FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Blood Tribe Chief and Councillors (“Council”) and Blood Tribe Department of Health Inc. (“Department of Health”) express profound disappointment regarding the announcement by the Alberta Ministry of Treasury Board and Finance allocating $74 million for the replacement of the Cardston Health Centre under Budget 2026–2027. While investments in health infrastructure are essential, this allocation represents a missed opportunity to address the longstanding and well-documented health inequities faced by the Blood Tribe, and a failure to honour prior commitments and collaborative planning efforts for comparable healthcare infrastructure on the Blood Reserve.
Prior Collaborative Planning Ignored
Since 2020, Council and the Department of Health engaged in productive discussions with delegates of the provincial and federal governments to advance the construction of a hospital on the Blood Reserve. As part of that process, Council and the Department of Health prepared a comprehensive business case outlining the urgent need for a hospital on the Blood Reserve.
Persistent Health Inequities and Discrimination
The Alberta Government’s allocation is particularly troubling in light of reports identifying a stark discrepancy in life expectancy between First Nations peoples in Alberta and non-First Nations populations—averaging approximately 20 years less for First Nations individuals. Further compounding these disparities are well-documented accounts of discrimination experienced by First Nations peoples in emergency rooms and healthcare settings across Alberta (McLane 2022).
Investment in infrastructure that does not address these systemic concerns—and excludes the Blood Tribe as an equal partner in governance and service design—fails to confront the root causes of these disparities. This is a missed opportunity for economic and Treaty-based reconciliation.
Failure to follow MOU
In February 2024, the Blood Tribe entered into a Memoranda of Respect, Understanding, and Partnership between the Nation and the Town of Cardston regarding Matters of Mutual Interest (MOU). Among other things, the MOU commits the parties to:
- Create mutually beneficial opportunities and resolve issues, including in the areas of health and wellness; and
- Apply the principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which includes Indigenous Peoples being actively involved in developing and determining health and other economic and social programmes affecting them and administering such programmes through their own institutions.
The allocation of significant public funds toward the replacement of the Cardston Health Centre—without providing the Blood Tribe any meaningful opportunity for discussion relation to its Treaty right to healthcare—is inconsistent with both the spirit and the letter of this MOU.
It is especially concerning given the substantial level of healthcare capacity that exists on the Blood Reserve. Our community is served by medical doctors, psychologists, nurses, and health administration professionals across all levels who are Blood Tribe members. The Blood Tribe has demonstrated both the expertise and the governance capacity to design and deliver high-quality, culturally grounded healthcare services. Despite this capacity, the Blood Tribe was excluded from meaningful participation in decisions that directly affect the health and wellbeing of our members.
Call for Reconsideration and Meaningful Partnership
The MOU acknowledges that Cardston is located within the treaty territory of the Blood Tribe and the Siksikaitsitapii Blackfoot (Blackfoot Treaty Territory). Blood Tribe entered into the Blackfoot Treaty of 1877 on lands within Blackfoot Treaty Territory, and the Blood Tribe’s Treaty right to healthcare flows from the Blackfoot Treaty.
Council and the Department of Health will be engaging in discussions with Indigenous Services Canada with a view to having this matter brought back for discussion and reconsideration. At minimum, given that approximately 80 percent of total usage of the existing Health Centre’s services comes from Blood Tribe members, the current governance model overseeing the new Health Centre should include Blood Tribe representation. Governance must reflect the population served.
Absent meaningful governance participation and structural reform, the Blood Tribe will be actively exploring engagement with alternative service providers to ensure that our members can access safe, equitable, and culturally appropriate healthcare.
The Blood Tribe’s Treaty right to healthcare is not symbolic; it is a constitutionally protected right that requires substantive and diligent implementation. Council and the Department of Health remain committed to constructive dialogue and collaborative solutions that genuinely advance health equity and reconciliation. The Blood Tribe takes this opportunity to remind Alberta and Cardston that true partnership requires more than acknowledgment—it requires shared decision-making, respect for Treaty rights, and adherence to commitments already made.
Blood Tribe Chief and Council
Blood Tribe/Kainaiwa
