Life expectancy for Indigenous people in B.C. declined by six years, report says

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The life expectancy for status First Nations peoples in B.C. declined by six years between 2017 and 2021, a new report has found – a sharp drop compared with the statistic for Canadians in general, which shows only a dip of several months over the same period.

The report from the provincial First Nations Health Authority (FNHA), released Wednesday, blamed the decrease on the combined impact of the toxic drug crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, which have disproportionately affected Indigenous communities.

“Clearly, this life expectancy data is just, it’s gut wrenching,” said Dr. Danièle Behn Smith, deputy provincial health officer for Indigenous health.

The report is a follow-up to an initial study published in 2021 examining 22 health and wellness indicators, including rates of graduation, hospitalization, serious injuries, youth suicides, mortality and diabetes. The FNHA plans to track these indicators between 2020 and 2030.

The latest report reveals a decline in life expectancy at birth for status First Nations peoples dropped to 67.2 years from 73.3 years between 2017 and 2021. Additionally, the mortality rate for this group rose to 156.0 from 117.3 per 10,000 population in that period.

In comparison, numbers from Statistics Canada show that life expectancy for Canadians fell by mere months between 2017 and 2021 to 81.3 years from 82 years. In B.C., it decreased by approximately seven months to 81.5 years.

Dr. Nel Wieman, chief medical officer of First Nations Health Authority, called the decline in life expectancy “one of the most concerning trends.” She said deaths owing to the unregulated, toxic drug supply, which tend to occur at younger ages, are the leading cause of reduced life expectancy, followed by deaths linked to the pandemic.

In the early stages of the pandemic, First Nations people living in their communities posted much lower rates of COVID-19 infections and deaths, as well as higher recovery rates, compared with Canadians in general, the report says.

This may have been because many Indigenous communities are rural and remote. But the report also points to the success of community-driven public-health responses, such as moving to impose travel restrictions.

However, a later surge of COVID-19 infections meant that First Nations people living in their communities were ultimately harder hit by the pandemic than Canadians in general.

“Pre-existing inequities rooted in settler colonialism and Indigenous-specific racism contributed to elevated rates of COVID-19 among First Nations,” the report says.

The report also found the mortality rate among First Nations people remains significantly higher than that of other residents in the province. Between 2019 and 2021 – the period covering the pandemic and a surge in unregulated drug toxicity deaths – the rate among Indigenous communities rose sharply to 156 from 116.9 per 10,000, while for other residents, it increased to 64.2 from 59.4 per 10,000.

“This interim update shows us that we’re not fully meeting our obligations to First Nations people yet in those mainstream systems,” Dr. Smith said.

The report also highlights some improvements in other indicators. The proportion of students who complete high school within eight years of starting Grade 8 has improved by 4.3 per cent among Indigenous students. Additionally, the infant mortality rate among First Nations people has decreased.

Dr. Smith said one metric that could lead to meaningful change has also not improved: While First Nations people represent approximately 4 per cent of the province’s population, only 0.39 per cent of physicians self-identified as First Nations, a rate that has stayed static.

First Nations individuals pursuing medical careers need more support, Dr. Smith said, adding it is crucial for the majority of health care workers who do not identify as First Nations to be working to dismantle what she said was Indigenous-specific racism within the system.