Page - 381 - in VULNERABLE - The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19

CHAPTER D-6 Systemic Discrimination in Government Services and Programs and Its Impact on First Nations Peoples During the COVID-19 Pandemic* Anne Levesque** and Sophie Thériault*** Abstract Historic and contemporary forms of colonialism predispose First Nations peoples to higher risk for COVID-19. This chapter argues that the health disparities faced by First Nations communities are directly attributable to the underfunding and discrimination in public ser- vices, especially on reserves. The first part of the chapter canvasses the inequities in government services and programs that impede the capacity of First Nations communities to effectively prevent and man- age public health crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, in accor- dance with their own priorities, circumstances, and needs. The second part proposes Caring  Society  v  Canada, a precedent-setting decision of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT), as establishing the legal standard for Canada when designing and funding its response to the COVID-19 pandemic for First Nations communities. We argue * The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers and Dr. Cindy Blackstock for their insightful suggestions and thoughtful comments, as well as our talented research assistants Jennifer Linde and Laurie-Anne Mercier for their invaluable support in drafting this chapter. Any errors are our own. Anne Levesque is one of the lawyers representing the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society in its litigation against Canada discussed in this chapter. ** Assistant Professor in the French Common Law Program in the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa. *** Full Professor and Vice-Dean (Academic) in the Faculty of Law (Civil Law Section), University of Ottawa.