By Chelsey St-Pierre
The Suburban

The West Island CIUSSS has placed posters throughout the healthcare institutions it manages to inform patients on their right to be served in English. Why does the health authority feel the need to do this initiative?

The answer lies in the highly criticized 31-page document issued by the CAQ government last July to apply Bill 96 language laws, created to “preserve the French language” and “strengthen” Bill 101, now in health care.

The controversial application of the law to healthcare could restrict complete access to healthcare services for Anglophones and impede on their rights under the Canada Health Act. “The CAQ government is prepared to sacrifice fundamental constitutional rights to life, liberty and security of the person to fulfill its language goals,” Montreal lawyer Julius Grey has stated.

Effective communication is essential in ensuring the safety of patients. Restricting a means of communication in healthcare can be potentially dangerous or life threatening. The CAQ government argues that the law is exempt in emergency situations, however without effective communication a situation that may be urgent, yet unapparent, could be overlooked without a means of communication. Cutting the line between patients and healthcare professionals and/or professionals within the institution is dangerous.

The immediate reactions of elected officials at every level of government, healthcare professionals and the general public generated a “revised” statement by Quebec’s French Language Minister Jean-Francois Roberge in less than a month, but not a retraction.

While the threat of impact on the Anglophone community looms in “revision”, the health authority has taken it upon itself to clarify their basic rights to be served in English.

The Suburban reached out to the CIUSSS-ODIM for comment. The authority’s representatives did not respond by press time. n