Ontario Liberal govt agrees with discriminating against the English

[Montgomery Burns]

No French? No service!

CORNWALL, ON -- ...after suffering a partial lung collapse a few years ago, a common cold doesn't just 'go away' after a few days for the 57-year-old Ontario woman [shirley Ravary]; it gets progressively worse. So after two weeks of suffering with flu-like symptoms, Ravary needed to see her family doctor. But as she soon found out, she picked the wrong day to drop in for a check-up. That day, Ravary contacted her doctor's office and was told to visit a nearby community health centre, where he occasionally works. When she arrived at the centre, she was greeted by a French-speaking receptionist who promptly informed her that the health clinic was exclusively for "French people."

"I said to her, 'that's discrimination,'" said Ravary, who was then told to visit her family doctor during his regular office hours, or visit another walk-in clinic. "I didn't get past the reception at the front."

Marc Bisson, the Executive Director of the Centre de Santé communautaire de L'estrie, where Ravary was refused service, defends his clinic's policy. Bisson says it's part of the centre's mandate to target the local French population.

"I don't think it's discrimination at all," said Bisson. "We have policies and a way to work here. Ninety-eight per cent of our clients are Francophone because it's our target population."

The clinic was established 15 years ago specifically to treat the nearly 10,000 Francophones in the small Ontario community, although everyone in the greater community helps fund it. It turns out the Ontario provincial government agrees with the clinic's exclusive policy. George Smitherman, Ontario's Health Minister, said in Toronto Tuesday, "We have something called Community Health Centres and they are designed to be community governed, targeting specific populations."

Unbelievable!

Sure there is blatant cultural discrimination against the English in Quebec (language police), but in Ontario too?

[geoffrey]

Affirmative action is truly the worst thing any society could resort to, and thats what I see this as, giving special treatment to a minority group.

[concerned citizen]

This is being blown way out of whack so that it could become a story. They don't mention a lot of things.

1. Almost about half of Cornwall's population is French

2. With the doctor shortage here most of the new doctors don't speak French (that I've seen anyway)

So what are these people to do? Move to Quebec to get service in French? Nothing wrong with this clinic or it's policies. It was created to meet a demand and that is what it's doing.

[Montgomery Burns]

This is being blown way out of whack so that it could become a story. They don't mention a lot of things.

1. Almost about half of Cornwall's population is French

2. With the doctor shortage here most of the new doctors don't speak French (that I've seen anyway)

So what are these people to do? Move to Quebec to get service in French? Nothing wrong with this clinic or it's policies. It was created to meet a demand and that is what it's doing.

So the English are expected to pay for this clinic but are refused access for this service unless they are Francophone?

This is discrimination. Period.

[Biblio Bibuli]

Unbelievable!

That's EXACTLY what Don Martin's sentiment is .... he too is shaking his head in disbelief.

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/st...42-851a84b572a4

[BHS]

This is being blown way out of whack so that it could become a story. They don't mention a lot of things.

1. Almost about half of Cornwall's population is French

2. With the doctor shortage here most of the new doctors don't speak French (that I've seen anyway)

So what are these people to do? Move to Quebec to get service in French? Nothing wrong with this clinic or it's policies. It was created to meet a demand and that is what it's doing.

How do the people who only speak (Chinese/Hindi/Spanish/fill-in-the-blank) get by? Is the problem that there aren't enough French speaking doctors obtaining medical licences, or that too many people want to live in an area with a shortage of French doctors without bothering to learn English, and our official language policy rewards their obstinance by making the majority pay for services they aren't allowed to benefit from?

[cybercoma]

This is being blown way out of whack so that it could become a story. They don't mention a lot of things.

1. Almost about half of Cornwall's population is French

2. With the doctor shortage here most of the new doctors don't speak French (that I've seen anyway)

So what are these people to do? Move to Quebec to get service in French? Nothing wrong with this clinic or it's policies. It was created to meet a demand and that is what it's doing.

Why was this woman denied service at a clinic she helps fund with her taxes?

Because of the language she speaks. That's discrimination, especially considering the doctor there speaks english as well.

[tml12]

No French? No service!

CORNWALL, ON -- ...after suffering a partial lung collapse a few years ago, a common cold doesn't just 'go away' after a few days for the 57-year-old Ontario woman [shirley Ravary]; it gets progressively worse. So after two weeks of suffering with flu-like symptoms, Ravary needed to see her family doctor. But as she soon found out, she picked the wrong day to drop in for a check-up. That day, Ravary contacted her doctor's office and was told to visit a nearby community health centre, where he occasionally works. When she arrived at the centre, she was greeted by a French-speaking receptionist who promptly informed her that the health clinic was exclusively for "French people."

"I said to her, 'that's discrimination,'" said Ravary, who was then told to visit her family doctor during his regular office hours, or visit another walk-in clinic. "I didn't get past the reception at the front."

Marc Bisson, the Executive Director of the Centre de Santé communautaire de L'estrie, where Ravary was refused service, defends his clinic's policy. Bisson says it's part of the centre's mandate to target the local French population.

"I don't think it's discrimination at all," said Bisson. "We have policies and a way to work here. Ninety-eight per cent of our clients are Francophone because it's our target population."

