Indigenous woman who died at Joliette hospital had recorded staff’s racist comments

In her last moments, tied to a hospital bed, Joyce Echaquan pleaded for someone to help her.

Instead, a video she recorded shows she received racist and condescending remarks illustrative of a larger, systemic issue Quebec continues to grapple with.

Echaquan, a 37-year-old Atikamekw woman, was at the Joliette hospital on Monday. In crisis, she started recording live from her Facebook, screaming for help. The video also captured remarks hospital staff made in her room.

Talking to each other, two women are heard calling Echaquan stupid, questioning her life choices, saying she’s only good for sex and that she would be better off dead.

“And who do you think is paying for this?” one of them is heard saying.

Echaquan, a mother of seven, died soon after. According to Radio-Canada, family members said she had heart issues brought on by an adverse reaction to morphine.

Reaction to the video was swift on Tuesday.