Eggertson’s article on gas sniffing shines a light on the conditions on the Pikangikum First Nation in Ontario.1
From 2007 to 2008, 25 of Pikangikum’s 2500 residents (1% of the population) took their own lives; 16 were children under the age of 19.2 This would be comparable to about 28 000 Torontonians taking their own lives. The number of suicides in Ontario each year is about 1100.2
As the Ontario Coroner’s Report outlines, Pikangikum has inadequate, overcrowded housing, no indoor plumbing, little gainful employment, continuous food and water insecurity and no connectivity to the hydro grid. In 2007, 542 heads of household received social assistance.3 This poverty results in substance abuse: children sniff gasoline, adults abuse alcohol. Death due to suicide is pervasive.
Canada continues to accept poverty as a societal inevitability. Yet the poverty rates of other wealthy nations (i.e., Sweden) are less than half of Canada’s.4 Canada ranks 21st in the world in child poverty, and 22nd in infant mortality.5 Can we justify excess infant mortality and youth suicides in First Nations based on policy choices?
We need to establish a guaranteed annual income for all impoverished Canadians, including First Nations citizens. Our per capita spending on health care would likely decrease and population health would likely increase. Nordic nations, such as Sweden are “social democratic political economies” that “promote economic and social security for their citizens.”6
Poverty is associated with poorer health for every income quintile.7 Canada should redistribute its wealth to improve health, living standards and well-being for our vulnerable populations. We have been late to accept the concept of the social determinants of health. If we address poverty among First Nations people, we will likely begin to see mental illness, substance abuse and suicide rates abate in communities like Pikangikum.