Roberge addresses concerns about new health-care rules affecting English community
CTV
Quebec's French language minister tried to allay concerns about the health-care network Wednesday, insisting the anglophone community won't need to prove they're eligible to receive care in English.
Quebec's French language minister tried to allay concerns about the health-care network Wednesday, insisting the anglophone community won't need to prove they're eligible to receive care in English.
Jean-François Roberge's comments come after new French-language directives in the province's health care network were released on July 18, which say that all communications, including oral, must be in French.
An exception carved out for English speakers states that "historic anglophones" can provide an eligibility certificate if they want to receive communications exclusively in English with health-care workers.
However, there are other exceptions that would also allow someone to receive care in a language other than French, including emergency situations, when a patient has to consent to treatment, or when they need to make decisions affecting their health and well-being, among others.
In a social media post, Roberge denied claims that receiving health care in a language other than French would be impossible unless the patient could provide a Declaration of Eligibility to receive English education from the Quebec Ministry of Education.
He was reacting to a news report about the directives in the Montreal Gazette.
"Regardless of what has been said in recent days, the directive issued by the Ministry of Health and Social Services is clear: it allows all people who wish to receive health care in a language other than French," Roberge wrote.
