(Montreal) Dozens of demonstrators gathered in front of the Santa Cabrini Hospital in Montreal on Saturday against Quebec laws on the French language. Anglophone rights groups criticize the government for making it more difficult for Quebecers to access health services in English.
One of the protesters, Mario Napolitano, said he was in contact with staff members who felt harassed by Quebec language monitoring staff for using English during a visit to the hospital earlier this week.
The Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) issued a statement on Friday saying the visit was part of a routine procedure aimed at ensuring that health care facilities respect the province’s French language charter and do not hinder patients’ ability to access it. Interest in languages other than French.
But groups defending the rights of English speakers in Quebec were not comforted by the OQLF’s interpretation, saying the province continued to adopt Bill 96’s provisions.
Their concerns grew after the provincial health ministry issued an order last week specifying exceptional circumstances allowing health workers to communicate in English.
Sylvia Martin-Laforge, executive director of the Quebec Community Groups Network, said the new guidelines raise concerns about what types of services anglophones can receive and whether health workers will take responsibility for deciding who is eligible for care in their language. selection.
Eric Maltoff, lawyer and founder of the Alliance for Quality Health and Social Services, said the order means Quebecers are entitled to health care in English only in emergency situations. He says the new rules could harm the quality of care English speakers can get.
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