Page - 383 - in VULNERABLE - The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19

383Systemic Discrimination in Government Services and Programs and Its Impact on… The  most  jarring  manifestation  of  these  human  rights  problems  is  the  distressing  socio-economic  conditions  of  indigenous  peoples  in  a  highly  developed  country.1 Historic and contemporary forms of colonialism predispose First Nations peoples to higher risk for COVID-19. This chapter argues that health disparities observed amongst First Nations com- munities in Canada are related to the underfunding and discrimina- tion in public services, especially on reserves.2 The first part of the chapter outlines the inequities in government services and programs that impede the capacity of First Nations communities to effectively prevent and manage public health crises—such as the COVID-19 pandemic—in accordance with their own priorities, circumstances, and needs. The second part proposes that Caring  Society  v  Canada, a precedent-setting decision of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, establishes the legal standard for Canada when funding its response to public health crises for First Nations communities.3 The decision requires Canada to consider the distinct cultural, historical, and geo- graphical needs and circumstances of First Nations communities in the funding and provision of their services and programs.4 We argue that if the Government of Canada does not immediately and compre- hensively address the systemic inequities in its services and programs to First Nations peoples as required under the  Canadian  Human  Rights  Act5, measures aimed at managing the COVID-19 pandemic and future health crises will inevitably fail to produce equitable outcomes in these communities. 1.  Report  of  the  Special  Rapporteur  on  the  rights  of  indigenous  peoples, James  Anaya. The  situation  of  indigenous  peoples  in  Canada, UNHRC, 27th Sess., Annex, Agenda item 3, UN Doc A/HRC/27/52/Add.2 (2014) at 7 [UNHRC]. 2. See note 1 in Craft, McGregor & Hewitt, Chapter A-2, this volume, for an expla- nation of the terminology and language surrounding Indigenous identity. As this chapter focuses primarily on the situation on reserves, we use the term First Nations. 3. First  Nations  Child  and  Family  Caring  Society  of  Canada  et  al  v  Attorney  General  of  Canada  (for  the  Minister  of  Indian  and  Northern  Affairs  Canada), 2016 CHRT 2 at para 465 [Caring  Society  2016]. 4. Ibid. 5. Canadian  Human  Rights  Act, RSC 1985, c H-6.