September 30, 2022

Stop TB Canada Stands with Indigenous Communities on Truth and Reconciliation Day

September 30 marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The day honours the children who never returned home and Survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities. Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process. STOP TB Canada stands with all Canadians on this sombre day of reflection in our continued mission to end an inextricable scourge of the residential school system, which was responsible for taking the lives of so many - tuberculosis (TB). The reconciliation process, imperative for all, would be incomplete without speaking to the inequitable burden of TB faced by Indigenous peoples in Canada, past and present. 

 For as long as TB has been reported in Canada, Indigenous peoples have experienced the highest overall rate of this preventable disease. This dire and unfair outcome reflects  tenuous  relationships between community and the social, economic, and healthcare systems that need reimagining in the spirit of reconciliation. Every level of government in Canada ought to be involved in the fight to end TB to demonstrate a commitment to the needs of all people they serve. 

On this day, we continue to advocate for Canada to confront the harmful legacy of residential schools and the downstream effects Indigenous peoples face, including intergenerational trauma and an inequitable burden of TB.  We champion promising, community-led initiatives to address the driving factors of TB and call for a sustained biosocial, all-stakeholder and community-centred response in order to combat disease disparity today and for future generations.