The Canadian Federal Agency for the Financing of Health Research has announced who will replace the former scientific director, who was fired last year after an investigation by CBC News questioned her claims of indigenous origin.
The Canadian Institute for Health Research (CIHR) announced on Thursday that Dr. Margo Greenwood has been appointed interim research director of the Institute for Indigenous Health (IIPH). The institute, one of 13, provides much of Canada’s funding for indigenous health research.
The organization will host the University of Northern British Columbia at Prince George, where Greenwood is a professor.
“Holy Cow,” Greenwood said at a news conference, announcing her appointment, drawing laughter from the crowd.
“It is a great honor for me to be elected by the CIHR Board of Directors … I look forward to fulfilling the commitment set out in the CIHR’s strategic plan and the institute’s operational plan. Self-determination. Commitment. “Working with the first nations, the Inuit and the People, the organizations and the communities of Metis is my first priority in taking on this job,” she added.
“There is so much to do and I am so excited to take on this challenge.”
Greenwood, who said her mother was English and her father was Cree, said she grew up in Treaty 6 in central Alberta.
“My roots are very deep in these 6 Treaty lands,” she told the crowd.
Greenwood’s predecessor, Prof. Carrie Burasa, was removed from the CIHR in November.
That same fall, CBC News published an investigation that showed no evidence of Bourassa’s public allegations that they came from Métis, Anishinaabe and Tlingit. In response to the report, Burasa changed her story, claiming to be Metis because she was adopted by a friend of Metis’s grandfather.
The investigation shocked many scientists across the country. The effects were particularly felt among indigenous workers, where Burasa had great power and influence.
In an interview with CBC News after the press conference, Greenwood said that her “living experience” as an indigenous woman would be an advantage in her new role.
“I grew up at a time when it wasn’t always popular to be local. Fortunately, those times have changed a lot. Should there be more change? Of course there is. But I had the advantage of surviving these, “she said.
“These are the questions we ask about identity, reconciliation … all those big questions that we are all struggling with in this country. I have perspective and experience to bring. “
Greenwood said he had no comment on Bourassa.
“What I’m focused on is the work we need to do,” she said.
The Canadian Institute for Health Research terminated the appointment of Carrie Burasa as IIPH’s research director last November. (Morgan Modjeski / CBC News)
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