Five years ago, the former Liberal government of Quebec passed legislation that required the . . .
province’s public institutions to implement a program to boost access to government services for Anglophones.
This past week, according to the Montreal Gazette, the province has struggled to implement these programs – particularly when it comes to healthcare.
In a recent Quebec Ministry of Health internal report, it was revealed that none of the 16 regional committees have an access program in place.
If you’ve been following the news, this should come as no surprise.
Just last year, officials at the Lachute hospital removed all English language signs on the pemises – a move that was backed by both Premier François Legault and Minister Responsible for English-speaking Quebecers, Christopher Skeete.
Skeete even had the audacity to say that the removal of the English language signs wouldn’t have an impact on services available to Anglophones visiting the hospital.
Despite the protests of several mayors from the region, the government decided it was going to stick to its guns for some reason.
So it’s nothing new for the Quebec government to outright target English-speaking minorities, let alone thumb its nose at these communities.
In the government’s recently released report, it acknowledges that not only is there no program set up to improve access to services for Anglophones, but it doesn’t even know what the current healthcare landscape looks like for Anglophones.
The report says that the government doesn’t even have “a conceptual framework related to the quality and stability of services in English.”
In a region like the Outaouais, where the proportion of English speakers is higher than the rest of the province, this matters.
There have been several studies released by industry watchdogs and groups lobbying the government that show this region’s healthcare network is underfunded compared to the rest of the province.
If English-speaking populations are at a disadvantage when it comes to accessing health care, what does it mean for a region like the Pontiac where 58 per cent of the population identifies as an Anglophone?
We know what happens. Just look at the mess at the Shawville hospital with the lack of staffing to see this reality in our own backyard.
And the fact that this region has a higher rate of English speakers works against us twice when it comes to staffing.
Many of the health care professionals from this region are trained in English here in Quebec and then decide to head for greener pastures in Ontario – where the pay is better and their language skills are actually seen as an asset.
There is plenty of evidence showing that the Outaouais region – with a higher percentage of English-speakers – has an underfunded health care system.
But on top of that, the region’s proximity to Ontario means we lose many Quebec-trained health care professionals on top of shoddy access.
Talk about getting kicked in the shins twice.
It’s obvious that a one-size-fits-all approach, especially the heavy-handed one we’ve seen from this government, doesn’t serve the whole population adequately.
Clearly, the province’s health care system needs a region-by-region approach to best serve a diverse population.
Chris Lowrey
