Article content
Picket signs in hand, rights groups and citizens protested against Bill 96 outside the Jewish General Hospital on Sunday.
The event aimed to unite voices opposing Bill 96 “and the linguistic barriers it places on Quebec’s diverse communities” and comes after a recent government directive sought to regulate the use of languages other than French in health-care settings.
Article content
Katherine Korakakis, president of the English Parents Committee Association of Quebec and candidate for the chair of the English Montreal School Board, said Quebec’s diverse communities are not requesting special treatment, but rather “respect, fairness and the protection of our rights.”
“Bill 96 is more than just a piece of legislation, it threatens the fundamental rights of individuals and communities throughout Quebec,” she said. “The bill has an impact not only on our children’s future, but also on the services that our community depends on. It violates the rights of linguistic minorities and communicates to our children that their language and identity are secondary.”
The Health Ministry’s controversial July 18 directive stated for the first time only “recognized anglophones” — people with an English-language education certificate — could communicate exclusively in English with the health-care and social services system. Those who had previously communicated in English with health-care establishments were also grandfathered in.
Following a backlash, Quebec’s National Assembly unanimously adopted a motion earlier this week affirming English-speaking Quebecers won’t have to produce the certificate to receive health care in their mother tongue. The news was greeted with cautious optimism by anglo leaders. Prior to the motion, French Language Minister Jean-François Roberge had pledged after meeting with anglo groups to rewrite the directive to respond to their concerns, but the original directive remains in force until a new one is written.
Article content
Groups hope the directive will be scrapped entirely.
“It’s not right that when somebody is sick and they come to a hospital, the nurses and the doctors are worried if they speak in English to the patient that they’re going to get fined or they’re going to get in trouble,” Marc Perez of Parlons du Québec / Let’s Talk About Quebec said at Sunday’s protest. “Language policy has no place in a hospital.”
Joanne Scullion, a licensed practical nurse of 25 years, said on Sunday she “speaks the language of the patients.”
“I’m sorry, if the (Office québécois de la langue française) has a problem with that — we’re saving lives here,” Perez said. “It’s not the time to debate what language you speak.”
Scullion said if Quebec’s language watchdog were to visit her hospital like they did Santa Cabrini in July, “I would refuse to talk to them.”
“I think this has really gone too far and it has to stop,” she said.
Perez added many patients seeking care do speak French, but some struggle with comprehension when the subject — like symptoms and treatment plans — is complicated.
“When your life is at stake, you really want to be sure to understand what your doctor is prescribing and what conditions you have and how to treat it,” Perez said.
Limited access to English-language services jeopardizes quality of care for many, Korakakis added.
“How can we stand idly by while this happens?” she said. “The answer is we cannot and we will not.”
The Red Coalition, which just filed a human rights complaints against Quebec on Bill 96, said on Sunday they’ve heard from many people about “how they were discriminated against with respect to language in light of the environment that was created by 96.”
Recommended from Editorial
Share this article in your social network