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Alberta Health Services fires two employees after racial slur to Kainai school principal

Jun 27, 2017 | 9:59 AM

EDMONTON — Alberta Health Services have fired two employees after a racial slur was directed towards a Kainai Board of Education employee in a text message.

Last week, the Kainai Board of Education held a press conference, revealing Ramona Big Head, a principal at a school on the reserve, was called a “rabid squaw” by an AHS employee in a text message. The employee, along with a colleague, was on the reserve last week for program evaluation, and sent the text message to Big Head, when it was meant for the other employee.

AHS apologized for the incident last week, and completed their review on Monday, and fired the two employees who ran the session.

“We will take this opportunity to reiterate that this incident is not representative of who AHS is or what AHS stands for,” said Dr. Verna Yiu, AHS president and cEO in a statement.

“We are a team of individuals with passion, commitment to caring, and above all: respect for those we serve. Albertans of every community are our partners and our neighbours.”

The statement goes on to state AHS “is committed to advancing the process of reconciliation with indigenous peoples and communities,” and says they will move forward from the incident.