Medical association’s first Indigenous president looks to fix health care crisis, considering a future in politics – APTN News
Oct 18, 2022
The first-ever Indigenous president of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) has taken over the helm, during a time of extreme crisis in the healthcare system.
“It’s been a whirlwind,” said Dr. Alika Lafontaine, who took over as president of the CMA in August.
Lafontaine said there are so many different challenges right now that it can feel overwhelming at times.
There is a crisis in health human resources, access to care with emergency departments overwhelmed in urban centres, as well as rural areas, First Nations and Métis settlements and worker burnout, just to name a few.
Lafontaine, who has Métis, Cree, Anishinaabe and Pacific Islander ancestry, believes one of the great opportunities in the midst of this crisis is to rebuild a better system, including for Indigenous peoples who face racism, stereotyping and discrimination in the health care system.
