By Canadian Press

Echaquan inquiry: ex-health boss says he was unaware of racism problem at hospital

May 28, 2021 | 1:13 PM

MONTREAL — The former head executive who oversaw the Quebec hospital where an Indigenous patient was mocked and insulted before she died says he wasn’t aware of a racism problem at the institution.

Daniel Castonguay, who was head of the health board serving Quebec’s Lanaudière region until last December, is one of the last witnesses to testify at the coroner’s inquest investigating the Sept. 28 death of Joyce Echaquan.

Castonguay told the inquiry today there had been 10 formal complaints from Atikamekw patients between 2015 and 2020 out of thousands filed at the board, and he said that number didn’t suggest there was a racism issue at the hospital.

Echaquan, a 37-year-old Atikamekw mother of seven, filmed herself on Facebook Live as a nurse and an orderly were heard making derogatory comments toward her at the hospital in Joliette, Que., northeast of Montreal.

The inquest has heard that Echaquan died of a pulmonary edema and was suffering from a rare heart condition, which led to heart failure and fluid collecting in her lungs.

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It has also heard that Atikamekw patients did not want to visit the hospital because of the alleged mistreatment they received from staff.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 28, 2021.

The Canadian Press