Ok. I had some sleep while stewing about the statements made yesterday.
Thanks @SrushtiGangdev for your tweets.
Been mulling over what has been viscerally troubling me about the #COVID19BC response & why I so often seemed to be seeing things differently IRL at work. /1

To hear the 2 ppl in charge of the Public Health response in BC say that these inequities have only been revealed through #COVID19 & that they weren't for PH to solve was instantly validating that I wasn't delusional but also completely crushing.

Why crushing? /2

Because the foundation of Public Health is to help make populations + society healthier.
We have known that RACISM & inequities have existed always & have led to poorer health. This is known as social determinants of health. This isn't new in med. This hasn't been "revealed" /3

during #COVID19. It has definitely been perpetuated during COVID. It has been maybe revealed to more ppl in the public than ever before but for 2 PH leaders to not know about this is not possible, and harmful.

2nd: for them to then say that this isn't for PH to solve is WRONG/4

Social determinants of health, health promotion, disease prevention=public health.

Dealing w racism helps all of these.

Equitable societies make healthy societies- ie PUBLIC HEALTH

I had thought that they were making decisions from a privileged bubble; this confirmed it.
/5

I'm going to go further and say they have been making decisions from their position of WHITE PRIVILEGE. This has been present since Mar 2020. https://twitter.com/frozen/status/1375139471495061507?s=19

All physicians have privilege in society. *I* acknowledge fully my privilege that I have in society because I'm a physician.

This privilege CAN'T perpetuate harm to the patients & public we serve. This is my mission.

For them to say we can't collect data as it will stigmatize

is another way to silence, gaslight & frankly perpetuate harm so that we can go on pretending that everyone is treated the same in this country.

That's not true. Let's stop lying to ourselves about this.

To sensitively collect data and work in true PARTNERSHIP w affected /7

groups and communities of vulnerability to implement thoughtful, appropriate & culturally safe, anti-racist solutions is what you do with the data. Don't weaponize the data to perpetuate harm. That's what you do.

@balkissoon wrote about this in June 2020 https://www.macleans.ca/opinion/canadas-dire-need-better-race-based-data/

So while not surprised, I'm crushed. Crushed that EVERY DAY I have to still convince ppl IRL in the healthcare system who treat pts, that systemic racism & racism happens EVERY DAY for ppl who provide care and worse, receive care.

That the daily weight of it is crushing me/9

I will NOT tolerate Public Health denying and NOT TAKING RESPONSIBILITY that this IS within their jurisdiction or locus of concern.

The use of racist ideas to justify racist policies that started in the 1400s continues to this day.

#DismantleInequities
#EndRacism
#Bcpoli