A family from Pinaymootang First Nation has been awarded $42,500.
A human rights adjudicator in Manitoba has ordered the provincial government to pay them for failing to provide adequate healthcare services for a 16-year-old.
The adjudicator attributes the lack of service to discrimination based on ancestry and disability.
Alfred “Dewey” Pruden experiences a variety of intellectual, cognitive, and physical disabilities and his mother filed a complaint that they were discriminated against in the health care they received from the province.
The Manitoba government denied Pruden some health care services on the grounds Ottawa is responsible for health care in First Nations communities.
At the age of 4, Dewey underwent brain surgery to address his seizures, but following the surgery, he developed new problems. He lost the ability to speak, glaucoma leading to vision loss, and impaired motor skills.
Dewey and his mother were seeking $100,000 each for injury to their dignity, feelings, and self-respect, but the adjudicator awarded $30,000 to Dewey and $12,500 for his mother.
The province has 45 days to pay them.
