The first family health clinic in Montreal tailored to the needs of Indigenous peoples officially opened its doors last Friday.

The Native Montreal Family Clinic project, launched in 2021, is led by Native Montreal to ensure the delivery and sustainability of health and social services adapted to the identity and needs of Indigenous clients in the metropolitan area.

This was announced by Health Minister Christian, alongside the Minister responsible for Relations with First Nations and Inuit, Ian Lafrenière.

Dubé expressed happiness that the new clinic will enhance the local aspect of primary care.

He said they do not ask people coming to the clinic whether they are registered with a family doctor or if they have called the number 811. Instead, they ask: "What do you need?" According to your needs, we will help you find the right person.

Dubé stated, "We are currently reviewing the concept of proximity to frontline services. (...) The example of the clinic is part of this vision."

He pointed out that the clinic aims to improve access to frontline services that are "culturally safe for urban Indigenous peoples in Montreal and complement existing public services."

Dubé added, "Social workers, known as navigators, will ensure that Indigenous peoples receive the appropriate service according to their needs, just like after-sales service."

There are more than 35,000 Indigenous people in the Greater Montreal area, including 13,000 on the island. It is one of the largest urban Indigenous communities in Quebec.

Lafrenière said, "More than half of First Nations and Inuit residents do not live in communities but in urban areas. That’s why the clinic we are announcing today makes perfect sense."

He added that in Montreal, thousands of people live there, are drawn to it, and just pass through. "We need culturally adapted services. That means having navigators, making them feel welcome, and ensuring the system meets their needs rather than having them meet the system's needs."

The Montreal care space joins seven other culturally safe health clinics already existing throughout the province. Lafrenière noted that other similar projects are already being planned and may be announced soon.

The Montreal health clinic will offer a range of frontline services, with a special focus on prevention.

The health professionals who will work there are trained in the realities and needs of Indigenous communities.

The Executive Director of Native Montreal said, "We hope to be able to train medical staff from Indigenous backgrounds. We can become a gateway for internships or different levels of involvement in addition to other non-Indigenous practitioners who want to learn how to conduct their practices better." Philippe Meloche.

Meloche noted in his speech that the Indigenous community has faced "long-term" experiences of discrimination and racism.

He added, "This neglect has led to inhumane situations like what Joyce Echaquan experienced in her final minutes." "These collective and intergenerational traumas have created a gap of distrust that often leads to avoidance of traditional care structures."

He emphasized the importance of a project like the new health clinic for Indigenous peoples, which will help reverse the negative effects experienced by generations.

It was confirmed that "member patients" will be able to follow a medical team composed of family doctors and nurses from the University Family Medicine Clinic (GMF-U) in Verdun.

The clinic building, located on Saint-Jacques Street, consists of two examination rooms and three multi-purpose rooms that can be used for different types of consultations.

Additionally, the central part of this unique facility, called the "Rice Room," consists of several chairs with wooden walls. It will be used, among other things, by people from Indigenous communities who wish to be accompanied by a knowledge holder.