Absolutely.
It's a majority francophone community. In fact, it's the only one. The other communities in New Brunswick have access to funds and services, but those services are very often offered in English only.
We are often told that our community is in a remote corner of the province. Because we are isolated, I have to turn to Quebec to find resources and materials. For services, we rely only on the Edmundston Regional Hospital and the Vitalité Health Network.
Regarding the NIHB program, when my colleagues and the other health professionals try to contact the call centre staff, the person who takes the call often can't speak French or, when they can, they don't have the answers to their questions. They simply weren't given the information. So there are delays, and that causes a lot of frustration.
I know that professionals were unable to enrol in the program because they were unable to communicate with someone who speaks French. I find that unacceptable. The program exists and staff want to collaborate. However, there is a language barrier. So that aspect has to be looked at more closely. As well, the call centre employees automatically think we're coming from Quebec, when the Quebec health care system is different from New Brunswick's. There is a lot of confusion and a lot of time gets wasted.