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Statement on Truth and Reconciliation Day 2022

In the Globe and Mail earlier this month, in an essay calling for a public inquiry into the tragic events in Saskatchewan, “the intergenerational effects of residential schools, neglect and childhood exposure to family fragmentation and domestic violence” were noted as contributing factors. This was followed by yet another call that Canada, its institutions, leaders and citizens, “confront colonialism” and “what more than a century of racist dehumanization can create over the years.”

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New Black-focused Social Prescribing Project aims to improve health in Black communities with a proven holistic approach grounded in Afrocentric principles of wellbeing

TORONTO, July 12, 2022 -- The Black Health Committee, a committee of the Alliance for Healthier Communities(link is external) in Ontario, is launching a new Black-focused Social Prescribing Project. The project will take a holistic approach to improve the health of people in Black communities.

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Alliance statement on National Indigenous Peoples Day – June 21, 2022

What is National Indigenous Peoples Day(link is external) for us at the Alliance for Healthier Communities? What is it for Canada and its institutions, and for each of us living on these lands, Indigenous and non-Indigenous?

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Policy Statement on Defunding the Police

To end police violence and killing of Black, Indigenous and other racialized people in Canada, we must defund the police and resource communities. The following statement traces how the Alliance for Healthier Communities and the 110 community-governed primary health care organizations that make up the Alliance arrived at this position, why, and what our next steps are to advocate for structural changes to policing in Canada.

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Black History Month Statement 2022: Towards a more Hopeful Future for Black Communities across Ontario and Canada

Black History Month is a time to recognize and learn about Black people and their communities’ histories, honour and celebrate Black leaders and their work, both past and present, and acknowledge and celebrate their contributions to Canadian society. The Alliance for Healthier Communities is committed to advancing health equity and improving health outcomes of Black communities. Our work to advance Black Health is informed by our Black Health Committee, which is comprised of Black executive directors and chief executive officers of members of the Alliance for Healthier Communities.

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Systemic Racism Impacts Who Gets to Demonstrate Safely: Our Statement On Protesting Through An Equity Lens

"Everyone has the … freedom of peaceful assembly” in Canada, as enshrined in section 2, part c, of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Combined with the freedoms guaranteed under section 2 (b), freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, this means that everyone in Canada is entitled to gather with like-minded people to voice their opinions -- a right to demonstrate and to protest.

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Inequities in Ontario’s online health card renewal system must be addressed so marginalized people are not left behind

The Alliance for Healthier Communities (Alliance), the Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario (AFHTO), the Indigenous Primary Health Care Council (IPHCC), and the Nurse Practitioner-led Clinic Association (NPLCA) call on the government to address the inequities in the online health card renewal system.

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Letter to Premier Ford regarding province-wide vaccination mandate in hospitals

Dear Premier,

Thank you for the opportunity to provide input on a province-wide vaccination mandate in hospitals.

We support mandatory vaccinations for healthcare staff and visitors in hospitals and a required COVID-19 test for patients. It is critical to do all we can to prevent transmission in hospitals and ensure we protect capacity. Hospitals are where providers and other staff are in regular contact with patients, and where patients are often most vulnerable. It is essential patients are comfortable pursuing care at a hospital when needed.

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National Truth and Reconciliation Day: Primary Care Collaborative Statement

On the inaugural National Truth and Reconciliation Day being recognized today across Canada, the Primary Care Collaborative values the opportunity and responsibility to acknowledge some of the actions that can help support better understanding of colonization, the trauma of residential schools for Indigenous people and communities, and the ongoing impacts of systemic racism, and the steps to create safer spaces and change for Indigenous health and wellbeing.

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Deepening our acceptance of truth to understand our roles in reconciliation

The number of unmarked graves uncovered currently stands at more than 1,300 across Canada, with many Indigenous children still to be brought home to their peoples, and with many residential schools still unrecognized by Canada’s leaders, who’ve only focused on the 139 schools funded directly by the federal government.

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