COVID-19 Information

Well Living House is committed to providing First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples with accurate and Indigenous-specific information about COVID-19. We take care of each other, wherever we are.

Media Releases

We are very proud of the good work being done at Auduzhe Mino Nesewinong (Place of Healthy Breathing). United Way Greater Toronto has recognized this good work in their “Case studies of social service innovations during COVID-19” report. Through interviews with Dr. Janet Smylie, Cheryllee Bourgeois, Steve Teekens, and Devon Bowyer, they describe how Auduzhe Mino Nesewinong and the We Count COVID-19 research project advance Indigenous health and data equity.

(2022) Advancing Indigenous Health and Data Equity: United Way Greater Toronto Case Study Download

Acting as an advocate for Indigenous community wellbeing through policy and social change, Dr. Janet Smylie has been featured in many media stories during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It would be wonderful for our First Nations, Inuit, and Metis people to be counted into our public health systems, regardless of where they choose to live, or where they need to live. Currently, we’re faced with a federal jurisdictional hot-potato, and unfortunately it’s not only in the delivery of health services, but its also in our health information systems. I actually see an opportunity to bridge that gap, and it should be led by First Nations Inuit and Metis leaders and Indigenous agencies.”

Canada's Minister of Indigenous Services highlighted that data gaps exist on COVID-19 cases for Indigenous communities

We speak with Dr. Janet Smylie, Research Chair with Unity Health Toronto, & Dalla Lana School of Public Health at U of T #cdnpoli https://t.co/5fQvbCco2D pic.twitter.com/1H5hBZ6WYN
— Natasha Fatah (@NatashaFatah) May 9, 2020

Federal health data systems are not capturing the full extent of Indigenous COVID burden. “There is actually more cases [of Indigenous COVID] in Northern Saskatchewan than the Federal numbers for the whole country.”

https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/janet-smylie-data-analysis-covid19-1.5570170
Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) reports daily COVID-19 numbers including hospitalizations and death on its website but the data doesn’t include First Nations who live off-reserve nor any data on the Métis Nation. ‘The best way to [collect this data] is by ourselves, for ourselves,’ says Dr. Janet Smylie

https://www.thestar.com/podcasts/thismatters/2020/04/16/indigenous-communities-systemic-racism-and-covid-19.html?fbclid=IwAR210g4NaO8gnlgJRPw011RIhHxcuPoLzHq1KoGVVDmXXx1vWl66fDeDt5Q
Dr. Janet Smylie is interviewed by the Toronto Star and talks about colonization, structural racism, and Indigenous resilience in the face of COVID-19.
“Health services really haven’t been set-up with Indigenous people in mind. At a time of pandemic, like COVID, unfortunately we see these inequities emerge in new ways.”