OTTAWA – Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq has apologized for the delivery of body bags to native communities as part of H1N1 flu preparations and has launched a full inquiry into how the "offensive" error was made.

"What happened is unacceptable. It was insensitive and offensive," Aglukkaq said in a statement issued this morning.

"As Minister of Health and as an aboriginal I am offended. To all who took offence at what occurred, I want to say that I share your concern and I pledge to get to the bottom of it. I have ordered my Deputy Minister to conduct a thorough and immediate inquiry into the situation."

Aglukkaq said she will make the result of the inquiry public.

Her comments came shortly after Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff called on her to apologize this morning.

"What's required is a simple, frank and human apology to Canadians. This just isn't good enough," Ignatieff told reporters.

Lillian Dyck, a senator and first nations' member from Saskatchewan, said she was "in a state of shock" when she learned yesterday that body bags had been shipped by the Health Department to aboriginal communities in Manitoba.

"It's like someone had taken a knife and driven it into my heart," she said. "As a woman, how would you feel if you were worried about being infected with H1N1 and what you were sent was a body bag, indicating that your family was going to die?" Dyck said.

Aglukkaq, in her statement, warned against critics trying to "sensationalize" the mistake.

"I was born and raised in remote communities and I understand the challenges better then anyone - that's why I have met frequently with First Nations organizations. Anyone suggesting that our Government's solution to H1N1 is body bags is sensationalizing this situation."

The federal Health Department has issued an apology and a clarification amid the furor over body-bag shipments to native communities preparing for the H1N1 flu virus.

The body bags were shipped to Manitoba's remote aboriginal communities, according to Health Canada, as part of orderly restocking of medical supplies to remote areas -- and not because of any direct connection with pandemic preparation.

"Health Canada apologizes for the error that was made in the number of body bags that were ordered for the Wasagamack First Nations. We regret the alarm that this incident has caused," the department said in a statement issued this afternoon.

"Health Canada delivers services in remote areas through Nursing Stations. We routinely stock commonly required medical materials such as personal protective equipment, pharmaceuticals and other medical supplies such as body bags," the statement says.Noting that the stock is replenished on an "as-needed basis," the statement went on to explain that medical supplies are shippedwell in advance to remote locations because they can often be unreachable during winter months. "It is unfortunate that this has been linked exclusively with H1N1. Whether it's a nursing station in a remote First Nations community in northern Manitoba, or a hospital in downtown Vancouver, supplies are constantly being re-stocked to prepare for unknown and unforeseen events, whether it be a plane crash, environmental disaster or pandemic," the statement says. Health Canada also hastened tooffer assurances that the number of body bags does not reflect any scientific evidence or predictions about potential H1N1 fatalities in aboriginal communities.

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"Again, Health Canada apologises. We all regret the alarm caused by the stocking of this particular item. It is important to remember that our nurses are focused entirely on providing primary health care services under often-trying circumstances. We value the excellent work they perform," the statement says.

The Health Minister is in Manitoba today, meeting with provincial health ministers. Yesterday, her department issued a list of "priority" groups to get the H1N1 vaccine.

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