Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq has ordered an inquiry into why the government sent body bags to Manitoba aboriginal reserves as part of preparation kits for a possible swine flu outbreak. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

The federal health minister has ordered an inquiry into why the government sent body bags to Manitoba aboriginal reserves as part of preparation kits for a possible swine flu outbreak.

Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq, herself an Inuk from Nunavut, issued a statement Thursday saying she was ordering an immediate inquiry into the incident, which she called "unacceptable."

"It was insensitive and offensive," she said. "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."

Opposition party and aboriginal leaders demanded the Conservative government apologize to First Nations people in Canada after news came out that some reserves received shipments of body bags along with medical supplies.

The kits were intended to help communities handle an outbreak of H1N1 influenza A virus, the incidence of which is expected to rise during the fall and winter flu season. Aboriginal communities were some of the hardest hit areas in Canada during the initial outbreak of this particular flu strain in the spring.

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said on Parliament Hill Thursday that Aglukkaq should make a personal apology.

"What's shocking here is not merely that they sent body bags," he said on Parliament Hill Thursday. "These are fellow citizens. These are our flesh and blood.

"What kind of message does this send to our fellow citizens of aboriginal descent and what kind of message does it send to other Canadians — other Canadian families worried about the swine flu epidemic, worried about their kids going to school?"

New Democrat health critic Judy Wasylycia-Leis called the inclusion of body bags in the shipments "appalling and disgusting."

"After months of pushing for real action, are First Nations to understand that the federal government's plan is to wait for people to die?" she asked.

Grand Chief Ron Evans of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs told CBC News an apology "needs to happen."

Aglukkaq said anyone suggesting body bags were the government's solution to H1N1 was "sensationalizing this situation."

The results of the inquiry will be made public, she said.