The Daily UbuntuThread 03 · Racialized but Human · September 25, 2026
When a profession apologizes
In 2024, the Canadian Medical Association apologized to First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples for the harms caused by medicine.
1 · The scene
A medical school classroom in Quebec City. During the break, an Innu student raises her hand. She explains that her grandmother still refuses to go to the hospital, "because of before."
The professor does not interrupt her. At the end, he simply says: "Thank you. What you just said is part of the subject matter too." Several students stay after class to ask her questions.
Original vignette
2 · The documented case
The Canadian Medical Association's apology
On September 18, 2024, in Victoria, on the territory of the Songhees and Xwsepsum Nations, the Canadian Medical Association offered an official apology to First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples. Its president, Dr. Joss Reimer, acknowledged the profession's role in past and present harms: "Indian hospitals," forced medical experiments, forced sterilizations, systemic racism in care.
The apology rests on work of remembrance: a review of more than 150 years of archives of the Association, founded in 1867. About 225 people, including survivors, Elders and Indigenous leaders, witnessed it. The Association committed to an action plan for reconciliation.
In Quebec, on December 5, 2024, the National Assembly passed a law enshrining cultural safety in the health network. The Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador nevertheless judged it insufficient, for lack of true co-construction. Apologies do not repair everything. But they open a door: the one through which we can finally speak to each other in truth.
3 · The voice
“We are sorry for the loss of trust.”
4 · The question
Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu: a person is a person through other persons. After an apology, what does it take for trust to truly return?
Sources
- Canadian Medical Association, "CMA apologizes to Indigenous Peoples for harms caused by medical profession," September 18, 2024. www.cma.ca
- Canadian Medical Association, "An apology for harms to Indigenous Peoples," 2024. www.cma.ca
- Nunatsiaq News, "Canadian Medical Association apologizes for harms to Indigenous Peoples," September 2024. nunatsiaq.com
- News release on the adoption of Bill 32 on cultural safety (CNW), December 5, 2024 (in French). www.newswire.ca
- AFNQL, news release on Bill 32, December 5, 2024 (in French). apnql.com
Every figure on this page links to a verifiable public source.
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