Ottawa, May 25, 2000
Language and Health: Two Aspects of the Same Commitment
Speech given to the Annual General Meeting of the
Réseau des services de santé en français de l'Est de l'Ontario
Dr. Dyane Adam - Commissioner of Official Languages
Check against delivery
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am very pleased to be with you at the annual general meeting of the Réseau des services de santé en français de l'Est de l'Ontario. This is an important meeting. It is the place where constructive dialogue takes place on topics of vital importance to all Francophones in the region.
It is clear that, at the dawn of the 21st century, Canada in general and Ontario in particular are in the process of developing new policies that will profoundly transform health promotion. The massive reforms of the health system in Ontario frequently overturn established practices and present major challenges both to health professionals and to the target populations.
Some wonder whether this new vision of health takes sufficient account of certain issues. Will the new health system be more open and comprehensive? Will it make it possible to reduce inequalities and fight against vulnerability and exclusion? To what extent will the programs provide an answer to child poverty and the new needs of an aging population? Will reform of the health system really give people tools to influence the decisions that affect them intimately? What place will language and culture have in health promotion?
I would like to speak to you this morning about this last question by proposing some thoughts on the place of French and of the French-speaking communities in health promotion in Ontario. I am especially interested in this issue because I know, as you do, that health does not exist in the abstract. Health is an integral part of the social and economic development of the two great linguistic communities of which Canada is composed.
Language and Health
By adopting the Official Languages Act in 1988, the Canadian government committed itself to supporting and assisting the development and enhancing the vitality of Canada's English and French linguistic minorities. For my part, I do not see how this objective can be achieved if we are not able to provide these communities with essential public services, such as health services, at an acceptable level of quality and in their preferred language.
You may also recall that the constitution of the World Health Organization states that "the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being." In Canada, public health and linguistic duality are two aspects of the same commitment-that of advancing the equality of opportunity of all Canadians in the interests of their well-being.
This encapsulates the real meaning of the heroic struggle that Francophones in Ontario and elsewhere are waging for the survival and development of Hôpital Montfort. A language is more than just a medium of exchange circulating in a community; it is a value that develops and flourishes in the institutions of a community. There is a symbiotic relationship between the two. It would be scandalous, if not shameful, if Francophones in Eastern Ontario or other French-speaking communities in the province were some day reduced to having to barter their language rights for the right to health care.
As you can understand, I was delighted when, on April 4, the Minister of Health, Allan Rock, announced the creation of a Consultative Committee for French-speaking Minority Communities. This committee will, I hope, be a kind of health observatory whose essential task will be both to measure the sometimes serious quantitative and qualitative deficits in public health that these communities experience, and also to ensure that information on innovative service delivery initiatives is collected and shared.
Frequently, one of the greatest inequities in the development of the minority communities is the inequality of information.
In this regard, the work of the Réseau is admirable. You are conducting key studies so as to be able to make an accurate diagnosis of the situation, needs and possibilities and to identify effective initiatives. I must also mention the work being done in this regard by the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada. The Fédération has fought for the development of French-language health services across Canada by advocating the creation of complete inventories of local health and social services resources. In addition, it has taken vigorous action to ensure that the French-speaking communities can participate in the development and implementation of the National Children's Agenda. This struggle against exclusion is at the heart of the communities' current concerns.
The Health of Franco-Ontarians: The Major Priorities
Fortunately, as you know, a great deal of work has recently been done in Ontario to develop a better profile of the state of health of Franco-Ontarians as compared with the entire population of Ontario. I read with interest a September 1999 report, produced by Rachel Ouellette and Renald Mailhot, on the needs and deficiencies with regard to French-language health services in Eastern Ontario. Rolande Faucher's research, which gave rise to the publication last month of a major study on professional training needs, is also an indispensable work tool.
I also noted that, in February of this year, the Public Health Research, Education and Development Program published a report on the health of Francophones in Ontario. It is a remarkable piece of work. I would like, in passing, to underline the important contribution of Denise Hébert to the analyses for the Ottawa-Carleton region.
Work of this kind is essential. It has made it possible to recognize or confirm more accurately the existence of French-speaking groups that have special needs according to health statistics. For example, the French-speaking population is older and less educated; more than a third are illiterate; approximately 6 percent are members of visible minorities.
The real value of this information is to serve as a tool to enable you to understand the nature of the communities you are called upon to serve. You will be able to develop regional health policies and practices that are even more effective, that really address the problems in a multi disciplinary manner. In fact, it would be impossible to plan and model the delivery of services without adequate information and reliable methods of updating and managing the information.
But this report goes further. Allow me to quote a few key sentences from it:
Health services in French in Ontario are a source of the utmost concern to the province's Francophones. To guarantee quality services adapted to the cultural and linguistic realities of the Franco-Ontarian community, certain conditions must be respected: a serious commitment to the creation of services in French, the establishment of structures that promote the training of French-speaking health professionals in Ontario in order to maintain or improve such services, the consolidation of a user-friendly network for health care providers and consumers, and assured access to existing services. (Our translation)
In other words, much remains to be done. You know that better than I. Let me simply restate, in no particular order, a few of the major priorities:
- the development of specific and coherent plans for French-language health services by organizations and facilities, together with pertinent indicators, pursuant to the objectives of Ontario's French Language Services Act (Bill 8);
- the creation of French-language units within agencies that provide health services in order to put an end to the compartmentalization that adversely affects the co ordination of care;
- the recruitment and training of health personnel, especially professionals, who can function effectively in French;
- an increase in the number of training courses in French-speaking environments for these professionals;
- the improvement of community services and the simplification of patient management to better respond to the growing need for home care, particularly for an aging Francophone population;
- the testing of new models of neighborhood services, for example in school community centres, or other community centres.
In short, once again you are going to have to roll up your sleeves; there is work to be done. You must work untiringly to reduce the linguistic and cultural distance that separates your clients from the health services to which they are entitled, services of a quality equal to those provided in English.
Conclusion
I know that, as health professionals, you cope every day with the many problems of a health system undergoing major changes. Demands are constantly increasing and they sometimes seem contradictory. At times, it is enough to discourage even the most optimistic. But don't be discouraged.
In your work you provide a complete range of health services in French and you uphold a holistic vision of health. For the region's French-speaking residents, the French language is the key that opens the door to health and thus to equality of opportunity.
By ensuring that the Franco-Ontarians in the region have access to the full range of health care and services in French, you are the defenders of a certain vision of Canada. It is a vision of solidarity and linguistic and cultural respect that is necessary and fair. Continue to be its champions!
Thank you.
