Sask. report calls out use of NDAs for First Nations who complain of poor healthcare

WATCH: A new report from the province's First Nation health ombudsperson outlines ways to improve the healthcare experience

The First Nations Health Ombudsperson has tabled her inaugural report to draw attention to healthcare disparities among First Nations people.

“We’re here for you and we’re working hard to elevate your voices in those spaces that have been silenced for far too long,” Diane Lafond said.

Lafond’s office has received roughly 500 complaints since her office opened on July 1, 2023.

The inaugural report details complaints from July 1, 2023, to March 31, 2025 tied to a number of locations and categories.

Eighty per cent of complaints come from adults, with the remaining 20 per cent coming from children.

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Top categories include physician complaints (29 per cent), emergency rooms (29 per cent), hospitals (22 per cent), nursing (10 per cent), and accessing healthcare services (10 per cent).

Most complaints come from the north, where members of the Prince Albert Grand Council account for the most reports among tribal councils. Lafond says that area has been identified as a “hotspot” in the data.

Lafond says a lot of complaints trace back to Shellbrook Hospital, which opened in 2013.

“There’s many First Nations around Shellbrook,” Lafond said. “They built that beautiful new hospital, yet people go there, and the doors are closed.”

Another trend present in the report is a rising use of non-disclosure agreements, which the health ombudsperson office finds restrictive to investigations.

“It silences, the victim,” said Heather Bear, the office’s board chair. “And I say victims because they are victims. Our people who are being mistreated.”

Now that the office has established itself and released its first report, Lafond wants to see its presence continue to grow.

She said a working relationship has been formed with the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) and its First Nations and Métis Health division. Some complaints from the SHA have been referred to Lafond to advance further.

“We’re seeing steps happening, but with anything, it takes time,” Lafond said. “We want to do it right, but we want inclusion.”

Lafond referenced the SHA’s creation of its Indigenous Hair Cutting Policy after a 54-year-old woman was unable to provide informed consent when a registered nurse shaved her head earlier this year. Her office wasn’t invited to contribute to that policy. But she hopes with more work, her office will be included in those discussions.

Lafond also spoke of the lack of capacity within First Nations communities to adequately address things like home care nursing.

“There’s a lot of barriers that we face as First Nations people and communities,” she said.