TORONTO – Kiiwetinoong MPP Sol Mamakwa says he’s more interested in seeing action on urban Indigenous vaccination than the personal apology he received from Premier Doug Ford on Friday.
Ford had accused Mamakwa of “jumping the line” to get vaccinated in Ontario’s legislature on Thursday, despite the fact Mamakwa had done so at the urging of community leaders to promote uptake in First Nations.
The province’s current Phase 1 vaccine priority list also includes “Indigenous adults in northern remote and higher risk communities (on-reserve and urban).”
At a press conference Friday evening, Mamakwa said he’d received a call from the premier earlier in the day, and that Ford apologized for personally attacking him.
“I did tell him that I really appreciated his call, [but] it’s not me he needs to apologize to, it’s Indigenous people across Ontario, to undo the damage that was done on the vaccination strategy,” he said.
The premier's office confirmed the call had taken place.
Mamakwa had been questioning the government over vaccine delays faced by urban Indigenous people when Ford made the comments.
The premier first defended the vaccine rollout, saying, “As I’ve heard from numerous people, the Indigenous community has never been treated better, ever.”
He went on to claim other Indigenous leaders had raised objections to Mamakwa’s vaccination.
“Not only did ORNGE fly in, but the member (Mamakwa) flew in to get his vaccine,” Ford said. “So thank you for doing that and kind of jumping the line, as I’ve talked to a few chiefs that were pretty upset about that, for flying into a community where he doesn’t belong.”
Media have so far been unable to verify any concerns among First Nations chiefs regarding Mamakwa’s vaccination. The MPP himself said he’d “had nothing but support” from Indigenous communities.
Ford’s comment sparked widespread condemnation and calls for an apology from opposition MPPs.
The comment was just another example of the racism Indigenous people face everyday, Mamakwa said Friday.
He received his first vaccine on Feb. 1 after being invited to Muskrat Dam First Nation, which sits in his Kiiwetinoong riding, as a way of encouraging reluctant members to sign up.
The NDP has said his involvement came “following very low sign-up numbers in some First Nations communities.”
Mamakwa openly posted about receiving the vaccination on social media.
Responding to questions Friday, Mamakwa said he had not accepted the premier’s apology, though he expressed his appreciation for the call.
“If he’s apologizing, I think I’d want to see some action – actions speak louder than words,” he said. “We need to see those urban Indigenous-led vaccine clinics in Toronto, in Thunder Bay. They’re in a crisis right now.”
Mamakwa was also lukewarm on an invitation he said Ford offered to meet in the premier’s office.
“I would rather see him in a fly-in community in northern Ontario where there’s a housing crisis, a water crisis, an infrastructure crisis, a mental health crisis,” he said. “That’s the invite I’d [want], not just going to his office and having a cup of tea.”
Acccording to Mamakwa, Indigenous communities have been ignored under Ford’s government, citing an alleged lack of provincial communication with Neskantaga First Nation during a recent water crisis.
“With this government, reconciliation is not in their vocabulary,” he said Friday. “When I was talking to the leadership, there was no minister from this government that reached out to [Neskantaga chief Chris] Moonias at the time [to say], ‘how can we help?’”
