Some residents of Stony Rapids are in isolation after coming in contact with a nurse with COVID-19. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

Northern Communities

La Ronge doctor calls threats of legal action in COVID-19 exposure ‘disappointing and disturbing’

Apr 13, 2020 | 5:01 PM

A La Ronge doctor is critical of statements released by the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN), which mentioned the provincial government or health care workers could be held liable for COVID-19 infections.

In an FSIN media release issued over the weekend, Black Lake First Nation Chief Coreen Sayazie and Fond du Lac Denesuline First Nation Chief Louie Mercredi expressed concerns about a new case of the virus appearing in Stony Rapids. It stated the nurse who tested positive recently drove up to the community and the next day began treating long-term care, elderly and vulnerable individuals at the hospital.

“This infection was caused by provincial health care staff that were not tested before coming into our nations,” Mercredi said. “They must ensure that our people are protected at all costs, as they will be held liable if this infection is not contained and continues to spread.”

Sayazie was also concerned about the new infection asking why the nurse was not tested for COVID-19 before travelling to the community.

“If this worsens or spreads in our communities, we, the Dene people of the Far North, will hold the provincial government responsible and will seek legal action,” she said. “They should have done better.”

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These statements didn’t sit well with La Ronge’s Dr. Sean Groves who took to Twitter to voice his frustration. He wrote it was “sad to see northern leaders using COVID-19 as an excuse to play politics and attempt to victim blame health care workers.”

“The threat of legal action against the province and Saskatchewan Health Authority is both disappointing and disturbing,” Groves posted.

larongeNOW reached out to Mercredi and Sayazie for comment, but both were unavailable. Groves declined to comment.

In an interview with larongeNOW, FSIN Second Vice-Chief David Pratt said the purpose of the media release was meant to pressure the provincial government to increase testing and send more protective equipment to northern communities. He added there are some swabs available in the North, but they need to be sent away for testing.

“There was good news yesterday,” Pratt said. “The federal government announced that a new testing kit is available that gives results back in an hour. Our hope is they can mass produce those testing kits, so we can get them to the First Nations particularly in the North.”

In regards to comments by Groves, Pratt said if he was living in an isolated community with sometimes three generations living in a single household, his attitude would likely be different.

“We want to make sure the health authority is testing the nurses before they go in, but also there is testing available in the communities, so they can test themselves if they start feeling under the weather,” Pratt said. “Speaking from that protective perspective in terms of wanting to ensure the best protection for their people, I think their position is completely understandable.”

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derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno