In response to the enhanced commitment of Cancer Care Ontario (CCO) to health equality, reducing inequities and improving cancer care for First Nations, Inuit, Metis and urban Indigenous peoples, the South West Regional Cancer Program’s Indigenous Program has grown and evolved. Last year, CCO provided regional cancer programs with funding for a full-time resource to support the important work happening across the province in the Indigenous space.
To better reflect the roles and responsibilities of our Indigenous Program team members and to reflect CCO’s updated program terminology, titles have changed slightly in this portfolio. The new titles better reflect the responsibilities of the team and help provide clarify among communities and teams who are engaged in this work.
The South West Team
Dr. Samantha Boshart
Regional Indigenous Cancer Lead
[email protected]
Chantel Antone
Indigenous Program Specialist/Navigator
[email protected]
Lisa Jackson
Indigenous Resource Consultant, Indigenous Cancer Program
[email protected]
What are our goals?
Chantel, Sam and Lisa are working as a team to carry out the work outlined in CCO’s First Nations, Inuit, Métis and urban Indigenous Cancer Strategy, and in response, developing and implementing our regional strategy. Bringing their collective strengths to the table, the team will engage with regional hospital partners and Indigenous communities to enact meaningful change in these key areas:
- Building productive relationships
- Research and surveillance
- Prevention
- Screening
- Palliative and end-of-life care
- Education
- Equity
Terminology
As a result of engagements with First Nations, Inuit, Métis and urban Indigenous communities and partners across the province over the past years, CCO has transitioned the name of the Aboriginal Cancer Control Unit (ACCU) to the Indigenous Cancer Control Unit (ICCU).
The development of the new strategy “The First Nations, Inuit, Métis and Urban Indigenous Cancer Strategy” provides an opportunity for the ICCU to refresh terminology and reflect the adoption of United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP), The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), along with alignment with federal and provincial governments shift in language.
All future work will replace the word Aboriginal with Indigenous; and refer to each respective group as First Nations, Inuit, Métis and/or urban Indigenous.
Engage with us
If you have any questions about the work we do or want to consult with the team on how to incorporate the Indigenous perspective into your work, please contact us. For more information and resources about Indigenous cancer care, visit cancercareontario.ca and look for “Indigenous” at the top of the page.