Through its Health and Social Services Committee, the Quebec Community Groups Network works to ensure the interests of our community are protected and that our rights to access health and social services in our own language are respected.
Access to health and social services delivered in English is a right conferred by Quebec’s Act respecting health services and social services (Article 15):
“English-speaking persons are entitled to receive health services and social services in the English language, in keeping with the organizational structure and human, material and financial resources of the institutions providing such services and to the extent provided by an access program referred to in section 348.”
Each public institution must develop a program of access to English-language health service and social services for the English-speaking population it serves. This is why the government must create the following statutory committees:
The Committee’s role
Section 509 of the Act respecting health services and social services provides for the creation of a Provincial Committee for the Provision of Health Services and Social Services in the English Language, often referred to as the Provincial Access Committee. The Committee is created by regulation and its mandate is to advise the Government of Quebec on:
The Act to modify the organization and governance of the health and social services network, in particular by abolishing the regional agencies adds two responsibilities to the Committee’s mandate:
The Committee’s composition and mandate
The Provincial Committee for the Provision of Health Services and Social Services in the English Language is composed of 11 members, who are appointed in a way that ensures they are representative of the entire English-speaking population:
Members of the Provincial Committee serve in a personal capacity. They do not represent an organization or a social or political group. This is intended to prevent any conflicts of interest.
The composition of the Committee is intended to be as representative as possible of Quebec’s English-speaking population. Members are appointed for three years and their mandate can be renewed only once.
Committee Members
Sara Saber-Freedman (Montreal), President
Ella Amir (Montreal)
Terry Kaufman (Montreal)
David Morris (Montreal)
Bonnie Jean Mitchell (Montérégie)
Donald Warnholtz (Estrie), Vice-President
Sheilagh Murphy (Outaouais)
Jennifer Hobbs Robert (Quebec City)
Eileen Schofield (Côte-Nord)
Cathy Brown (Gaspésie)
Carolynn Roberts (Laurentides)
The QCGN is funded by the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage.
