Tag Archive for: Gaétan Barrette

Patients’ group at St. Mary’s kept in dark over English signs problem

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The patient-rights group at St. Mary’s Hospital was kept in the dark over how to resolve concerns about the erosion of English at the Côte-des-Neiges institution following Health Minister Gaétan Barrette’s sweeping reforms, the Montreal Gazette has learned.

Under Bill 10, St. Mary’s fell under the authority of a newly-formed umbrella organization in 2015. Soon after, the CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal began replacing St. Mary’s signs on clinics that featured French and English lettering of equal size with signs that the users’ committee found to be confusing  — with the English in smaller, thinner typeface that is hard to read by many older patients.

The users’ group also raised concerns about the lack of bilingual letterhead on official St. Mary’s correspondence and anecdotes of English-speaking patients who received replies from the CIUSSS in French only.

The provincial Liberal government added an amendment to Bill 10 to address fears in the anglophone community that English might become less visible and spoken less often once their community hospitals were amalgamated under the umbrella organizations.

Bill 10 does contain a provision for an advisory committee to “preserve the cultural, historic, linguistic or local character” of an amalgamated institution like St. Mary’s. However, neither Barrette’s health ministry nor the CIUSSS board of directors informed the patient-rights group about the existence of such a committee or how to go about fixing the signs problem.

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English less and less visible at St. Mary’s Hospital, patients say

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The patient-rights committee of St. Mary’s Hospital is accusing the administration established under Health Minister Gaétan Barrette of making changes to signs, letterhead and other communications that appear to favour French to the detriment of English.

The issue is a highly contentious one among members of the users’ committee, who note that St. Mary’s was founded by Montreal’s Irish Catholic community and is considered an officially bilingual hospital that continues to serve thousands of English-speaking patients each year.

Despite its bilingual status, St. Mary’s no longer uses bilingual letterhead on its official communications, the Montreal Gazette has learned. What’s more, some patients who have written to the hospital administration in English about various matters have complained that they receive responses in French only, a longtime users’ committee member said.

Geoffrey Chambers, president of the English-rights Quebec Community Groups Network, declined to comment on the concerns of St. Mary’s users’ committee, saying he needed more information.

However, Chambers noted that under Barrette’s reform, known as Bill 10, “an interested group of people involved” with an “amalgamated institution such as any of St. Mary’s, the Douglas (and) the Lakeshore may ask the minister to constitute an advisory committee.”

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Anglos promised more of a voice for access to health and social services

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English-speaking Quebecers will now have more of a voice when it comes to health and social services for the Anglophone community.

Quebec’s health minister announced a new regulation on Monday aimed at addressing concerns that were raised three years ago with the introduction of Bill 10.

The 2015 bill massively reorganized Quebec’s healthcare and social services system, sparking an outcry from the English-speaking community that they would lose a voice due to the elimination of health boards and patients’ committees.

On Monday, several prominent English-rights advocates said they’ve been working closely with Health Minister Gaetan Barrette to address those concerns.

The newly announced regulation will create both a provincial access committee and several regional committees.

“What’s changed here is the provincial advisory committee is now a committee of our community,” said Eric Maldoff, head of the health and social services committee of the Quebec Community Groups Network.

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Long Awaited Regulation Creating Provincial Access Committee a First Step in the Right Direction

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Montreal – April 9, 2018 – In 1986 the right of English-speaking Quebecers to receive Health and Social Services was recognized in law by the government of Quebec. This right has been consistently respected by all governments of Quebec since that time.

In 2015, Bill 10 was enacted. It radically restructured the health and social services system. This necessitated revisiting mechanisms for ensuring access to health and social services in this new institutional environment. That included the regulation governing the Provincial Advisory Committee on the dispensing of health and social services in the English language.

Over the past three years, the Quebec Community Groups Network, in partnership with the Community Health and Social Services Network (CHSSN), worked with Health Minister Gaétan Barrette and the government of Quebec to revise and update the regulation governing the advisory committee which is mandated it to advise the Minister of Health on the accessibility and quality of health and social services for English-speaking Quebecers.

“The QCGN today welcomes and expresses our support for the amended regulation adopted by Cabinet,” said Eric Maldoff, who heads the QCGN’s Health and Social Services Committee. The revamped regulation ensures that new members of the provincial access committee will be more representative of Quebec’s English-speaking community, said Maldoff. It also confers responsibility on the QCGN and the CHSSN for recruiting and proposing committee members to the Minister of Health.

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QCGN Congratulates New MUHC Board and Pledges its Support

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Montreal – September 18, 2017 – The Quebec Community Groups Network welcomes the appointment of a new Board of Directors at the McGill University Health Centre. We strongly hope that this will allow the resolution once and for all of systemic issues and the ongoing standoff between one of our most important institutions and the Quebec government.

“We congratulate Peter Kruyt and the other members of the new MUHC board who have taken on this formidable task. We look forward to helping and supporting them in dealing with the major challenges facing the MUHC,” said QCGN President James Shea. “Quebec’s English-speaking community counts on the new board and Health Minister Gaétan Barrette to provide the MUHC with all the tools it needs to thrive and continue to serve all Quebecers with the high level of specialized and super-specialized care they require.”

“For many months now, the QCGN has been concerned about the deteriorating situation at the MUHC and the inability of its leaders to come to a workable arrangement, along the same lines many other institutions which had been facing tough negotiations with Health Minister Barrette and his ministry officials,” said QCGN Vice-President Geoffrey Chambers. “But we remain troubled that the process to name the new board does not appear to have included input from members of the community who have in-depth knowledge of the community and of our health and social services network.”

