EXAMINATION OF THE INSTITUTIONS - HEALTH CANADA
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ConclusionWe observed that Health Canada managers are determined to comply with their linguistic obligations in relation to health care services and that the Department has appropriate official languages policies in place and is making significant efforts to communicate them to its managers. Moreover, the Department complies with Treasury Board Directive C in identifying the offices that must provide health care to a restricted and identifiable clientele.
However, we identified shortcomings in terms of follow-up mechanisms. The Department does not have appropriate monitoring mechanisms in place to ensure compliance with the Official Languages Act in relation to the provision of health care services. We also noted a lack of active offer in both official languages in several cases, both on the telephone and on voice mail.
Furthermore, we noted that the First Nations and Inuit Health Directorate did not have mechanisms in place to assess the language skills of persons hired on contract. In addition, there are no monitoring mechanisms for assessing the quality of services provided in both official languages by health professionals hired on contract.
Our review of the positions that serve official language minority communities revealed some shortcomings. The language level B is too low, given the complexity of the issues handled by the nursing staff (appropriate care and treatment, screening, consultations, examinations, etc.). These tasks instead require level C for oral interaction. However, level B for oral interaction is sufficient for the dental hygienist and eligibility officer positions.
In order to ensure that equal health care is provided to its official language minority clientele in their language of choice, Health Canada will have to address these shortcomings by implementing the Commissioner’s six recommendations.
