Inuk elder lost in the nation’s capital

This letter is concerning my 62-year-old father, Joanasie Shaimaiyuk, who travelled to Ottawa from Iqaluit for sugery on February 3, 2000.

My father travelled to Ottawa for medical surgery on his eye. My sister wanted to travel with him as an escort because he is unilingual and does not speak English. The medical staff at the Baffin Regional Hospital had said that they have very good interpreters in Ottawa, but my family and myself were still concerned.

So he travelled to Ottawa all by himself, not knowing what really to do when he arrived. When he arrived in Ottawa, there was someone there to pick him my father, but my father got lost on his way to the luggage pick-up area.

A stranger in the airport asked my father to follow him outside of the airport. They walked for several minutes from the airport. Then my father realized that the man did not work for the hospital and he went back to the airport.

My father saw a police vehicle outside of the airport, so he waited for the police officer to come, but the officer never showed up. Then my father went back inside the airport, where he waited. After a while, a Inuk patient who was on the same plane found him at the airport waiting.

I could get into more detail with this story, but I think what I’m trying to say is quite clear. Here’s a man who is in his early 60’s, who does not speak an ounce of English, in a totally different environment.

My family and myself are outraged at the way my father was treated throughout this situation. Why was my father denied an escort? I know that cost is an issue and will always be an issue, but you don’t just send a patient who does not speak English to the South alone.

Do the medical staff in Ottawa know that patients are being flown down to Ottawa? Is there no communication between the medical staff in Iqaluit and the medical staff in Ottawa?

All I can say is that my father was scared for his life, and we need to prevent this sort of situation from happening in the future.

Susie Shaimaiyuk
Arviat