Tashi Farmilo
LJI Reporter

A new cohort to its Forum de consultation, a resident and expert advisory body created to inform
the province’s approach to health and social services, has been appointed by Quebec’s Health
and Welfare Commissioner. Over a three-year term, the Forum will provide independent insight
into the challenges facing the provincial system and offer recommendations rooted in the lived
realities of residents and the expertise of practitioners and researchers.

Among those selected is Jolaine Sihomnoue, who will represent the Outaouais. A mother,
student and community advocate, Sihomnoue brings a perspective shaped by personal
experience and a strong commitment to equity. Her work focuses on ensuring that voices often
excluded from policymaking—immigrants, single mothers, racialized communities, and others
facing systemic barriers—are not only heard but taken seriously.

“I want to take my place and make my voice heard, along with those who, like me, live realities
that are often overlooked,” she said. Her vision for the Forum centres on inclusion and the need
for public health policy to reflect the complexity of life in Quebec’s diverse communities.
In the Outaouais, one of the most pressing issues remains access to care. Residents often turn
to neighbouring Ontario for basic health services due to a chronic shortage of providers and
limited availability in the public system. Sihomnoue described the burden this places on
individuals and families, particularly those without reliable transportation or sufficient income. “It
creates delays, extra costs and a feeling of abandonment,” she said.

She also pointed to deep-rooted social and economic inequalities in the region, particularly for
newcomers, low-income families and young people. Inadequate housing, rising mental health
needs and a lack of culturally adapted services are among the barriers she hopes to raise in the
Forum’s deliberations.

Her priorities include strengthening prevention and mental health supports, improving access to
services, and fostering collaboration between institutions and the communities they serve. She
places particular importance on human-centred approaches that focus on care, dignity and
respect.

“I see my role as a bridge between the people of the Outaouais and the Forum,” she said. “It is
about listening carefully and bringing forward those realities with clarity and honesty, so that
policy reflects what people are truly experiencing.”

The Forum will meet at least three times per year beginning this fall. Its 26 members include 17
residents from across Quebec and nine experts in fields such as law, ethics, psychiatry, social
work and Indigenous governance.​

Commissioner Joanne Castonguay underscored the importance of the Forum’s diversity. “Its
primary strength lies in the sharing of knowledge and experience from members who come from
different geographic, social and disciplinary backgrounds,” she said in a statement announcing
the appointments.

For Sihomnoue, the task ahead is both practical and deeply personal. “We need to stop
designing systems around institutions and start designing them around people,” she said. “That
begins by listening to those who live with the consequences of policy every day.”

Photo: Jolaine Sihomnoue, a community advocate from the Outaouais, has been appointed to
Quebec’s Forum de consultation, where she will help shape provincial health and social service
policy by bringing forward the lived experiences of residents facing systemic barriers to care.
(TF) Photo: Courtesy