#IamMGH Black Voices - Meet Natasha Pelage

#IamMGH tells the stories of our people. In honour of Black History Month, we’re centring the voices and lived experiences of our Black staff and physicians throughout February. Meet Natasha Pelage, supervisor at Michael Garron Hospital’s (MGH) Residential Withdrawal Management Centre, Rapid Access Addiction Medicine (RAAM) Clinic and Community Outreach Services.

“I’ve dealt with racism and discrimination in the workplace. I’ve had my expertise and credentials questioned simply because I’m a Black woman in a leadership position. I try not to take these incidences personally because I know I’m more than qualified for my job and I’m very confident in my capabilities. But it’s frustrating and exhausting that Black people have to deal with this at work.

These incidences are real; they happen every day. And they need to be recognized by leaders. We need stronger policies that condemn racism and discrimination against staff, just as we do for workplace violence, bullying and harassment. We need to take a strong stance against oppression. And we need to ensure staff who experience incidences of racism and discrimination feel supported, listened to and comfortable enough to report them to their superiors so we can ensure a safe working environment for all. 

Having more Black, Indigenous and people of colour on our leadership teams would help significantly with this. We serve very diverse communities at the hospital and, right now, our leadership teams are not reflective of this. As a Black woman, I know it’s not always easy to confide in a supervisor, manager or director who is white. There’s a level of comfort and understanding that comes with speaking to someone who has likely had experiences of racism and discrimination that are similar to your own. Without more people of colour in leadership positions, we also lose out on the valuable perspectives and experiences they can bring to the care we provide.

I enjoy the work that I do; it’s very rewarding to be part of a team that supports the care of our communities. That’s why I’ve decided to make my voice heard. I want people to know they’re not alone. And I hope that, by speaking up, I can help inspire change in our healthcare systems. Sometimes you have to say things that make people a little bit uncomfortable in order to enact change. I know we can do better.”