SIOUX LOOKOUT — A lack of coordination for medical transportation through Indigenous Services Canada is to blame for patients in remote First Nations missing appointments, says a regional health care organization.
At the Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority’s 2025 annual general meeting earlier in September, Brian Calleja, the organization’s vice president of finance and corporate services, said community representatives were upset with administrative problems with the federal department, also known as ISC, that have been going on for about a year.
“The medical transportation system currently has many issues in terms of its administration right now,” he told Newswatch. “Our communities are very vocal in terms of wanting change and wanting to see improvements to the medical transportation system in general.”
“There are people that are missing appointments and, as a result, there are negative health outcomes because of that.”
Many of the First Nations that the health authority serves are fly-in only. Medically necessary transportation for people living in First Nations is coordinated through the federal non-insured health benefits (NIHB) program, which provides registered First Nations people with a range of health coverage that’s not captured by provincial or territorial health insurance, or other plans.
The First Nations health authority provides services like primary care, counselling, accommodations, transportation and others, to 33 remote and non-remote First Nations across Northwestern Ontario.
“It’s not that the planes aren’t available, it’s just the overall coordination of travel is sometimes not being done,” Calleja said.
“ISC continues to make improvements to NIHB medical transportation services in the Sioux Lookout area,” said an emailed statement from the federal department, adding that the health benefits’ Sioux Lookout office focuses on medical travel arrangements for the 33 area First Nations.
“The department has taken several steps to resolve the challenges raised and increase capacity at the Sioux Lookout office,” the statement said. “This includes boosting staffing numbers to provide additional phone support to reduce wait times for clients.”
Twenty-seven staff now work at the Sioux Lookout office to “support NIHB services in the region,”— an increase of seven since December 2024, ISC said, adding that after-hours support has also been increased. Agency staff was also reportedly hired to clear a backlog of requests.
“ISC has tried to put resources and time towards addressing the issue, but there are still gaps there that communities are seeing and that we would like to see addressed,” Calleja said.
Federal authorities said a “bilateral table” has been set up with the First Nations health authority “to support regular discussion of gaps and challenges, and actions that can be taken to improve NIHB operations in the Sioux Lookout region,” with its first meeting held on Sept. 18.
“We have a working group that’s currently running, and we will work with that working group to find whatever solutions we can to mitigate the problem,” Calleja said.
He added that the health authority’s membership passed a resolution at its meeting in September to conduct an overall community health probe, identifying “where the funding gaps are for providing health services to the communities.”
That, he said, is expected to be completed by the end of March 2026.
