CCBI Resources for COVID-19 Matters – June 11, 2020
Dear Friends of CCBI, It's been quite a week! Global demonstrations about "Black Lives Matter"…
CCBI Resources for COVID-19 Matters – May 6, 2020
There seems to be a lessening of tension as many of us in Canada are beginning to see that distancing has worked for the majority of people, and that constraints can be gradually eased as we move towards ‘normalcy.’ For that we are grateful and we thank God for all our health care workers, shopping clerks and workers, supply chain workers and all who have been going to work every day to provide essential services for the country at large.
Last week we talked about long term care homes and the tragic circumstances continuing to be revealed in so many of them. The media is full of stories by grieving families, who are looking for answers and for improvements. There is so much needing to be done in the post-pandemic future! The danger is that in our relief we forget about the problems affecting others, and life will resume with no thought of the need for change, which is so glaringly obvious right now. That would be a waste of an opportunity, albeit an opportunity that visited itself upon us, bringing faults in the system to light for more of us than ever before.
There are so many major areas in health care to be brought into that light, as well as in social conditions that are major factors in health care. Care homes, mental health, poverty, homelessness: problems in these areas are all linked with health care, raising moral questions in the domain of bioethics. This week we look at two further issues, one concerning indigenous people, and the other concerning people with disabilities. These two areas represent further areas where many questions are being raised about how indigenous communities will manage COVID-19 when they do not have enough facilities in place to deal with the situation, while people with disabilities face the spectre of being considered ineligible for treatment, or being placed low on the list, which is always a concern for them.
First, though, recognizing that God is our refuge in any storm, we list a letter from Pope Francis referring to all involved in the pandemic, together with two more prayers from him that we can all use at home, or wherever we find ourselves.
Mary, Health of the Sick, pray for us!
Moira McQueen, LLB, MDiv, PhD
Executive Director, Canadian Catholic Bioethics Institute
Lecturer, Faculty of Theology
University of St. Michael’s College in the University of Toronto
Pope Francis
https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/39444
Indigenous/First Nations
The Globe and Mail
While COVID-19 infections slow in much of Canada, the threat to Indigenous communities rises
History will repeat itself if First Nations remain underfunded in the fight against COVID-19
CBC
‘Disrespectful’: Urban Indigenous population feels short-changed by federal COVID-19 response
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/disrespectful-urban-indigenous-population-feels-231538531.html
People with Disabilities
https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/2020/april/covid-19-and-rights-disabled-people
Covid 19 and the rights of disabled people – statement supported by disabled people’s organisations and allies. The NHS is built on the principle that we are each equal in dignity and worth.
CTV
Disabled Canadians feel excluded from COVID-19 messaging
Poverty and Disability During the COVID-19 Pandemic – An Addendum to COVID-19 and Disability: Recommendations to the Canadian Government from Disability Civil Society Organizations in Canada