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

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 …