On the penultimate day of the investigation, Carol Dubé, his daughter Wasiana Dubé and mother-in-law Diane Echaquan Dubé were all standing in front of the court.

“It is very difficult to hear testimony and try to figure out what is true and what is false,” Carol Dubey said.

He told the coroner Géhane Kamel that several issues raised during the investigation should be considered, including the Joyce Principle Ensure fair access to health care and enshrine this principle in provincial laws.

Dubé and his family also hope that Governor François Legault will realize that systemic racism against indigenous people is a reality in Quebec’s public institutions.

After making the suggestion, Dubey said that he had to explain to his seven children an impossible story of how their mother was taken away.

“This is a story based on nightmares and lies. If you are listening, would you like to tell your children this story?” Carol Dube concluded.

The last words of the family made the crowded court burst into tears, especially when the coroner asked everyone present to respect the courage of the family.

“You open up to the witnesses who came here, this is the least we can do for you,” Carmel said.

Hope to change

Before the family spoke, Maryse Poupart, the new CEO of the Lanaudière Health Committee, stated that the public health agency responsible for overseeing the services of the Joliette Hospital is changing.

Poupart started in April, replacing former CEO Daniel Castonguay. She said that the “management culture” needs to be changed. “I’m an activist,” she said.

She expressed condolences to her family and said that Echaquan’s death was always in her mind when she made a decision.

“Because I never want to happen again in our wall,” she told her family.

Poupart said that in these changes, relationships with indigenous patients will be one of her top priorities. She said that about Aitkamekw culture, she still has a lot to learn, but she said she wanted to work hard to build a culture of respect.

More Atikamekw employees have also been hired to create a safer space for patients visiting Joliette Hospital.

“We have to be patient, because cultural security is a long journey,” she said.

Call on Quebec to recognize systemic racism

Atikamekw leaders also testified in the investigation, calling on the Quebec government to recognize systemic racism in the healthcare system and adopt community solutions to reduce the inequality faced by indigenous patients.

Paul-Émile Ottawa, head of Conseil des Atikamekw de Manawan, said that Echaquan’s death left an open wound in a community about 250 kilometers north of Montreal.

Ottawa told the coroner that this exacerbated the concerns of communities that have been reluctant to seek treatment in Quebec hospitals.

Ottawa said: “In a way, we all feel guilty for not being able to take action to save Joyce. This is a huge trauma for everyone.”

He said that after 3,000 communities panicked and shocked the Facebook video, people were worried that it would happen again.

Ottawa said: “I never want to see the images that still haunt me today-no longer play videos like Joyce to save myself, no more daughters filming videos of mothers dying and helpless.”

His suggestions include allowing doctors and other health care workers to receive training in schools about the reality of the country’s indigenous people, simplifying hospital complaints procedures, recognizing systemic racism, and adopting the Joyce Principles.

Numerous recommendations based on the Joyce Principles

The Joyce Principle is a series of measures Drafted by the Atikamekw community to ensure fair access to health care for indigenous patients. The document described Quebec’s health system as full of systemic racism.

Many of the recommendations in the Joyce Principles include the federal government revising its financing model for health and social services for indigenous groups, and the establishment of an indigenous health inspector in Quebec.

Legault and his government refused to accept the complete document because it referred to systemic racism, and they denied such discrimination in Quebec.

Constant Awashish, head of Conseil de la Nation Atikamekw, told the investigation on Tuesday that the government’s refusal to adopt the Joyce Principles is “a perfect example of systemic racism.” Awashish invited Legault to think carefully about this issue.

“Joyce’s principle is the solution we bring. We are people who live in discrimination and systemic racism. We are those who bring simple solutions. We want it to be done by us, not by others. People do it for us,” Awashish testified.

“If we can apply it, things will get better, for us and society, because everyone will feel safer.”