The Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians and Cancer Care Ontario sign Letter of Relationship

TORONTO, Nov. 14, 2016 /CNW/ - Today representatives from the Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians (AIAI) and Cancer Care Ontario signed a Letter of Relationship to formalize their partnership and outline the principles of how both parties will work together to address cancer control priorities. The agreement was signed in Toronto in the Traditional Territory of the Mississaugas of New Credit.

One of the key priorities in Cancer Care Ontario's third Aboriginal Cancer Strategy (ACS III) is to build productive relationships based on trust and respect. This Letter of Relationship will enable Cancer Care Ontario and the Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians to focus on common priorities and enhance the health and well-being of AIAI community members.

"This Letter of Relationship outlines our commitment, as well as Cancer Care Ontario's, to work collaboratively toward improving the health status of Indigenous people," says Grand Chief Gord Peters, Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians. "The Political Accord signed by the Premier of Ontario and the Ontario Regional Chief is the basis for relationships and partnerships such as this, and it is our hope and expectation that we will move forward together to improve the health status of Indigenous communities."

"This historic agreement marks the next step in our journey with the Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians as we work towards our common goals of reducing the burden of cancer," says Michael Sherar, President and CEO, CCO. "We look forward to continuing our partnership to improve health equity in a way that honours the Aboriginal Path of Well-Being."

The facts:

• First Nations, Inuit and Métis have higher mortality rates from preventable cancers, show higher rates of some modifiable risk factors and tend to present with later-stage cancers at the time of diagnosis.
  
• Since 2012, five Relationship Protocols have been signed between Cancer Care Ontario and First Nations groups, and a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with the Métis Nation of Ontario.
  
• ACS III is a comprehensive plan that guides how Cancer Care Ontario works with partners to improve the performance of the cancer system for First Nations, Inuit and Métis people from 2015-2019. ACS III focuses on six strategic priorities to improve health equity: build productive relationships; research and surveillance; prevention; screening; supportive care; and education.

ACS III is a direct deliverable of the Ontario Cancer Plan IV and reflects the shared priorities of Cancer Care Ontario, the Regional Cancer Programs and Aboriginal communities.

To contact an Aboriginal Patient Navigator who can help First Nations and other Aboriginal cancer patients and their families, please visit Cancer Care Ontario's website.

About the Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians:

AIAI is mandated as a Provincial Territorial Organization (PTO) to defend and enhance the Aboriginal and Treaty rights of its seven member First Nations. Member nations include: Batchewana First Nation, Caldwell First Nation, Delaware Nation, Hiawatha First Nation, Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, Oneida Nation of the Thames, and the Wahta Mohawks. Learn more at www.aiai.on.ca, on Twitter @AIAI_comms and on Facebook.

About Cancer Care Ontario:

Cancer Care Ontario equips health professionals, organizations and policy-makers with the most up-to-date cancer knowledge and tools to prevent cancer and deliver high-quality patient care. 

It does this by collecting and analyzing data about cancer services and combining it with evidence and research that is shared with the healthcare community in the form of guidelines and standards. It also monitors and measures the performance of the cancer system, and oversees a funding and governance model that ties funding to performance, making healthcare providers more accountable and ensuring value for investments in the system.

Cancer Care Ontario actively engages people with cancer and their families in the design, delivery and evaluation of Ontario's cancer system, and works to improve the performance of Ontario's cancer system by driving quality, accountability, innovation and value.

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SOURCE Cancer Care Ontario

Cancer Care Ontario, Phone: [phone], Email: [email protected]; Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians, Email: Tina Powell, Policy Advisor at [email protected] or Geoff Stonefish, Office Manager at [email protected].