Two weeks ago, 71-year-old Shab Shatta had bypass surgery at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal.
“As nervous as I was about the surgery, I felt comfortable that people were worried and I was able to communicate with everyone in English,” Shattah said.
but with the passing of bill 96The experience made him fear that he and others may not always have guaranteed access to English services during an emergency.
“When you have other people deciding your future, or your life, you want to know exactly that,” Shattah said.
Bill 96 is Quebec’s French language reform.
Many have argued that this would not change the rights of English-speaking Quebecers.
Bill 96 – Quebec premier says health care will remain the same for Anglophone, immigrants
The premier’s office doubled down on that message when Global News reached it.
But Eric Maldoff, an advocate and president of the Coalition for Quality in Health and Social Services, says the fear of Anglophones is somewhat justified.
He says one problem with Bill 96 is that the law discourages physicians from serving people in a language other than French.
“This law is a cautious law, anyone with a complaint can turn you over to the Office Québécois de Langue Française, leading to potential fines,” Maldoff says.
a Study published earlier this month by the Canadian Medical Association Shows that the language in which you receive health care makes a big difference.
It found that patients who received most of their care from physicians who spoke the patients’ primary language had better hospital outcomes, “suggesting that disparities across linguistic groups could be reduced by giving patients with language-concurrent care.” could be,” the study noted.
Advocates for the threat of stress to health care and the English language rights Bill 96
Maldoff and the coalition he represents are calling for health and social services to be exempt from Bill 96.
But not everyone shares the same level of concern.
“The principles of the law have not changed. Access to Anglophones is still guaranteed by health and social services legislation, so we are not busy,” said Paul Brunet, head of the Quebec Council for the Protection of Patients.
“As soon as they have problems getting health care in their language, English or French, let us know, we’ll fight for you.”
In the meantime, Shattah has written a letter to Premier François Legault because he wants the government to legally guarantee in Bill 96 that he and others can continue to receive services in English, so he can never find himself in such a situation. where there are important questions about their health and their surroundings. Life can be lost in translation.
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