Location: What's New > Minister's Office > Speeches > June 22, 2007

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Speech by the Honourable Madeleine Meilleur, Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs and Minister of Community and Social Services

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Celebrations at the Ottawa Hospital

Ottawa Hospital
General Campus
Ottawa

Friday, June 22, 2007

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Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear Friends,

Good morning.

I am very happy to be here with you today to celebrate Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, the holiday shared by all of Canada's Francophones.

Celebrating Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day in a minority language environment presents an opportunity to affirm the vitality of our communities and our will to live our daily lives in French.

Beyond the festive spirit, this is a symbolic and inspiring celebration.

It is also an opportunity to reflect on the importance of promoting and preserving our official languages all across the country.

We can not overemphasize the importance of promoting our official languages in the context of Canada's linguistic duality.

Ever more significant advances must always be supported by new initiatives.

Allow me to make it clear that official languages legislation is a federal responsibility and does not fall within the jurisdiction of the Ontario government.

It is the Commissioner of Official Languages, Mr. Graham Fraser, a man I admire enormously, who is in charge of applying the Official Languages Act. . This federal act ensures equality of status of English and French in all of the institutions of Parliament and in the government of Canada.

It defines requirements with respect to bilingualism in the public service and establishes the criteria for communicating with the public and providing services to the public and to federal public servants in either official language.

The Official Languages Act also clearly enunciates the government of Canada's commitment to enhancing the vitality of official language minority communities and fostering the use of both English and French within Canadian society.

In Ontario, things are a little different.

My mandate as Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs in the Ontario government is to ensure compliance with the French Language Services Act.

Ontario's French Language Services Act applies to government services provided to our province's Francophone population living in Ontario's 25 designated areas, which cover the vast majority of the province.

The French Language Services Act, whose 20th anniversary we celebrated in 2006, reflects our country's philosophy of linguistic duality and came in the wake of the federal Official Languages Act.

And our government has always been committed to breathing new life into it.

That is why, four years ago, we made a commitment to provide Ontario's Francophone community with very special leverage to support its optimal development.

As you may be aware, a historic page has been turned with the recent adoption by the Ontario Legislature of the bill creating the Office of the French Language Services Commissioner.

This legislation marks a new and extremely important step in the evolution of relations between the provincial government and Ontario's francophonie and strengthens the foundations of the French Language Services Act.

The government has given the Commissioner a very precise mandate, namely to:

• Investigate compliance with the Act, at his or her own initiative or in response to complaints;
• Prepare reports on the results of investigations;
• Monitor the progress made by government agencies in providing French language services; and
• Advise the Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs on matters related to the French Language Services Act.

The Commissioner's powers are very clear and the Act as amended gives the Commissioner great freedom of action.

I can also assure you the Office of the French Language Services Commissioner will give Francophones a stronger voice as well as more transparent and effective recourse in ensuring respect for their right to receive services, including health services, in French.

For if there is one field in which French language services play a critical role, it is definitely health.

The role played by language and culture in the health of both individuals and communities is hard to define but it is definitely there.

It is reflected in reality by certain behaviours, certain habits, certain situations, both positive and negative.

The inability to use one's language when dealing with the health system can have disastrous consequences.

Studies have shown the impact of language barriers on health care: less likelihood of receiving care, less likelihood of understanding care, reduced quality of care and even increased risk of medical errors.

We are all well aware that when we are in great pain or under the influence of strong emotions, we express them in our mother tongue, and having to make the effort to translate this pain into another language is sometimes an insurmountable obstacle.

In this context, the concept of "cultural competence" becomes something very concrete.

There is increasing recognition of the fact that the patient's language and socio-cultural background must be understood; when life and health are at stake, there can be no question of improvising or muddling through.

Our government has clearly understood this necessity and has established a number of initiatives aimed at guaranteeing Francophones access to health services in their language. Among the most recent, let me mention:

Creation of Local Health Integration Networks, and

Adoption of the Local Health System Integration Act, 2006, which specifically recognizes in its Preamble the obligation to respect the requirements of the French Language Services Act and includes important provisions about consulting Francophones regarding the planning and delivery of health services at the local level.

Furthermore, the French language health services advisory council will be appointed shortly and will be in a position to advise the Health Minister.

As you know, keeping Ontarians healthy is one of our government's priorities. That is why we are giving the Ottawa Hospital 607 million dollars in funding this year.

This is an increase of 26 million dollars over the previous year.

One of the cornerstones of our health strategy is reducing wait times.

Since 2004-2005, we have invested 31 million dollars to reduce wait times at the Ottawa Hospital, which has enabled the hospital to perform more than 32,000 additional procedures in critical areas like cancer treatment, cataract surgeries and hip and knee replacements.

Our government is also supporting the expansion of many services at the Ottawa Hospital, including oncology, intensive care, labs and emergency departments.

However, all of this effort would be fruitless without the unflagging commitment of medical staff like the Ottawa Hospital's staff to doing everything in their power to provide Ontario's Francophone population with quality care adapted to patients' needs.

From my days as a nurse I recall my colleagues' dedication and skill. The care our health professionals provide is not designed solely to eradicate illness; it also touches the hearts of patients seeking understanding and comfort.

And when this indispensable support is offered in French, it makes all the difference.

A good quality of life of course depends on health, but is also dependent on a host of factors that have positive effects on the population and contribute to better health.

I would be remiss in not mentioning our government's other remarkable achievements that benefit Ontario's Francophone community, some of which are historic, including:

Over a billion dollars in funding for the French language education system;

The autonomy of TFO, a beacon for French Ontario whose broadcasts resonate elsewhere in Canada;

The Ontario Francophonie Awards, for the recognition of individuals, both Francophone and Francophile, who have made valuable contributions to the advancement of the French language and culture in Ontario (a new nomination period is currently under way); and

The traveling exhibition Ontario's Francophonie: Then and Now, which we launched recently in collaboration with the Vanier Museopark.

I will stop here but these examples and many others are evidence of our government's commitment to Ontario's francophonie.

Like me, you know that as a minority community, we may be tempted to close in on ourselves for protection

The threat of assimilation is very real and far be it from me to minimize it.

But I choose, and like me, many Franco-Ontarians choose to see bilingualism and linguistic duality as opportunities to be taken.

More often than not, a second language paves the way for a third.

And knowing another language also means learning about a new culture, opening the door to a whole new world of discoveries and encounters.

In addition, it has been demonstrated that a society where bilingualism is widespread is a more open, more productive and more tolerant society.

Those are the very qualities that are so characteristic of the Franco-Ontarian community, a community that is proud of its language, its culture and its traditions, a community that is able to adapt to a constantly changing reality, a community that is steadfastly open, creative and focused on new horizons.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends, I thank you for inviting me to join your celebrations today and I wish you an excellent Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day!