Official Languages Committee on Nov. 7th, 2006

[Alphonsine Saulnier]

There's no French-language health centre in Halifax. Currently, access to health services in French in Halifax is entirely a matter of chance. That's why the professional directory has become very important for us. We're starting to locate professionals. We found a certain number of Francophones in one centre, but it's an Anglophone centre that operates in French. In Chéticamp, which is a very homogeneous region, there is a system that could unofficially be called a Francophone centre.

[Raymond Simard, Liberal, Saint Boniface, MB]

Is that so?

[Alphonsine Saulnier]

Yes.

[Raymond Simard, Liberal, Saint Boniface, MB]

In Manitoba, we have a health centre that has had such success that Anglophones want to become patients there. More than 50% of the clientele is now Anglophone. It would be interesting to consider that option. I don't know what you're planning for the future. I imagine that's part of your future plans.

[Alphonsine Saulnier]

Yes, absolutely. You're probably talking about Denis Fortier...

[Raymond Simard, Liberal, Saint Boniface, MB]

That's it.

[Alphonsine Saulnier]

Whom I know well. In fact, that's a model that we're constantly monitoring. In the region where I live, we're planning a health centre, and we're studying the entire question of French-language services. That's very much a question of recruitment and retention.

[Raymond Simard, Liberal, Saint Boniface, MB]

In Manitoba, we're also studying the possibility of having walk-in clinics. When Francophone populations are dispersed, it's more practical to have people move around. Is that an option you're considering as well?

[Alphonsine Saulnier]

That will probably come in a second phase. We're currently at such a basic level of service that we're only considering primary services. With the regulations that are in place and the three-year plan to introduce the regulations, we're clearly headed toward a second stage; at that point, we'll look at this kind of team.

[Raymond Simard, Liberal, Saint Boniface, MB]

You referred to training as one of the biggest challenges. I think it's one the biggest challenges across the country. Do you have any universities where you can train nurses and doctors? Do you have any agreements with Moncton or Ottawa? How does that work?

[Alphonsine Saulnier]

Through the CNFS, we're now starting to have things in place. We have institutions. There is the Université Sainte-Anne in the province. Even at the college level, we've managed to put certain programs in place, including a paramedic-ambulance care program. In the past four years, we've managed to train 50 ambulance attendants. So we have 50 Francophone paramedic-ambulance attendants who are ready to enter the system as soon as the regulations are in place. This is one of the areas where we've had good success.

With regard to social service, we've entered into an agreement with Laurentian University in Sudbury, which has a distance education program in French. So our students can stay in Nova Scotia. I believe that's the key to retention. We can very well recruit professionals, but they come for a year or two, acquire experience, then go elsewhere.

[Raymond Simard, Liberal, Saint Boniface, MB]

We lose them.

[Alphonsine Saulnier]

Those two are now in place. We're currently negotiating the bachelor of nursing degree with the University of Moncton. We'll obviously have to wait a year or two until it's in place, but we hope to be able to train nurses in Nova Scotia and thus to retain some professionals.

[Raymond Simard, Liberal, Saint Boniface, MB]

I have a final question to ask you, Mr. d'Entremont. I very much appreciated your recommendation that a specific health fund be created, like those we have in education. I believe an effort has been made, in particular in the area of early childhood. There were specific envelopes for early childhood and for Francophones, because needs are not necessarily the same. I cite the example of Manitoba because that's what I know best. French-language schools rarely have day care centres. If operating funds are limited when there's no child care, that's pointless. You need to have funding for the principal activity. Do you have a comment to make on that subject? When we sign agreements with the provinces, there must be funding and special envelopes for Francophones, which are used for their needs.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Yvon Godin]

You have 20 seconds left.

[Paul d'Entremont]

The funding has to be used based on the needs determined by and for the community, and federal programs must respect those needs. That's what's being done in health. We're the ones who have decided how the funding will be used.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Yvon Godin]

Mr. André.

[Guy André, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Good morning, Ms. Saulnier and Mr. d'Entremont. Thank you for being here today. You left Nova Scotia to come here; that's a long trip. We're pleased that you're here among us.

Mr. d'Entremont, you talked a lot about the community fabric. I come from that environment. It's an environment that enables us to strengthen our community, our social fabric. A good fabric of organizations definitely enables Francophones to develop a sense of belonging to their community and to obtain services. You said that there had been cuts to certain programs, including community access and literacy programs, Status of Women, and volunteerism initiatives. You also talked about the Court Challenges Program, which has made it possible to have schools and to provide services to the public.

What impact will these budget cuts have on the community fabric, on the community services networks and, indirectly, on the Francophone community in Nova Scotia?

[Paul d'Entremont]

In health as in other issues with which the Acadian federation is concerned, we have been promoting active offer for a number of years now. We tell the provincial government to make an active offer of service.

We talked about the literacy cuts. People who were taking advantage of those programs were not young school-aged people. They were people 40 years of age and over who hadn't been able to receive training in French and now wanted to play an active role in their community.

These people want to be alive and, as the Sagouine says, “to be full-fledged” members of their community.

[Guy André, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

They also want their children to be educated in their language.

[Paul d'Entremont]

Yes. It's often young parents and grandparents who say to themselves that, even though they didn't have the chance to learn French formally at school, they can nevertheless learn to write their sentences better. The goal isn't to become so many Molières.

The provinces and other government bodies must offer their programs actively. In that way, when people become aware of those programs, they'll feel more comfortable requesting services in French. They don't necessarily want documents in French, but they nevertheless want to be able to express themselves in that language.

One of the benefits of a literacy program is that it creates a will in these people, a desire to be full-fledged members of the Acadian and Francophone communities. That's been missing. I'm also involved in the community, on the facility that's both a museum and a research centre, which offers the community a community access program.

[Guy André, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Yes.

[Paul d'Entremont]

When I get to the office, the people who are there don't have the same financial means as you and I. Perhaps they can't afford it, but they use it and are accompanied by someone who can help them. That's part of this vital need to grow. The federal government is increasingly telling citizens that they must communicate with it via the Internet.

[Guy André, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Yes, that's the case of Human Resources Canada, Service Canada and all the departments.

[Paul d'Entremont]

It was you who created this situation. Why pull the rug out from under us? Increasingly, both spouses in a family work, and there are fewer and fewer volunteers. Those who are called upon to do volunteer work are people like Ms. Saulnier, who has just taken very early retirement and who will become a volunteer par excellence. I also retired a few years ago. I'm still a volunteer, and I'm going to continue, but we're getting burned out.