Quebec says it won’t limit health care in English, open to ‘clarifying’ directive: letter
Posted August 9, 2024 12:02 pm.
Last Updated August 11, 2024 11:44 am.
Three Quebec ministers reached out to the province’s anglophone community Friday, insisting that a new government directive in the health sector does not restrict access for English speakers.
In an open letter published in the Montreal Gazette, Jean-François Roberge, Quebec French-language minister, Eric Girard, minister responsible for relations with English-speaking Quebecers, along with Health Minister Christian Dubé, wrote that the government is not limiting the availability of health services in English, and there will never be language requirements in Quebec to treat a patient, after concerns were raised by anglophones and federal MPs.
“The government of Quebec imposes absolutely no linguistic conditions in health care settings before providing health care in English to anyone who requests it,” they wrote. “Every English-speaking individual in Quebec has the right to receive health and social services in English, as per Section 15 of the Act respecting health services and social services.
“We are open to clarifying the directive to make it clear that there will never be language requirements in Quebec to treat a patient,” they added.
The directive, published last month, has angered members of Quebec’s anglophone community who worry it could restrict their access to health care in English. The Quebec government, meanwhile, claims patients will still be able to receive treatment in the language of their choice.
Meanwhile the ministers argue it “does not limit the circumstances under which users have the right to receive health and social services in English. Any suggestion to the contrary is false.”
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.
WATCH: Montreal lawyer denounces Quebec policy on English use in health care
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.
“Organizations in the health and social services network do not request documentation or proof from users for the provision of care in a particular language,” wrote the ministers in their open letter.
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.
The ministers further state: “The directive also recognizes the special status of health and social service establishments, such as the Jewish General and Santa Cabrini hospitals, which was also recognized by the Office québécois de la langue française.”
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
Anna Gainey, federal MP for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, says her constituents are concerned the directive could disrupt the way they communicate with health-care providers. In a statement posted to the X platform Wednesday evening, Gainey said she’s spoken with federal Health Minister Mark Holland.
“It is clear that the confusion and uncertainty created by the directive is likely to have adverse consequences that cannot be ignored,” she wrote. “Clarity is urgently needed. The choice of language should continue to belong to the patient.”
Federal Health Minister Mark Holland’s office says in a statement Friday morning that the government expects provinces not to make decisions that would impede Canadians’ access to health care in either official language.
Concluding their message to English-speaking Quebecers, the three ministers said the “government’s intention has never been to restrict access to health care for English speakers in Quebec. We understand that many people are concerned about the directive.”
They add that they will be meeting with representatives of the English-speaking community to hear their concerns and reassure them of our desire to provide health care to Quebecers without linguistic requirements.
Montreal lawyer decries ‘huge change’ to health care
Montreal lawyer Eric Maldoff, specializing in health and linguistic matters, says Quebec’s French-language directive is immoral.
“It’s not a case of anybody who prefers to get their service in English, it’s not even in the power of the patient to determine the language in which they’re served,” he said. “The discretion is left with the bureaucrats and the providers of service as to whether they will, it doesn’t say they must, it simply says in certain circumstances they may and may means they may not.”
Maldoff says it’s a “huge change” from what the law previously stipulated, adding that a English-language eligibility certificate worsens that.
“At the end of the day, the power to decide the language of service should be in the hands of the person requiring the service,” he said.
Maldoff says it is potentially good news that the government may clarify the directive.
“Which at least opens the door, a tiny crack,” he said. “It’s not good enough because they have to acknowledge what the problem is and not just say we’re open to it.”
-With files from The Canadian Press
