Government of Canada improves access to health services for Francophone minority communities across Western Canada

Ottawa: Today, the Honourable Marjorie Michel, Minister of Health announced close to $17 million in funding over five years to five post-secondary training institutions to improve access to health services in French for Francophone communities across Western Canada.

These investments will support projects to improve health services in French through Health Canada’s Official Languages Health Program (OLHP). Initiatives include improving student recruitment and enrollment in francophone post-secondary health programs.

The Government of Canda will continue working with partners to improve access to health care services for everyone, including services in the official language of their choice.

“Everyone in Canada should have access to health services in their official language of choice, regardless of where they live. When it comes to health care, a language barrier can lead to a life-or-death situation. This is why the Government of Canada is supporting projects that will improve access to health services for Francophones and Anglophones living in minority communities in Canada,” Marjorie Michel, Minister of Health said.

Our two official languages are at the heart of our identity, uniting us from coast to coast to coast and making us stronger together. As a government, we are taking concrete action to ensure that Canadians—no matter where they live—can access health services in the official language of their choice. I am pleased that this funding will support projects that strengthen our bilingual identity, not only in the Western regions but right across Canada.”

The OLHP was launched in 2003 and receives funding through the Government of Canada’s Action Plan for Official Languages. The Program supports non-profit organizations, post-secondary institutions and provincial and territorial governments that aim to improve access to health services for official language minority communities (OLMC) – Francophones living outside Quebec and English-speaking communities in Quebec.

The “Action Plan for Official Languages 2023–2028: Protection-Promotion-Collaboration” announced that, in addition to existing funding of $192.2 million over five years, Health Canada’s OLHP will also receive $14.5 million over five years (for a total of $206.7 million over five years). This additional funding will support non-profit organizations, provincial and territorial governments and post-secondary institutions that serve OLMCs to train and retain bilingual health professionals, support health networking initiatives as well as innovative projects.

Budget 2023 outlined the Government’s plan to invest close to $200 billion over 10 years, including $46.2 billion in new funding to provinces and territories to strengthen Canada’s public health care system. This includes $25 billion of funding through tailored bilateral agreements to meet the specific needs of each province and territory.