Montreal rally honours Joyce Echaquan on 4th anniversary of her death

A picture of Joyce Echaquan is seen during a vigil in front of the hospital where she died in Joliette, Que. on Tuesday, September 29, 2020. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson)

A commemorative rally marking the fourth anniversary of Joyce Echaquan’s death will take place in Ville-Marie on Saturday afternoon.

Echaquan, a mother of seven from the Atikamekw community of Manawan, died on Sept. 28, 2020, shortly after livestreaming racist remarks made by healthcare workers at a Joliette hospital.

The footage sparked outrage across the country, leading to the firing of two healthcare workers – an orderly and a nurse – following her death.

A 2021 coroner report by Géhane Kamel found that the racism and prejudice Echaquan faced contributed to her death, which was declared accidental.

In response to her death, Indigenous groups introduced Joyce’s Principle, which aims to guarantee all Indigenous people the right to equitable treatment in the province’s health care system.

Several organizations and professional orders, including the College of Physicians, have since adopted the principle.  

However, the government of Quebec has not, nor does it recognize systemic racism.

The rally, organized by the Caring for Social Justice Collective, will take place at 5 p.m. at the Place du Canada.

Speakers at the event will include Ellen Gabriel, a Mohawk activist from Kanesatake, Sipi Flamand, the Chief of the Atikamekw Council in Manawan and Ghislain Picard, the Chief of the Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador.

With files from The Canadian Press.