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Allison Hanes: Ready for a reset at the MUHC

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The dust has settled since 10 independent members of the McGill University Health Centre’s board of directors quit in disgust two months ago, leaving a gaping hole in the governance of one of Montreal’s most important hospital networks and a major political problem for Quebec Health Minister Gaétan Barrette.

After the mass resignation of 10 board members and a lukewarm explanation to the English-speaking community, Gaétan Barrette said he has a list of 20 candidates from which to strike a new board. However, Allison Hanes writes that it takes bravery for anyone to step up and fix the MUHC, especially after the tense and toxic relationship between Barrette and the last board.

The QCGN was caught in the crossfire when it was revealed they were working quietly behind the scenes to overhaul the board. She also hinted that Barrette should choose wisely MUHC board members so they have legitimacy in eyes of the English-speaking population, also that this new board should be a way to reset the situation in this institution.

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Faut pas croire tout ce qu’on dit – Interview with Sylvia Martin-Laforge

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“Si on veut avoir des services en anglais, il faut faire attention.”

On Saturday January 7, QCGN Director General Sylvia Martin-Laforge was among five speakers on the Radio-Canada radio show called “Faut pas croire tout ce qu’on dit” with host Michel Lacombe. This show adressed the results of a Canadian Heritage survey which was first commented by journalist Philippe Orfali in Le Devoir (click here for the article).

Listen to Sylvia Martin-Laforge’s interview:

Listen to the full show:

 

QCGN satisfied, but not happy with Bill 10 compromise

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By Gordon Lambie, The Record

The Quebec Community Groups Network is calling itself satisfied with the modifications to Bill 10, within the context that the majority Liberal government could pass its centralizing health care reform whether people like it or not.

While the QCGN maintains that the elimination of individual boards of directors in favour of regional boards is unnecessary given the reform’s stated objectives of improving access to health services through better vertical integration, enabling patients to move through the system more easily and reducing costs, the QCGN’s administrators now feel that the bill offers English-speaking Quebecers significant new opportunities for meaningful participation and influence over local institutions. Read more…

Les regroupements anglophones se disent satisfaits de la réforme en santé, bien que de l’insatisfaction se fasse toujours sentir du côté des syndicats

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Coalition of Anglophone groups satisfied with ‘net gain’ in Bill 10

 Par Geoffrey Vendeville, The Gazette

Dans cet article, Geoffrey Vendeville aborde le point de vue du QCGN sur l’adoption de la loi 10 et les gains faits par la communauté. 

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Anglo groups satisfied with Quebec health reform.

Par James Mennie, The Gazette.

Eric Maldoff et Richard Walling expliquent les gains de la communauté suite à l’adoption de la loi 10.

Pour entendre le contenu de l’émission baladodiffusée, cliquez ici.

 

Healthcare reform law not so devastating to Quebec Anglos after all

CTV

Dans cet article, on explique que malgré l’adoption de la loi 10 sous le bâillon, les Québécois d’expression anglaise conserveront un certain contrôle sur leurs établissements.

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Anglos win healthcare concessions 

 CTV

Pour regarder la vidéo, cliquez ici.

 

Quebec Anglo groups happy with new healthcare law

CJAD

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Adopté, mais encore critiqué

Par Amélie Daoust-Boisvert, Le Devoir

L’adoption sous bâillon du projet de loi 10 vendredi n’a pas signé la fin du mécontentement contre cette réforme.

Des syndiqués ont occupé lundi les bureaux de plusieurs députés, dont Martin Coiteux, afin de dénoncer le « mépris » du ministre de la Santé, Gaétan Barrette.

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Dark days for Quebec healthcare

Editorial, Montreal Gazette

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Le QCGN confiant que les compromis reflétés dans la version finale du projet de loi 10 protègeront les droits des communautés d’expression anglaise

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Communiqué de presse

Après des mois de négociations intensives et délicates avec le ministre de la Santé du Québec, Gaétan Barrette, la communauté d’expression anglaise du Québec a obtenu des modifications importantes au projet de loi 10. Ces changements apportés au projet de loi sur la réforme de la santé protègeront un grand nombre de nos établissements, et ce, malgré la perte de leur conseil d’administration. Ils permettront de créer de nouvelles opportunités importantes pour la participation et l’engagement significatif des Québécois d’expression anglaise qui veilleront à ce que le réseau de la santé et des services sociaux réponde aux besoins de leur communauté.

« En septembre, lors du dépôt du projet de loi 10, le ministre de la Santé du Québec, Gaétan Barrette, a déclaré que son objectif consistait à améliorer l’accès au réseau de la santé et des services sociaux par une meilleure intégration verticale, et ce, afin de faire en sorte que les patients cheminent plus facilement au sein du système ainsi que de réduire les coûts, a souligné Sylvia Martin-Laforge, directrice générale du QCGN. Notre désaccord quant à l’élimination de nos conseils d’administration est bien connu et fut exprimé publiquement. Il s’agit d’une mesure que nous ne considérons pas nécessaire à l’atteinte des objectifs énoncés. Cela dit, nous avons été confronté à la réalité d’un gouvernement ayant décidé que l’élimination de ces conseils d’administration s’avérait, par principe, un élément central à sa réforme et nous avons aussi été confronté à la dure réalité qu’un gouvernement majoritaire pouvait adopter son projet de loi avec ou sans notre appui. »

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