on the internet, prompting widespread indignation and a call from the Quebec chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Ghislain Picard, for the government to address a culture of racism.

"A coroner's inquest should not be an opportunity for the government to shirk its responsibilities," Picard said Tuesday. He made the comments during a virtual news conference, during which he presented his organization's plan to address racism and discrimination in the province.

"A coroner's report will not change anything about the racism displayed by nurses. It is a question of attitude and a question of culture."

The Council of the Atikamekw Nation said discrimination in public services is unfortunately still far too prevalent and the video shot by the deceased woman "reveals disturbing condescension and racist remarks" from staff.

"It is unfortunate that in 2020 such behaviours can still occur," Grand Chief Constant Awashish said in a statement. "It is everyone's responsibility to denounce them, especially in the context of health services and whose ethics should protect us from the discomfort of racism."

Verna Polson, the leader of the Anoshnabeg Nation, said the video left her angry.

"I am also sad at the thought that her children this morning no longer have a mother," she said Tuesday at the news conference with Picard. "This systemic racism that exists today in Quebec, we, the Aboriginal women, live it every day."

Legault offered his condolences to the family Tuesday in Quebec City, confirming a nurse at the hospital had been fired. And while he admitted racism exists in the province, he would not qualify the situation as an example of systemic racism.

"What happened is totally unacceptable," Legault said. "There will be two inquiries and the nurse did something unacceptable and she has been fired."

Legault said in addition to the coroner, the regional health authority will investigate the death.

In Ottawa, Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller said his thoughts were with the family and community members.

"The best case scenario is this person died at the hands of a racist and the worst case scenario is much worse, it makes you think about criminality and it's why we need to get a full inquest into what happened."

Miller said what happened wasn't an isolated event.

"What is gut-wrenching about this, is someone who is in their most vulnerable and they're dying, having heard racist words expressed towards them," Miller said.

"I can only imagine the impact that can have on Indigenous communities and it's part of a pattern that's existing and we have to eliminate that pattern, we have to keep fighting against that pattern."

Edmonton virtual workshop highlights 

anti-Black racism, lack of education on Canadian Black history


Lauren Boothby

© Provided by Edmonton Journal Young Black women discuss experiences with racism during a Zoom call as part of a virtual event Sept. 29, 2020 hosted by Edmonton-based Empowering Black Girls Lets Talk About It: Anti-Black Racism.

Timiro Mohamed says being Black in Canada means seeing racism on a daily basis, all while having her experience erased.

The narrative of Canada as an accepting country gets in the way of reconciling with racism, Mohamed said in a new video featuring young Black women on their experiences. The video was featured as part of virtual event Tuesday hosted by Edmonton-based Empowering Black Girls Lets Talk About It: Anti-Black Racism.

“Canada is this benevolent, peaceful country, and so part of that … means there’s this refusal to own up to the current reality, the present reality of racism, not racism as a distant reality, but as a constant, every day thing that people experience … and that can be really frustrating,” Mohamed said in the video.

Video player from: YouTube (Privacy Policy, Terms)

Anti-Black racism includes prejudice, attitudes, beliefs, stereotyping and discrimination directed at people of African descent and is rooted in an experience of enslavement and colonization, facilitator Christabel Khumalo said at the beginning of the virtual talk on Tuesday.

Khumalo polled viewers as to whether they had been taught about Canadian Black history in schools, and 71 per cent said they had not.

Edmonton-Meadows MLA Jasvir Deol, NDP critic for multiculturalism, spoke after a short history lesson saying history is written by powerful, and in this case, white people.

“But I have never heard about Black history, not only that, the huge incidents like the Komagata Maru,” he said. “I don’t think students in classes ever heard about those incidents.”

Some Black participants who were not born in Canada spoke in the seminar about how they experienced barriers, differential treatment because of their accents and knowledge of local history.

As to what to do to address it, Khumalo said it’s important to speak out against it racism when you see it.

“Staying silent is communication … So whatever you can find (to use) your voice to intentionally speak on it, use it, because staying silent communicates something, it’s also taking a position that does not help anti-racism,” she said.

“Speaking up and against racism starts with an individual, self-reflecting … understand (your emotions), unpack them, address them introspectively.”

She said it’s important to be aware of your biases , stay educated, learn and to seek to intentionally teach yourself and those in your care about racism, white privilege, and colour-blindness.

Empowering Black Girls offers mentorships, workshops and runs community projects aiming to empower Canadian girls of African and Caribbean descent, funded by the federal government.