Key takeaways:
- Bill 96 suggests the use of French in the healthcare and social services sector with just a few exemptions.
- Under Bill 96, immigrants would be needed to be served in French within six months of coming to the region.
A team of doctors and healthcare experts say the Coalition Avenir Québec government’s bid to strengthen its language rule will ease access to health care and social services for those who don’t speak French in Quebec.
The present version of Bill 96 offers the use of French in the healthcare and social services sector, something which could put somebody’s lives and mental health at risk, the Coalition pour des services sociaux et de santé de qualité (CSSSQ) says.
“It’s already hard enough to understand details under stressful cases; adding unneeded obstacles will just grow this threat and undermine providers’ ability to provide optimal care,” they wrote in an open letter Wednesday, adding beginners with no or only a little knowledge of the language will be the ones most hurt if the law is assumed.
Also read: As NATO strengthens its defenses, more Canadian soldiers reach Latvia
Under the CAQ’s proposal, immigrants would be needed to be served in French within six months of their coming to the region. There are no exceptions for refugees and asylum seekers under the plan.
The reform of Bill 101 tabled by Simon Jolin-Barrette, Quebec’s minister liable for the French language, has a clause saying exceptions can be made in cases “where health, public safety, or natural justice principles need it.” Still, the coalition says the language in the bill ought to be more detailed to assure patient safety. The coalition says it’s dissatisfied that their steps to work with the region to amend it haven’t been fruitful.
Dr. Suzanne Gagnon worked with refugees in the Quebec City province and said a six-month deadline to understand and speak enough in French is “totally unrealistic.”
Source – cbc.ca
