Thank you, Mr. Chair.
My name is Debbie Beresford-Green. I am Acting Assistant Deputy Minister, Regions and Programs Branch, at Health Canada. I am here today with Roger Farley, Acting Director General of Health Canada's Programs Directorate.
First of all, I would like to thank you for inviting us and for giving us this opportunity to come before the committee and testify to the support that Health Canada provides to official language minority communities across the country. Mr. Farley will be able to answer your questions about Health Canada initiatives that were funded under the Roadmap for Canada's Linguistic Duality 2008-2013.
As assistant deputy minister, I am responsible for the implementation of part VII of the Official Languages Act at Health Canada. It is also my branch that manages the Official Languages Health Contribution Program, which was funded under the Roadmap for Canada's Linguistic Duality.
Health Canada's initiatives help to provide official language minority communities with increased access to health care in their language of choice. These initiatives are designed to reduce the language barriers faced by English and French linguistic minority communities. There is growing evidence that presents below average health status for Canada's official language minority communities. These communities also experience significant difficulty obtaining services in their language.
When we need health care, we inevitably need to revert to our mother tongue no matter how well we speak our second official language. Access to health care in the official language of one's choice should be available, no matter which province or region we live in.
Since 2003 Health Canada has funded initiatives that are targeted to the needs of official language minority communities. From 2003 to 2008 Health Canada received $119 million through the action plan for official languages, and for the period 2008 to 2013 the department was allocated $174.3 million under the road map for Canada's linguistic duality. Each year Health Canada has invested its full allocation in initiatives under those programs.
Since 2008 the department has delivered the official languages community health program under the road map, consisting of three key components: health networks; support for training and retention of health professionals; and health projects that facilitate access in communities. For 2010-2011, $36.8 million was spent under the program.
I'm also pleased to say that the Commissioner of Official Languages has highlighted on a number of occasions in his annual report the positive results achieved in the area of health. For example, in his annual report of 2010-2011, he points out that “members of French-speaking communities outside of Quebec often have difficulty obtaining health care services in their language”, but that “the situation is improving”, and that is thanks in part to initiatives managed by Health Canada.
The Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages recently reported on progress in improving health services in its report entitled “The Vitality of Quebec's English-Speaking Communities: From Myth to Reality”. According to the report, the progress that has been made is a source of inspiration in strengthening Quebec's English-speaking communities in other areas that affect their development. Again, this progress has been attributed in part to the programming delivered by Health Canada.
Now I will hand the floor over to Mr. Farley, who will talk to you about Health Canada's contributions program in a little more detail.
Thank you.