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Quebec’s French rules are scaring health workers away from English, federal watchdog warns
Due to confusion over what's allowed, "members of Quebec English-speaking communities risk being deprived of their right to obtain health care in English."
Confused by Quebec’s tougher French rules, health-care workers are avoiding English, threatening access to care for anglophone Quebecers, the federal language commissioner says.
“The strengthening of the Charter of the French Language (through Bill 96) and the resulting guidelines have caused some confusion around enforcement of the right to be served in English in the health care, business and community sectors,” Raymond Théberge said Tuesday.
“For example, some health-care workers still struggle to understand under what circumstances they can offer services to the public in English, so they choose to err on the side of caution with regard to their language obligations for fear of being penalized.
“As a result, members of Quebec English-speaking communities risk being deprived of their right to obtain health care in English.”
In 2024, Quebec sparked an outcry by issuing a directive that appeared to restrict access to English-language health and social services, requiring “historic anglophones” to provide a certificate of eligibility.
In response to backlash from the anglophone community, the Health Ministry issued a revised directive clarifying that anyone can receive services in English without a certificate.
Théberge, whose role involves protecting language rights across Canada, made the comments in a report released Tuesday on the status of minority linguistic communities in Canada.
In the 20-page document, he said the “current context in Quebec remains challenging for the province’s English-speaking minority, particularly in health and education, as federal government funding initiatives are often heavily scrutinized or even rejected.”
Théberge said Quebec rules specify that any organization that receives more than 50 per cent of its funding from the province is under provincial government jurisdiction.
“This includes many community organizations that serve the English-speaking population, meaning that these groups cannot enter into agreements with the federal government without the approval of Quebec’s minister responsible for Canadian relations.”
Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette has held that role since January, succeeding French Language Minister Jean‑François Roberge.
Théberge said federal funding intended to support vulnerable communities and provide employment assistance has been delayed, raising concerns among stakeholders that over $1 million in aid could lapse.
A McGill-educated franco-Manitoban, Théberge has previously sharply criticized some of Premier François Legault’s policies toward anglophone Quebecers.
He backed the English-speaking community’s legal challenge against Quebec’s plan to dismantle English school boards. He also spoke out against Quebec’s tuition hike for out-of-province students, which primarily affected Concordia and McGill, both English universities.
In a 2024 report, Théberge said the anglophone community is burdened by the “myth” that English-speaking Quebecers “do not recognize the value of French as the province’s common language.”
“It is in everyone’s interest to ensure that the rights of English-speaking Quebecers are protected and respected,” he said at the time. Quebec’s English-speaking minority should be “recognized as a provincial community whose commitment to bilingualism continues to be a key factor in the success of this political community we call Canada.”
The anglophone community has repeatedly challenged the Legault government in court on issues ranging from language laws to elected school boards and the targeting of Concordia and McGill.
The Coalition Avenir Québec government hopes to make such legal challenges more difficult in the future and give itself more power over interactions between Quebec groups and Ottawa.
Under the proposed new Quebec constitution that Jolin-Barrette put forward last month, groups would be barred from using tax dollars to contest laws in court.
In addition, the bill lists more than 120 groups — including school boards, universities, municipalities and professional orders — that the Quebec government could order to refuse federal funding, suspend federal agreements or refrain from participating in federal parliamentary proceedings.
[Source: The Montreal Gazette]
