Declaration on Truth and Reconciliation
PREAMBLE
The Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA) acknowledges that the health and well-being of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples continue to be profoundly impacted by colonialism, systemic racism, and structural inequities. These harms are not historical artifacts—they are lived realities that demand immediate and sustained action.
Public health systems, including CPHA, have historically participated in and benefited from colonial policies and practices that dispossessed Indigenous Peoples of their lands, suppressed their knowledge systems, and undermined their sovereignty. Reconciliation requires that we confront these truths, take responsibility for and repair past harms, and actively work to redress ongoing injustices.
As a national, independent voice for public health, CPHA affirms its responsibility to uphold Indigenous rights, advance decolonization, and promote health equity in all we do. We are committed to a distinctions-based approach that recognizes the unique rights, governance structures, cultures, and priorities of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples, as affirmed in the Constitution Act, 1982, and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
OUR COMMITMENTS
We commit to sustained, accountable action. In this spirit, CPHA affirms the following principles and priorities:
Uphold Indigenous Sovereignty and Distinctions-based Self-determination
We respect the inherent and treaty rights of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples, and commit to supporting their distinct approaches to public health governance, service delivery, and research. We recognize that a distinctions-based approach is essential to reconciliation and to the development of equitable and effective public health systems.
Advance Truth-telling and Historical Accountability
We recognize the profound and ongoing harms inflicted by colonial policies and public health practices—including those related to residential schools, forced sterilization, Indian hospitals, child welfare, and environmental dispossession. CPHA will continue to confront and disclose the roles that public health systems have played in these injustices and will support education efforts that promote historical literacy, critical reflection, and collective accountability.
Address Anti-Indigenous Racism and Structural Injustice
We acknowledge that anti-Indigenous racism remains embedded in health systems, institutions, policies, and practices. We commit to identifying these structures and advocating for their dismantlement. We will strive to apply an intersectional lens that recognizes the compounded impacts of anti-Indigenous racism, gender-based violence, ableism, and other forms of oppression.
Uphold Indigenous Knowledge, Data Sovereignty, and Research Ethics
We affirm that Indigenous knowledge systems—including land-based, ceremonial, and intergenerational knowledge—are foundational to community wellness. CPHA supports Indigenous data sovereignty and will champion ethical, respectful research that aligns with OCAP® principles and Indigenous-led frameworks for knowledge creation.
Cultivate Meaningful Relationships and Shared Leadership
We understand reconciliation as relational. CPHA will nurture authentic, accountable relationships with Indigenous partners, Nations, organizations, and communities. We will co-create opportunities for shared leadership within our governance, programming, and strategic direction.
Transform Public Health Education and Practice
CPHA will promote culturally safe, anti-racist, and decolonizing approaches in public health education and practice. We commit to integrating Indigenous content and ways of knowing into professional development, advocacy, and knowledge mobilization.
OUR CALL TO ACTION
CPHA recognizes that reconciliation requires more than words. It demands sustained, collective action, guided by Indigenous leadership and grounded in trust, humility, and justice. We will continue to listen, learn, and act—knowing that the health of future generations depends on the steps we take each day.
We call on public health institutions, governments, and civil society organizations to adopt and implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, with particular attention to those directed at health systems (Calls to Action 18–24), the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Calls for Justice, and to fully implement the principles of UNDRIP through distinctions-based engagement and collaboration.
We also call on our members and partners to reflect on their own roles, privileges, accountabilities, and responsibilities in advancing truth, reconciliation, and Indigenous health equity.
We also call on our members and partners to reflect on their own roles, privileges and responsibilities, amplify Indigenous leadership, and work collectively toward the realization of health equity grounded in truth, rights, and reconciliation.