I want to thank the committee for inviting us today so that we can talk about the health related issues for francophones in the territories.
I want to talk about our circumstances and challenges. There are little or no health services offered in French in the territories. That is due to a number of factors, including the language barrier and agreements reached between Quebec and the territories for insured care. More often than not there is not active offer, and when there is it is a coincidence. Designated bilingual positions are few and far between, if not practically non-existent within the system.
We also face a greater problem. We know that there is a shortage of health care professionals across Canada. It is twice as great in our area because of the geographical remoteness and quite a significant turnover. To give you an idea of the situation, I would say that 50% of Yukon's population is renewed every five years, which places a great burden on the system and the network whose task it is to identify partners. As Daniel Hubert said during his presentation, the average stay of francophones in the territories is approximately three years. This means that there is a continuous turnover and many challenges facing us.
Concerning the response from francophones, I would say that between 70 and 80% of francophones in two of the territories would like to obtain health and social services in French. Unfortunately, they do not have access to them. Furthermore, many people are deprived of services for linguistic reasons.
However, we have to recognize that, despite the lack of services offered by the regional health authorities or the department, there is a truly dynamic community sector, which offers health services, workshops and promotion, similar to services provided to the rest of the community. In this regard, I would like to underscore the fact that it was the community sector that sponsored the creation of French language health networks, and thus achieve some progress in French language health services.
The networks identify the needs of francophones with regard to health and social services, mainly in mental health, substance abuse, family services—the population in the territories is very young—and emergency services. The networks also help francophones become aware of the importance of requesting services in French. We do a lot of work across the territories. For example, the three territories jointly manage an anti-smoking initiative for francophones. This is working out very well and achieving good results.
That also represents a first step towards greater cooperation in health care between the territories. Together with our departments, we do planning for the organization of health services. I would also like to point out that, in 2003, the government of Yukon sat down with people from the community and the network to establish a five-year plan for health and social services in the Yukon. That was the first time that the communities and the territories worked together. The plan was submitted to the federal government in October 2003, and we are still awaiting a response. We have not heard anything, and that is of considerable concern to us, because we worked together to develop partnerships and want to continue doing so.
The networks also take part in identifying, recruiting and maintaining bilingual personnel in the territories.
The networks need to be able to provide services on a sustainable basis. Sustainability has to be addressed today because we want to ensure the networks ongoing work. The federal government supported the creation of the networks by establishing the Société Santé en français, and we have to continue working with our partners to ensure our credibility and the commitment by both orders of government to the health of francophones.
We also have to invest in the development of local skills and use best practices—such as the community approach—for the maturity and vitality of francophone communities in our territories. Increased support for the recruitment of health professionals is also needed.
In conclusion, I would like to say that we sincerely hope that territorial and federal authorities will take the necessary action to support the initiatives of the health and social services networks. Francophones in the territories are entitled to health and social services that are adapted to their language and culture. Those are all compelling reasons to pursue this option and maintain service delivery models developed by and for the territories. This all goes to show that communities want to improve their circumstances and health.
These are the challenges we both face in the North. As you can see, health is a hot topic that should not be put on ice.
Thank you for your attention.