The only Indigenous-led perinatal and midwifery program in Greater Victoria has closed after funding expired at the end of May, prompting criticism from care providers and Indigenous advocates.
South Island Indigenous Midwifery Services (SIIMS) shut its doors on May 30 after Island Health and the B.C. Ministry of Health declined to renew their funding two days prior to their contract renewal.
SIIMS co-founder and midwife Melanie Mason said no consultation took place 香蕉视频直播� neither with them nor with local Nations 香蕉视频直播� before the closure, which came just a few weeks before National Indigenous Peoples Day.
香蕉视频直播淚t was an absolute cutoff of all opportunities,香蕉视频直播� she said. 香蕉视频直播淭hat was pretty devastating (and) a little bit gut-wrenching. We don't have any access to interim funding, and no other funding has been put forward by Island Health or the Ministry of Health.香蕉视频直播�
When Mason and fellow co-founder Nathalie Pambrun reached out to the health authority and the ministry for information about the funding cuts, they said they were not given a rationale behind the decision.
香蕉视频直播淭hey've told us equivocally, 香蕉视频直播楴o, we will not meet with you, we will not talk with you about your program, the Ministry of Health does not meet with primary care providers,香蕉视频直播� end point,香蕉视频直播� she said. 香蕉视频直播淭hat's not how you deal (with) or be in relationship with people that provide care for perinatal services. (We) felt a little betrayed when we're being told that things are being done in the background and they are not.香蕉视频直播�
To this day, over a month after the cuts, Mason and Pambrun are still waiting for answers, feeling left in a 香蕉视频直播渂lackhole of information.香蕉视频直播�
Saanich News requested comment from Island Health, but was redirected to the Ministry of Health, which did not respond before deadline.
Based in Saanich and active since March 2023, the organization served an estimated 20,000 Indigenous people across the South Island through clinics at the Foundry Victoria Youth Clinic, the Songhees Wellness Centre, and Camas Lelum Primary Care Clinic.
Supporting up to 60 women annually, the program delivered trauma-informed, culturally safe care to youth, unhoused individuals, parents facing substance use challenges, and birth evacuees from remote communities. It also helped reduce ER visits, improve birth outcomes, and keep families together.
In light of the cuts, Mason said this decision violated the , which urges the provinces to increase and retain Indigenous health-care providers in their communities.
香蕉视频直播淚'm just astounded that we香蕉视频直播檙e still at the same place in 2025,香蕉视频直播� she said. 香蕉视频直播淥n Indigenous History Month, we get told that our services, as Indigenous providers, provided to Indigenous people, are getting cut. This seems outrageous to me.
香蕉视频直播�(I香蕉视频直播檓 in) absolute rage, horror and disgust that they are willing to do that.香蕉视频直播�
SIIMS, midwives and advocates are now calling on the province to fund four full-time midwifery positions to restore the program. They say the decision to cut funding while continuing to support less comprehensive models raises serious concerns about systemic inequity in health care.
Saanich News reached out to Gezina Baerh, director of clinical services for the Songhees Nation, but did not hear back before deadline.
