New rules add something that was not available in the old directive: the right to file a complaint if health and social services are not available in English.
In a statement early Monday morning, Health Minister Christian Dubé reiterated that the eligibility certificate requirement has been dropped.
“As we had pledged to the groups that we met a few weeks ago, we have rewritten the directive,” Dubé declared in a post on X. “Let’s be clear: There will be no verification of a citizen’s status for access to health and social services in English.
“The changes to the directive are simply to ensure that the text reflects the government’s intentions and that it is easier for our employees and the public to understand.”
“There has never been any question of restricting access to health and social services on the basis of a linguistic criterion,” he added. “We will treat you, no matter your language.”
Although the Quebec Community Groups Network was made aware that an announcement about the new directive was imminent, its release online early Monday morning caught the QCGN by surprise. The Gazette started making inquiries about the new directive on Friday before it was leaked to the CBC.
The Gazette has learned that three bilingual health organizations with anglophone roots had sent a letter to the government last week demanding that the rights of patients be enshrined in the new directive. Although a preliminary review of the new directive does not appear to include such a clause, it nonetheless reiterates “the right of English-speaking people to receive health and social services in English to the extent provided by (English-language) access programs.”
And the new rules add something that was not available in the old directive: the right to file a complaint if health and social services are not available in English.
“Any user … who believes that his or her rights have not been respected, or who is dissatisfied with the services he or she has received, may lodge a complaint.” It adds that the grievance can even be filed “in another language if they are unable to do so in French.”
This story will be updated.