This Globe and Mail article describes the heightened vulnerability faced by native peoples in Canada:
A new federal report reveals the TB rate among status Indians to be 31 times higher than that of non-aboriginal Canadians. Among the most susceptible of aboriginal populations are the Inuit, for whom the TB rate is 186 times that of Canadian-born non-aboriginals.
The data reveal TB rates among non-aboriginal Canadians have decreased from one per 100,000 in 2003 to 0.8 per 100,000 in 2008, yet rates for aboriginals are climbing. The increase is particularly dramatic among Inuit, for whom the rate climbed from 22.1 cases per 100,000 in 2003 to 157.5 cases per 100,000 in 2008.
The prevalence of TB among native peoples is likely caused by people living in overcrowded, moldy homes.
This is not a new problem. Over 100 years ago, a Canadian chief medical officer warned of the greater risk of TB at government run ‘residential schools.’ Historically, TB at all kinds of institutions (such as mental retardation institutions) was not uncommon.
Apparently, the government feels no pressure to address this greater risk for native peoples:
New Democratic MP Judy Wasylycia-Leis on Wednesday submitted a request to House of Commons Speaker Peter Milliken asking for an emergency debate on the TB findings. The request was declined.