Official Languages committee  This is my opinion. As I said earlier, the grass roots is essential. Without it, our network would not exist. As I was saying, it's fine to have money — even the $14 million — but our money comes in dribs and drabs. Often the expenditures were made a long time before that and the

Official Languages committee  Yes, we have to think, and we have to understand the situation. We cannot change mentalities and make this happen by focussing only on numbers. This is very harmful to community organizations and it actually has a pernicious effect — which is to try and get the answer that you wa

Official Languages committee  Do you mean geographical areas?

Official Languages committee  Well, the area of Sudbury where, with one exception and some gaps here and there, services in French are actually the best structured of anywhere. In the North Bay or Sault Ste. Marie region, however, when you're Francophone, you don't even tell anyone. People don't feel confiden

Official Languages committee  This problem can be attributed to several factors. You talked about a public awareness problem, which is a long-standing one. It may be difficult to raise awareness, though, because some are more resistant to this than others; but we really have no choice. In the health care sec

Official Languages committee  Just to give you an illustration of the network, I'd say that the institutions and organizations that are gaining strength and vitality within the Francophone minority are community-based organizations and institutions. The best recent example is our network. The ACFO has been su

Official Languages committee  There are several different parts to my answer. First of all, networking does include a lobbying component. Furthermore, there are different ways of lobbying. There are arguments that are political, yes, but there are also arguments that are more clinical in nature that have to d

Official Languages committee  No, absolutely not.

Official Languages committee  No. We definitely agree on that. In the context of the reforms instituted in Ontario, without the pressure of arguments in favour of improved health care, I don't think we would have moved forward. Absolutely not.

Official Languages committee  Yes, of course. This actually gives me an opportunity to finish what I was saying earlier. Without that networking, nothing would have happened. The health care sector is a fairly technical, specific area. Had there not been networks there to act as a catalyst or foundation, a r

Official Languages committee  Yes, partly.

Official Languages committee  There is a lot of variation across the region. For example, in the western part of the region, the City of Sault Ste. Marie has declared itself to be unilingual Anglophone. So, there are very little openings there. In fact, health care services in French are practically non-exist

Official Languages committee  In terms of concrete results, I would like to come back to the initiative entitled Setting the Stage. This is a planning project with a limited budget and timeframe. Its purpose is to review the situation in the region to identify critical needs and find solutions that effectivel

Official Languages committee  That will be enough. I again want to talk about results, but with more of a local focus this time. The initial idea was to establish networks. But before those networks became a reality, the provision of health care services in French was left to the discretion of each facility

Official Languages committee  Good morning, Mr. Chairman. Five minutes really isn't much time, but I believe it will be enough. This morning, I would like to tell you about some of the achievements of the Francophone health network. Of the $700 million set aside in the Action Plan, $14 million was allocated