December 7th, 2021
December 7th, 2021
QUEEN’S PARK – After more than three years of Doug Ford’s cuts to French language services, the results are devastating, said Guy Bourgouin, NDP critic for Francophone Affairs and France Gélinas, NDP MPP for Nickel Belt, responding to the release of the second annual report of the French language Services Unit of the Ombudsman Office.
“New Democrats have denounced Doug Ford’s devastating cuts to French language services in Ontario since he stepped into office. We have been calling on the Conservative government to bring in a new French Language Services Act to fix the problems that Francophones are facing today; problems that are reflected in today’s report,” said Bourgouin.
“The Ford Conservatives denied Francophones health care services in French throughout the entire pandemic and during the COVID 19 vaccine campaign. This affected the ability of Franco-Ontarians to access health care during this health crisis. Despite the risk on their health and safety, Doug Ford refused to adopt NDP recommendations to provide critical health care services by our public health units in French.”
The French Language Services Commissioner reported a 15 per cent increase in cases compared to last year. She looked at cases regarding COVID-19 including several cases where the FLS Unit had to intervene to improve French services provided by public health units, because they are not subject to the French Language Services Act. The office received a large number of complaints related to the difficulty or impossibility of obtaining services in French regarding matters that have a direct impact on the health and safety of Francophones in Ontario.
The report also showed that the single largest source of complaints over the past year was Laurentian University referring to major cuts to its French language programs. “The highest number of complaints in post-secondary education pertain to Laurentian University. It’s time for Doug Ford and the Conservatives to stop their attacks on French language services and begin repairing the damage they have done,” said Gélinas. “The first step is to acknowledge that Francophones in the Northeast want a French University.”
“Doug Ford cut the independent office of the French Language Services Commissioner,” said Bourgouin. “The reported increase in service complaints by 15 per cent and the fact that the Minister of Francophone Affairs Caroline Mulroney has received the highest volume of complaints should show this government how important it is for Franco-Ontarians to have access to an independent office for the French Language Services Commissioner. Franco-Ontarians need accountability and access to services.”