Family of First Nation woman who died amid lack of medical travel asks for OPP probe
The family of a northern Ontario First Nation woman who died after she couldn’t get to crucial medical appointments following open-heart surgery has asked provincial police to investigate her death. Eva Mamakwa said her 31-year-old daughter, Miranda Mamakwa, died in September after Indigenous Services Canada’s non-insured health benefits program did not arrange travel for her […]
The family of a First Nation woman, Miranda Mamakwa, has asked Ontario Provincial Police to investigate her death, according to wire reports. Mamakwa, 31, passed away in September after she was unable to receive crucial medical appointments following open-heart surgery. Her family claims that the non-insured health benefits program, operated by Indigenous Services Canada, failed to arrange transportation for her follow-up appointments four times between May and August.
The program provides medical, dental, and mental health care not covered by private insurance or provincial health plans for First Nations and Inuit people. The family's lawyer, Julian Falconer, stated that the individuals responsible for failing to respond to these urgent requests for transportation should be held accountable, as they cost Miranda her life.
Indigenous Services Canada has acknowledged the need to improve medical travel services and is currently reviewing the circumstances of the case.
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