Key anglo leaders excluded from meeting with Roberge on Tuesday about health-care rules

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Anglophone leaders are outraged that French Language Minister Jean-François Roberge has decided not to invite several prominent community representatives to a meeting Tuesday, and two other government ministers will not attend as promised to address concerns about a new directive that appears to limit the use of English in health care.

“We were surprised to be left off the list of hand-picked invitees for a meeting about language directives in the health-care system by … Roberge’s office,” the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) declared in a statement Monday afternoon.

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Andrew Caddell, president of the Task Force on Linguistic Policy and a councillor in the town of Kamouraska, said he had contacted Roberge’s office last week but was not invited either.

“No, I received no invitation,” Caddell told The Gazette. “My biggest concern about the meeting is that nothing’s going to be accomplished, because it’s just the minister for the French language who will be attending and not the two other ministers as well.”

In fact, the directive was not produced by Roberge’s department, but by the Health Ministry on July 18, requiring of historic anglophones that they must have been “issued” an eligibility certificate from the Education Ministry in order to receive medical services exclusively in English. The eligibility certificate has proved difficult for students to obtain and is generally not available to most adults. What’s more, the 31-page directive lists exceptional situations like emergencies in which languages other than French can be spoken in health care.

In a joint letter published by The Gazette on Friday, Roberge, Health Minister Christian Dubé and Eric Girard, in charge of anglophone relations, all vowed to meet 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.”

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“We are given to understand that some individuals or groups who had been invited to Tuesday’s meeting have chosen not to attend, because they share our view that the meeting should be with M. Dubé, the minister responsible for the administration of health and social services in Quebec,” the QCGN said in its statement. “M. Roberge does not play that role.

“It is vital that M. Dubé be present. This concerns his ministry. It is a health issue regarding the administration of health and social services,”  the QCGN continued. “M. Girard’s presence would be useful in his role as minister responsible for the 1.3-million-member English-speaking community.

“The QCGN and others now ask these ministers to live up to that promise and meet with us for a full and frank discussion as soon as possible.”

Another anglo leader voiced their displeasure at not being invited, and accused the Coalition Avenir Québec government of rushing ahead with the meeting as a public-relations stunt.

“It’s hard to understand, in view of the importance of this matter which directly affects the health and well-being of Quebecers, that there would be such secrecy around this meeting,” said the individual, who agreed to be interviewed on condition that their name not be published because of the sensitivity of the issue.

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“Three ministers wrote an open letter stating that they were willing to consider clarifying the directive. Minister Dubé has direct responsibility for the development and implementation of the directive, and it is important that he play an active role in eliminating the confusion and concern arising from it.”

Marie-Joëlle Dorval-Robitaille, Roberge’s press attaché, was sent the QCGN statement for a response. “We will not be making any comments before the meeting,” she said.

The Gazette has learned that Roberge will be meeting with an anglophone group that coincidentally receives provincial government funding. A member of that group was not immediately available for comment.

The controversial directive  — which follows the adoption of Bill 96 two years ago overhauling the Charter of the French Language — has not only provoked an outcry in the anglophone and allophone communities, but has strained relations between Ottawa and Quebec. On Saturday, Ottawa’s minister of official languages, Randy Boissonnault, released a statement insisting “while we respect Quebec’s authority over health care and its efforts to protect the French language, this should not come at the expense of Quebecers’ right to receive timely care in either official language.”

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Boissonnault’s statement came a day after he met with Roberge at the Ministers’ Council on the Canadian Francophonie in Halifax. It also followed the public stand of three fellow Liberal MPs from Quebec — Anna Gainey, Anthony Housefather and Emmanuella Lambropoulos — denouncing the directive for undermining, in their view, the accessibility principle enshrined in the Canada Health Act.

Caddell said he was worried Tuesday’s meeting will be a replay of the failed sessions last year between McGill and Concordia universities and Premier François Legault over the CAQ government’s decision to double tuition fees for out-of-province students.

In an interview with CJAD on Friday, Roberge said he would be open to rewording some of the directive. He also pledged that anglophones will not have to produce the eligibility certificate to receive health services in English only.

aderfel@postmedia.com

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