PoPulationand Public HealtH etHics

policy
Arguably, an exception might exist first, if the community has a high proportion
of Aboriginal residents, or members of another subaltern group with a
long history of discrimination and disenfranchisement, and second, if their
substandard living conditions are taken to represent a violation of Canada’s obligations
under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights or the antidiscrimination provisions of the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights. The situation of Aboriginal people was identified as
a concern by many participants in the 2009 un Human Rights Council Universal
Periodic Review of Canada’s human rights record. 9 It could be argued
that by virtue of Canada’s status as a state party to both these agreements,
the GoC has ethical and/or legal responsibilities for the health and well-being
of Aboriginal populations that do not end at the boundary of the reserve as
provided for under domestic law. This, again, is a larger question that must
be addressed outside the realm of public health ethics.
reFerences
1 Office of the Auditor General of Canada. (2011). Programs for First Nations on
Reserves. June 2011 Status Report to the House of Commons. Ottawa, ON: Office
of the Auditor General. Retrieved from: http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/internet/
English/parl_oag_201106_04_e_35372.html
2 Adelson, N. (2005). The embodiment of inequity: Health disparities in Aboriginal
Canada. Canadian Journal of Public Health 2005;96(S2):S45-S61.
3 Braveman, P. and Gruskin, S. (2003). Defining equity in health. Journal of
Epidemiology and Community Health 2003;57:254–8.
4 Calabresi, G. and Bobbitt, P. (1978). Tragic Choices. New York, NY: W. W. Norton.
5 Neegan Burnside Ltd. (2011). National Assessment of First Nations Water and
Wastewater Systems — National Roll-Up Report. Ottawa, ON: Aboriginal Affairs
and Northern Development Canada. Retrieved from: http://www.aadnc-aandc.
gc.ca/DAM/DAM-INTER-HQ/STAGING/texte-text/enr_wtr_nawws_rurnat_
rurnat_1313761126676_eng.pdf
6 Simeone, T. (2010). Safe Drinking Water in First Nations Communities, 08-43-E.
Ottawa, ON: Library of Parliament; June 28, 2010. Retrieved from: http://www.
parl.gc.ca/Content/LOP/researchpublications/prb0843-e.pdf
7 O’Connor D. (2002). The Walkerton Inquiry: The Events of May 2000 and Related
Issues. Toronto, ON: Government of Ontario.
8 Pakes, B. and Upshur, R. (2007). Ethical Analysis in Public Health Practice
(questionnaire). Toronto, ON: Joint Centre for Bioethics, University of Toronto [on
file with author].
9 United Nations Human Rights Council. (2009). Universal Periodic Review: Report
of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review — Canada, A/HRC/11/17
New York, NY: United Nations. Retrieved from: http://upr-epu.com/files/108/A_
HRC_11_1_CAN_E.pdf
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