Letitia McDougall
Mar 14, 2023
These resources were curated as additional learnings / readings as my focus turns towards marginalized populations and health in Canada.
In this article on the International Institute for Sustainable Development website, the author outlines the principle explaining that successful equity and the notion of “nobody gets left behind” means one must start implementation of interventions where the marginalized groups are the furthest behind. Public policy makers should ensure no new groups are harmed with the recently implemented initiatives to reach sustainable development goals. The article goes on to discuss the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic not only on indigenous populations but also how it affected newcomers and immigrants to Canada. They were more at risk of contracting COVID-19 due to lower income levels, and many worked and lived in settings not conducive to social distancing.
The Canadian Observatory on Homelessness is the largest national research institute devoted to homelessness in Canada. Their website explains how newcomers to Canada and indigenous peoples make up a significant percentage of people experiencing homelessness in Canada. The website provides statistics related to several factors surrounding homelessness and marginalized populations. In Toronto for example, only 0.5% of the population is Indigenous however, they make up 15% of the cities homeless. The barriers and challenges faced by newcomers to Canada contribute to their struggle and put this group at increased risk. About 10% of youth who are new immigrants to Canada experience homelessness.
In this article, Ma et al., combined personal level surveillance and community income levels to examine whether health policy decisions focused on addressing inequities dissipated effects of COVID-19 infection rates and death. Over the study period, hospitalizations and deaths were concentrated among the 20% of the population living in the lowest-income neighbourhoods. They found that focused health policy decisions during the numerous waves of COVID-19 were insufficient to address long-standing inequities in marginalized communities such as newcomers to Canada.