As we celebrate Franco-Ontarian Day today, and all the contributions that Francophones make to the culture and communities across the province, we call for action from Ontario on a provincial Francophone Primary Care Strategy. The health outcomes of thousands of Francophones living in Ontario depend on urgent action to ensure health equity for French speakers in the province.
In Ontario, Francophone populations experience poorer health outcomes, more complex health issues, a higher prevalence of chronic disease, and more complex comorbidities compared to the Anglophone populations. This is unacceptable.
When it comes to barriers that can impact health and access to health care, language can be one of the biggest. For Francophones in Ontario, whose rights to services in French are protected by legislation and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, there is still work to be done to ensure equitable access to language-concordant and culturally safe health care.
Language and cultural-linguistic barriers can manifest due to many root causes. These include the growing shortage of French-speaking health professionals and staff, limited accessibility and availability of formal interpretation services, limited accessibility and availability of linguistically and culturally safe care, and the limited availability of translated resources and materials offered to Francophone Ontarians when accessing health-related services. These barriers impact many Francophones’ access to essential primary care services, including but not limited to, health promotion and education services, prevention activities, cancer screening, mental health services, and referral to specialized services, in many areas of the province. These are gaps that Ontario has the means to address.
The price paid by a lack of access to adequate services in French is a long and costly list, including: delayed or denied care; difficulty understanding or following medication instructions; increased risk of misdiagnosis; unnecessary procedures and tests; further marginalization of Francophones; and increased stigma and othering. For Francophones facing other barriers, such as low incomes, or those with intersectional identities, language barriers can amplify the challenges people face in other ways at accessing the care they need, in a language and cultural context that’s safe for them.
By addressing barriers Francophones face at accessing preventive primary health care, we can help build a more equitable and sustainable health system that helps people manage their conditions before they need hospital treatment. We must also recognize that these barriers extend beyond primary care and significantly impact the entire health care system, including acute care.
Alliance members who are designated and offer French Language Services (FLS) are already doing this providing access to primary health care with clinicians and staff who are bilingual. We should acknowledge and celebrate the important work of our members, especially our Francophone members, in delivering these vital services. But they face some of the same challenges of the HHR in hiring and retaining staff who are bilingual in this competitive environment, if not more.
The Ontario Ministry of Health and Ontario Health, and the leaders in our province, need to take a proactive approach to co-designing a Francophone Primary Health Care Strategy that ensures a health equity and intersectional lens in design and execution, and addresses accessibility gaps that Francophones face throughout the province.