The clinic was established 15 years ago specifically to treat the nearly 10,000 Francophones in the small Ontario community, although everyone in the greater community helps fund it. It turns out the Ontario provincial government agrees with the clinic's exclusive policy. George Smitherman, Ontario's Health Minister, said in Toronto Tuesday, "We have something called Community Health Centres and they are designed to be community governed, targeting specific populations."

Unbelievable!

Sure there is blatant cultural discrimination against the English in Quebec (language police), but in Ontario too?

Agreed Monty...that is BS.

You can be sure if that happened to a francophone in Quebec, going to an "anglo only" hospital in a majority French province we'd never hear the end of the lawsuits/OLF investigations.

I hope she sues and wins.

[tml12]

This is being blown way out of whack so that it could become a story. They don't mention a lot of things.

1. Almost about half of Cornwall's population is French

2. With the doctor shortage here most of the new doctors don't speak French (that I've seen anyway)

So what are these people to do? Move to Quebec to get service in French? Nothing wrong with this clinic or it's policies. It was created to meet a demand and that is what it's doing.

You don't meet a demand by discriminating against half of a populations.

It's discrimination. period.

[tml12]

This is being blown way out of whack so that it could become a story. They don't mention a lot of things.

1. Almost about half of Cornwall's population is French

2. With the doctor shortage here most of the new doctors don't speak French (that I've seen anyway)

So what are these people to do? Move to Quebec to get service in French? Nothing wrong with this clinic or it's policies. It was created to meet a demand and that is what it's doing.

How do the people who only speak (Chinese/Hindi/Spanish/fill-in-the-blank) get by? Is the problem that there aren't enough French speaking doctors obtaining medical licences, or that too many people want to live in an area with a shortage of French doctors without bothering to learn English, and our official language policy rewards their obstinance by making the majority pay for services they aren't allowed to benefit from?

BHS,

They're not important because they don't speak French/English.

[Spike22]

Live in Ottawa or east of Ottawa. Good lord you are a leper if you don't speak da humma humma.

[concerned citizen]

This is being blown way out of whack so that it could become a story. They don't mention a lot of things.

1. Almost about half of Cornwall's population is French

2. With the doctor shortage here most of the new doctors don't speak French (that I've seen anyway)

So what are these people to do? Move to Quebec to get service in French? Nothing wrong with this clinic or it's policies. It was created to meet a demand and that is what it's doing.

How do the people who only speak (Chinese/Hindi/Spanish/fill-in-the-blank) get by? Is the problem that there aren't enough French speaking doctors obtaining medical licences, or that too many people want to live in an area with a shortage of French doctors without bothering to learn English, and our official language policy rewards their obstinance by making the majority pay for services they aren't allowed to benefit from?

I don't care about the Chinese/Hindi/whatever. English and French are the OFFICIAL languages of this country. Like I said 1/2 the town is French and they aren't getting half the services so by your reasoning it's the French that are getting the shaft because they are paying out 1/2 the money and not getting 1/2 the service.

If we want to get rid of the problem make Canada unilingual. I'd be happy because then so many employers wouldn't be bugging for French language skills.

[concerned citizen]

No French? No service!

CORNWALL, ON -- ...after suffering a partial lung collapse a few years ago, a common cold doesn't just 'go away' after a few days for the 57-year-old Ontario woman [shirley Ravary]; it gets progressively worse. So after two weeks of suffering with flu-like symptoms, Ravary needed to see her family doctor. But as she soon found out, she picked the wrong day to drop in for a check-up. That day, Ravary contacted her doctor's office and was told to visit a nearby community health centre, where he occasionally works. When she arrived at the centre, she was greeted by a French-speaking receptionist who promptly informed her that the health clinic was exclusively for "French people."

"I said to her, 'that's discrimination,'" said Ravary, who was then told to visit her family doctor during his regular office hours, or visit another walk-in clinic. "I didn't get past the reception at the front."

Marc Bisson, the Executive Director of the Centre de Santé communautaire de L'estrie, where Ravary was refused service, defends his clinic's policy. Bisson says it's part of the centre's mandate to target the local French population.

"I don't think it's discrimination at all," said Bisson. "We have policies and a way to work here. Ninety-eight per cent of our clients are Francophone because it's our target population."

The clinic was established 15 years ago specifically to treat the nearly 10,000 Francophones in the small Ontario community, although everyone in the greater community helps fund it. It turns out the Ontario provincial government agrees with the clinic's exclusive policy. George Smitherman, Ontario's Health Minister, said in Toronto Tuesday, "We have something called Community Health Centres and they are designed to be community governed, targeting specific populations."

Unbelievable!

Sure there is blatant cultural discrimination against the English in Quebec (language police), but in Ontario too?

Agreed Monty...that is BS.

You can be sure if that happened to a francophone in Quebec, going to an "anglo only" hospital in a majority French province we'd never hear the end of the lawsuits/OLF investigations.

I hope she sues and wins.

Why do you want her to sue and win? It's a medical practise funded by the gov't. So it'll be the gov't that ultimately pays whatever the settlement is and ultimately it'll be the taxpayers who are paying for it because thats where they get the money from.

I don't want to pay for this idiot who couldn't go to one of the many many english clinics in the city. She had a cold, not a life threatening condition. She has placed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission but I really hope it gets thrown out.

Think about it. Then every person with every dialect would then be able to expect service in their native language. We wouldn't have any doctors because they'd all spend the rest of their lives learning languages instead of treating patients.

This is going to open a box best left shut.