Confused by Quebec’s tougher French rules, health-care workers are avoiding English, threatening access to care for anglophone Quebecers, the federal language commissioner says. “The strengthening of the Charter of the French Language (through Bill 96) and the resulting guidelines have caused some confusion around enforcement of the right to be served in English in the health care, business and community sectors,” Raymond Théberge said Tuesday.
“For example, some health-care workers still struggle to understand under what circumstances they can offer services to the public in English, so they choose to err on the side of caution with regard to their language obligations for fear of being penalized.