Federal MPs raising concerns over provincial French-language directive in health care

Anna Gainey, the MP for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, is calling on federal Health Minister Mark Holland to intervene in a controversial provincial language directive in health care.

In a statement posted to social media Wednesday, she said she has “serious concerns” about the 31-page directive issued on July 18 that restricts the use of languages other than French in the health sector to exceptional situations like emergencies.

Please read my statement on Quebec’s health-care language Directive: https://t.co/73ASPonAJE pic.twitter.com/DvfIw55u3h

— Anna Gainey (@annamgainey) August 7, 2024

The Liberal MP said constituents are worried about the directive that now requires historic anglophones to obtain an eligibility certificate from the Education Ministry to seek and receive medical services in English only.

“They are very worried because the directive would interfere with effective communication between them and their caregivers,” Gainey wrote.

New French-language directives in the province’s health care network, released on July 18, have raised concerns among anglophones and allophones now worried they won’t be able to access healthcare in the language of their choice.

According to the document, a language other than French can only be used in health-care settings when “health, public safety or the principles of natural justice require it,” including in emergencies.

It includes a number of examples of situations in which English or another language may be used. In one, a 14-year-old girl is seeking an abortion and is accompanied by someone who doesn’t speak French. In that case, instructions for followup care can be given to the support person in their language.

In another example, a 10-year-old boy requires emergency medical care. In that case, health-care professionals are allowed to ask for his anglophone father’s consent in English. 

The directive also stipulates that members of Quebec’s historic anglophone community must provide a certificate proving their eligibility to attend English school in the province if they want to receive all medical services exclusively in English. Housefather said he’s skeptical that provision would ever be put into practice. 

Furthermore, immigrants to the province are only eligible to receive health care in a language other than French for the first six months after their arrival. 

Gainey said she spoke to federal Health Minister Mark Holland about it, along with legal experts as well as health and social services providers and advocates “to understand the impact of the recent Quebec directive on situations in which a language other than French may be used in the health and social service network.”

She added that it may interfere with the Canada Health Act (CHA), which guarantees accessibility to insured hospital, medical and surgical-dental services.

Gainey wrote in her statement that the federal government will be prepared to insist upon patients being able to receive care in both official languages.

I share the views expressed by @annamgainey as expressed in her statement on Quebec’s directive. When it comes to health care the language preferred by the patient is paramount. https://t.co/7Tizu4bW4W

— Anthony Housefather (@AHousefather) August 8, 2024

Anthony Housefather, MP for Mount Royal, echoed Gainey’s concerns. “When it comes to health care the language preferred by the patient is paramount,” he wrote on social media.

Both Gainey and Housefather represent majority-anglophone ridings on the Island of Montreal. 

Meanwhile, Quebec French language minister Jean-François Roberge has responded twice on social media platform X to defend the directive — once at the end of July and another time on Tuesday.

Il est impératif de poser des gestes forts pour assurer la vitalité de la langue française et c’est ce que nous faisons depuis 2018.

Il est cependant important de le réitérer: en matière de santé, le gouvernement n’impose absolument aucune condition linguistique avant de…

— Jean-F. Roberge (@jfrobergeQc) August 6, 2024

Roberge insists his government is not imposing barriers for people who want to receive health care in English. In a post on X last week, he said the directive only requires that administrative communications be in French, not all forms of care. “It allows all people who wish to receive health care in a language other than French,” he said. 

He wrote on Tuesday, “It is imperative to take strong action to ensure the vitality of the French language and this is what we have been doing since 2018. It is important to reiterate, however, that when it comes to health, the government imposes absolutely no language conditions before providing care in English to anyone who requests it.”

Roberge on July 31 said he would meet with leaders of the English-speaking community to hear their concerns and provide clarifications.

But Montreal lawyer Eric Maldoff said the directive includes no obligation to provide health services in English for patients who request it. “This would be very simply resolved if they get back to the idea that it’s the patient or the user of the services that should control the language of communication,” he said. 

Housefather said there’s a legal argument to be made that the directive violates the principle of accessibility under the Canada Health Act. “I believe that the notion that English services are readily available in a location but you’re legally forbidden from giving them to somebody who prefers to have their service in English is a problem,” he said. 

“And I would want to see, if Quebec insisted on taking that fairly absurd position, the federal government saying that, ‘We don’t agree.'”

Gainey, in her statement, said clarity is needed:

“While the precise impact of the directive on English-speaking people in Quebec remains undetermined, it is clear that the confusion and uncertainty created by the directive is likely to have adverse consequences that cannot be ignored,” she wrote.

Sylvia Martin-Laforge, director-general for the Quebec Community Groups Network – QCGN – which advocates for the rights of English groups, says this isn’t a language issue, it’s a question of health and access. 

The Canada Health Care Act doesn’t talk about language, no, but it talks about accessibility, which guarantees every Canadian to have reasonable access to insured medical and surgical dental across Canada […] The directives have got to be rescinded,” Martin-Laforge said.

Montrealers agree:

“Because people’s health are at line, they should be allowed to speak in the language that they’re most convenient for them. Any [communication] mistake can cause big trouble to their health,” said one man.

“A lot of people here are immigrants and they don’t speak well English or French and […] we should try to accommodate them,” said one Montreal woman.

“[The directive] makes people feel that they’re not important and that’s not true. Everybody’s important and it seems like the government doesn’t have that same view,” another told CityNews.

As QCGN hopes to share their doubts with the Quebec government in a formal setting, Martin-Laforge said, “We had written to the Minister of Health, I mean like over a week ago now, asking for a meeting. And we’ve received an acknowledgement that they’ve received the letter, but we’ve had no offer for a meeting.”

CityNews reached out to Quebec’s health ministry, who told us to contact Minister Jean-François Roberge’s office – which we had previously done. We were told Roberge would only be available to comment on Friday – a day after this report.

-With files from The Canadian Press