About Us
The First Nations Health Council was created following the negotiating and signing of a series of agreements between First Nations, Canada and British Columbia. The Transformative Change Accord, signed in 2005, committed the signatories (First Nations, Canada and BC) to establish a new relationship based on mutual respect and recognition and to close the social and economic gaps between First Nations and other British Columbians in several areas of health.
BC and First Nations then agreed between themselves to a bilateral agreement called the Transformative Change Accord: First Nations Health Plan (2006). Part of this agreement included the creation of a First Nations Health Council. The federal government joined First Nations and BC in a subsequent agreement that retained most of the direction in the bilateral plan and committed the signatories to develop a tripartite First Nations Health Plan for BC.
The First Nations Health Plan also committed the parties to explore a new administrative arrangement for the delivery of health services to First Nations in BC.
The First Nations Health Council was established in 2007 and reformed to a regional model in 2010. The role of the First Nations Health Council is to provide a focus for BC First Nations to continue the work of reforming health care.
The interim First Nations Health Authority (formerly the First Nations Health Society) is a non-profit Society under the BC Society Act. The members of the Society are the members of the First Nations Health Council (who are appointed directly by First Nations leaders in BC). To uphold the appropriate separation of business and politics, the members of the Society appoint a Board of Directors that oversees the financial, operational, and service delivery matters.
The members of the interim First Nations Health Authority are:
North
Warner Adam (Deputy Chair)
Chief Marjorie McRae
Laura Webb
Interior
Chief Bernie Elkins
Gwen Phillips
Chief Ko’waintco Michel
Fraser
Grand Chief Doug Kelly (Chair)
Chief Willie Charlie
Chief Maureen Chapman
Vancouver Coastal
Ernest Arman
Leah George-Wilson
- VACANT
Vancouver Island
Cliff Atleo
Shana Manson
James Wilson
The Directors of the interim First Nations Health Authority are:
Pierre Leduc (Chair)
Lydia Hwitsum (Vice-Chair)
John Scherebnyj, CGA (Treasurer)
Madeline Dion-Stout
Matt Pascoe, MBA
Ruth Williams
Carol Anne Hilton, MBA
The three-year term of the Board of Directors expires on March 31, 2012. The officers of the Board - Lydia Hwitsum (Vice-Chair); Pierre Leduc (Chair); John Scherebnyj (Secretary-Treasurer) - will continue to serve for another three-year period, to March 31, 2015, ensuring consistent leadership on the Board throughout the transition period. The members of the iFNHA are seeking to fill the remaining Board seats with qualified and eligible individuals. The deadline for applications is February 29, 2012.
The First Nations Health Society was created in 2009 as part of the development of health governance reforms. The First Nations Health Society receives funding to conduct the work, provide a body to house and manage staff and administrative services, assist with implementing health actions, and provide support to leadership and community engagement with BC First Nations.
In last May’s gathering of BC Chiefs (Gathering Wisdom IV), First Nations voted in favour of the process proposed by the First Nations Health Council. The resolution supported the move to take control of Health Canada’s operations in BC (First Nations Inuit Health services) and to have the First Nations Health Society act as an interim First Nations Health Authority while First Nations leadership assist the Health council in determining the form of a permanent First Nations Health Authority.
In keeping with the resolution of the Chiefs, the First Nations Health Society changed its name to the interim First Nations Health Authority (iFNHA) in December. As directed by BC First Nations, the interim First Nations Health Authority will undertake the early steps in implementing the new health governance as agreed to in the BC Tripartite Framework Agreement on First Nations Health Governance in October of 2011.
The formal name change from FNHS to iFNHA is a procedural adjustment symbolic of the continual positive transformation that continues to take place within BC First Nations health governance.
BC First Nations
British Columbia is home to the second largest Aboriginal population in the country, after Ontario. The 2006 Census enumerated 196,075 Aboriginal people in BC, accounting for 5% of the total population in the province. BC First Nations are also a very young population, with a median age of 28 years, compared to other British Columbians who maintain a median age of 41 years.
The Aboriginal population in BC grew by 15% between 2001 and 2006, more than three times the rate of the non-Aboriginal population, and by 39% between 1996 and 2006, more than four times as fast as the non-Aboriginal population during this period.
The collective goal of the Tripartite First Nations Health Plan: to ensure First Nations are involved as equal partners in the planning and management of health services for First Nations people. The work that BC First Nations are doing today will help us achieve that goal, and to ensure future generations have authority to enact policies, measure success, allocate resources, and establish service standards that are accountable to our communities. We need to work together to create healthy, strong, more vibrant communities now and in the future.
In order to make informed decisions for our collective future, we need only look to our history. In the past, First Nations were well equipped to meet their health needs and to sustain their communities. They were aware of the many social determinants of health and valued taking a proactive, holistic approach towards health care. Indigenous people around the world have been initiating this change for their people for decades; the Tripartite First Nations Health Plan provides this opportunity for BC First Nations.
The Health Council
The role of the BC First Nations Health Council is to support and assist BC’s 203 diverse First Nations communities to realize their health aspirations and priorities. The First Nations Health Council (FNHC) was created in 2007 as a coordinating body mandated to implement the 10-year Tripartite First Nations Health Plan. The purpose of the First Nations Health Plan is to improve the health & well being of First Nations and to close the health gap between First Nations and other British Columbians.
FNHC TIMELINE | image |
Our Vision
Healthy, self-determining and vibrant
BC First Nations children, families and communities
Our Mission
To implement the Tripartite First Nations Health Plan and
support First Nations to determine and achieve
their own health outcomes