Proposed language law sends chill through some of Quebecs hospitals

div classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodivpBy Allison Lampertp

pMONTREAL Reuters – A planned change to French language laws in Quebec could see understaffed hospitals in the Canadian province wrestling with hiring headaches during a labor shortage while battling the ongoing COVID19 pandemic, critics say.pdivdivdiv classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodiv

pLanguage remains a sensitive issue in the mostly Frenchspeaking province, where unhappiness over the dominance of English helped fuel the rise of the separatist Parti Quebecois PQ in the 1970s.p

pThe sweeping legislation proposed by the nationalist Coalition Avenir Quebec CAQ government would, among other things, make it harder for hospitals to hire staff that speak languages other than French, complicating efforts to serve patients, said Eric Maldoff, chair of a coalition of healthcare institutions that supports the use of French but wants the sector exempt from the law.p

pUnder the proposed Bill 96, administrators, for example, would need to take “reasonable means” to avoid including other languages as a job requirement.p

p“If you cannot recruit the people who can deliver the service, then its hard to have the service even if it is permitted,” said Maldoff, who served as an adviser to former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien. p

pQuebec, the country‘s secondmost populous province, has one of Canada’s highest job vacancy rates, with unfilled positions in the health and social assistance network especially worrisome, the nonprofit Institut du Québec wrote in 2021.p

pThe proposed law, which also would toughen French usage in smaller companies and colleges, is under review by lawmakers. It‘s not clear when or if it would be approved by the province’s legislature.p

pChanges to Quebec‘s language laws are tricky as they have sometimes triggered constitutional challenges. Quebec’s government, however, has embedded language in Bill 96 in an effort to bypass such legal issues.p

pElisabeth Gosselin, a spokesperson for Quebec Justice Minister Simon JolinBarrette, said there was no need for worry. She said the law would not change rights set out in the provinces existing health law.p

p“There is nothing in the bill that will prevent a citizen from receiving adequate care,” she said.p

p‘VULNERABLE POSITION’p

pQuebec Premier Francois Legault‘s government, which faces an October election, proposed the bill following concerns over a decline in French usage among downtown businesses in Montreal, the province’s largest city, and among top executives. p

pOn Thursday, Montrealbased Canadian National Railway Co came under pressure from pension fund Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over a lack of native French speakers on the companys board.p

pLast year, the chief executive officer of Montrealbased Air Canada apologized after suggesting he did not need to speak French, one of Canadas two official languages.p

p“It‘s important to understand that French will always be in a vulnerable position in North America,” Legault, who was a PQ member of Quebec’s legislature from 1998 to 2009, said on Wednesday.p

pWhile exceptions are cited for health and public safety, the bill has created confusion over who is entitled to health services in English and other languages, raising alarm for new arrivals including refugees, Maldoff said. p

pIt also allows healthcare workers decisions and French language skills to be challenged through anonymous complaints, which would have a chilling effect, he said.p

pQuebecs justice department did not answer requests on who would be able to get services in English under the proposed law.p

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pp Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal Editing by Denny Thomas and Paul Simaop

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