{"id":104164,"date":"2026-04-27T09:39:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T13:39:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/?p=104164"},"modified":"2026-04-27T09:39:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T13:39:10","slug":"mpp-demands-urgent-action-on-first-nations-health-care-transportation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/27\/mpp-demands-urgent-action-on-first-nations-health-care-transportation\/","title":{"rendered":"MPP demands urgent action on First Nations health care transportation"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Maya Ekman, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, NWOnewswatch.com SIOUX LOOKOUT \u2014 \u201cI think people are suffering just because of this policy, and it cannot continue for that to happen\u201d said Sol Mamakwa. Delays and uncertainty in getting flights and hotel rooms booked are impacting health outcomes and creating burdensome expenses for First Nations patients travelling from communities in his riding to access health care in urban centres, according to the Kiiwetinoong MPP. Mamakwa wrote a letter to Indigenous Services of Canada (ISC) and the federal Minister of Health to express concern and identify shortcomings within the Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) program. \u201cThe NIHB program is intended to support the health needs of First Nations people not covered through other health plans. The current state of the NIHB is failing. The… <\/p>\n

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By Maya Ekman, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, NWOnewswatch.com SIOUX LOOKOUT \u2014 \u201cI think people are suffering just because of this policy, and it cannot continue for that to happen\u201d said Sol Mamakwa. Delays and uncertainty in getting flights and hotel rooms booked are impacting health outcomes and creating burdensome expenses for First Nations patients travelling from communities in his riding to access health care in urban centres, according to the Kiiwetinoong MPP. Mamakwa wrote a letter to Indigenous Services of Canada (ISC) and the federal Minister of Health to express concern and identify shortcomings within the Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) program. \u201cThe NIHB program is intended to support the health needs of First Nations people not covered through other health plans. The current state of the NIHB is failing. The... <\/p>\n

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Log in here<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":101363,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-104164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news","category-ticker","pmpro-level-required","pmpro-level-3","pmpro-level-2","pmpro-level-5","pmpro-level-4","pmpro-level-6","pmpro-level-7","pmpro-no-access"],"yoast_head":"\nMPP demands urgent action on First Nations health care transportation - The Turtle Island News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/27\/mpp-demands-urgent-action-on-first-nations-health-care-transportation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"MPP demands urgent action on First Nations health care transportation - The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Maya Ekman, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, NWOnewswatch.com SIOUX LOOKOUT \u2014 \u201cI think people are suffering just because of this policy, and it cannot continue for that to happen\u201d said Sol Mamakwa. Delays and uncertainty in getting flights and hotel rooms booked are impacting health outcomes and creating burdensome expenses for First Nations patients travelling from communities in his riding to access health care in urban centres, according to the Kiiwetinoong MPP. Mamakwa wrote a letter to Indigenous Services of Canada (ISC) and the federal Minister of Health to express concern and identify shortcomings within the Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) program. \u201cThe NIHB program is intended to support the health needs of First Nations people not covered through other health plans. The current state of the NIHB is failing. 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