Indigenous communities, systemic racism and COVID-19

Many Indigenous communities face big challenges: fewer doctors, inadequate housing and water that isn’t safe to drink. All of those issues, alongside systemic racism, can lead to especially bad health outcomes during a pandemic, Canadian public health officials say. Adrian Cheung talks to Dr. Janet Smylie, one of Canada’s first Métis doctors and a lead researcher on the inequities of health care for Indigenous people in the era of COVID-19. Dr. Smylie explains why First Nations, Inuit and Métis people are at a disproportionate risk and what must be done to fix the problem now.