Native leaders in Manitoba aren't happy with the Canadian government's response to the shipment of body bags in supplies meant to combat the H1N1 virus, commonly known as swine flu.

Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq, who is Inuit, ordered an investigation into the shipments to at least four First Nations. But a statement from Health Canada. only mentioned one Native community.

"We regret the alarm that this incident has caused," Health Canada said in a statement.

Jim Wolfe, a Health Canada director of First Nations and Inuit Health in Manitoba, issued an apology to all First Nations in Manitoba. But Native leaders said an official apology should come from Aglukkaq.

"We will accept an apology only by the minister responsible for our well being," David Harper, the Grand Chief of the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, which represents most First Nations communities in northern Manitoba, told CBC News.

Natives in Manitoba have been the hardest hit by the virus, which has now affected more than five percent of the people on the Ahousaht First Nation in British Columbia.

Get the Story:
Health Canada apologizes for body bags (CBC 9/17)
Swine flu outbreak hits Vancouver Island First Nations (CBC 9/18)

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