Wednesday webinar on Bill 15

On Wednesday evening the Quebec Community Groups Network will host a webinar on Bill 15, An Act to make the health and social services system more effective.

Confirmed speakers for our webinar will include Liberal Health Critic André Fortin, Jeff Shamie, President and CEO of the Cedars Cancer Foundation and health reporter Aaron Derfel, from The Montreal Gazette. The evening will be moderated by Elysia Bryan-Baynes, long-time news anchor with Global Montreal and current Director of the Bishop's Forum.

Still at the detailed study stage, Bill 15 aims to centralize the management of health care throughout the province under a single government-controlled agency entitled Santé Québec. The Bill, which contains some 1130 articles modifying some 30 existing foundational laws, is a major reform of the health and social services system. Its stated purpose is to put in place a more effective system, facilitate access to services, enhance coordination of the different components of the system and bring communities closer to decisions related to the organization and provision of services. However, numerous health care advocates say it will have the opposite effect and English-speaking leaders have said it could erode access to health and social services in English. We invite you to read this commentary in today's Montreal Gazette by Alan Maislin, President of the board of directors of the CIUSSS West-Central Montreal.

The webinar will be held this Wednesday, November 8 between 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. To receive a secure link to attend, please register here. The link will be sent to all participants ahead of the online event. 

NB - The QCGN will be holding a member exclusive webinar on Bill 96 at lunchtime on Wednesday, November 29. Save the date and stay tuned for details in my Weekly Update next week.    

Update on the tuition file

The QCGN hopes that discussions will continue between Quebec's English-speaking universities (McGill, Concordia and Bishop's) and the Quebec government concerning the universities' proposal to devote more time and resources to ensuring larger numbers of their students from other provinces improve their use of French. This positive approach, which we applaud, is vastly superior to a near-doubling of tuition fees for such students the government has said it intends to impose.

Petition demands that government rescind tuition policy

Meanwhile more than 11,250 Quebecers have signed the petition asking Quebec parliamentarians rescind this proposed tuition increase applicable to all non-resident international and out-of-province students starting in September 2024. The petition, to be tabled in the National Assembly, notes that "Bishop's University has contributed to the vibrancy and growth of Quebec for 180 years, as an educational, economic and cultural hub in the Eastern Townships," and that "this proposal will have devastating financial implications for the sustainability of Bishop's University, as out-of-province students compose close to 30 per cent of enrolment."

The petition notes that the "student associations of Bishop's, McGill and Concordia understand the severe consequences of the proposed reform to double out-of-province students' tuition to upwards of $17,000". The petition also notes that "tuition increase has been imposed without the consent or consultation of student associations"; and that "the introduction of students from outside Quebec represents a tremendous cultural and intellectual asset for the province, one that addresses the pressing labour shortage". Student association also noted that "this increase in tuition fees will perpetuate elitist and classist barriers in post-secondary education"; that "accessible post-secondary education for all is critical to the economic and intellectual flourishing of individuals and society at large; and that "higher tuition fees will burden lower-income out-of-province students attending university in Quebec with increased debt and greater pressure to work during their studies.

Multiple members including directors of QCGN's Board have signed the petition and are encouraging all members to follow suit. Please sign at this link.

On Monday, QCGN President Eva Ludvig and I appeared before the Senate Standing Committee on Official Languages for a study it is conduction on matters relating to minority-language health services. The focus of the QCGN's brief was the Government of Canada's new responsibilities under the modernized Official Languages Act to include language clauses in health care transfer agreements that support the vitality of English-speaking Quebec and make funds destined for the province transparent and accountable. The committee is looking at a broad range of issues including the inclusion of language clauses in federal health transfers; access to minority-language health services for vulnerable communities; the shortage of health professionals in public and private facilities serving official language minority communities and the language skills of health care personnel in these facilities; as well as the needs for research, evidence and solutions to foster access to health care in the language of one's choice. You can view the committee hearing here. Eva and I appear in the first hour. 

The QCGN participated in last week's QUESCREN Education and Vitality Forum 2023, held at the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University. This forum focused on current concerns and strategies for an inclusive and quality English-language education system, providing a space for researchers, education practitioners, community stakeholders, and policy-makers to share information, research, and best practices. The Forum was opened by a keynote address by Russel Copeman, the Director General of the Quebec English School Board's Association and included talks by Sébastien Lebel-Grenier, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Bishop's University, and a Town Hall on the changing realities facing English-Language CEGEPs and Colleges in Quebec featuring the five Directors General of our English CEGEPs. QCGN Treasurer Grant Myers was in attendance and had an opportunity to meet Quebec's first commissioner of the French language, Benoît Dubreuil. Our Director of Policy and Research Stephen Thompson delivered a working paper on section 23 minority language educational rights during a panel on educational rights and group vitality, which also featured Thérèse Nguyen from Statistics Canada and Professor Richard Bourhis. 

I would like to congratulate our member organization the Townshippers' Association for its successful conference last week on Employability and the English-speaking Community. Held in Magog, Quebec, the conference aimed to support employability organizations in the region in sharing best practices on providing services to English speakers. Speakers included Chad Walcott of the Provincial Employment Roundtable (PERT), Law Professor Guillaume Rousseau of l'Université de Sherbrooke, and Maude Danis Coulombe of the Eastern Townships Schoolboard JobLinks program.

The Townshippers' Association is one of the oldest community organizations serving English speakers in Quebec, promoting the vitality of the English-speaking community in the Townships since 1979. By working with partners in the employability sector across the region of Estrie, they help to improve our community's access to much-needed services and further our shared vision for an English-speaking community that contributes to the development of all aspects of Quebec society.

Our Director of Community Engagement and Strategic Alliances, Riley Dalys-Fine, standing in the centre in the photo above, was on-hand to participate. With him are Townshippers' Migration Agent Patrick Johnston and Program Manager Heather Ancliffe on his left, with Interim Executive Director Michelle Lepitre and Program Manager Ed Humphrey on his right.

These events provide a much-needed opportunity for members of our team to learn about the important work done by our member organizations across Quebec, and we do our best to keep our network informed via our Community Calendar and our newsletters. If you have an event you would like to share with us, please contact our Manager of Membership Services and Community Outreach, Maggie Severs.

I would like to congratulate our member organization the Atwater Library and Computer Centre on its successful Annual Benefit Cocktail on November 1. Since 1828, the Atwater Library has served Montreal's English-speaking community, offering a wide range of programs and services to educate and empower members of our community. The gala evening featured live music by the Dave Turner Jazz Trio, an online auction, and an exhibition of art by GIGOT aka Mary Hughson. I was pleased to attend this event on behalf of the QCGN, which was emceed by renowned artist Terry Mosher (better known to readers of The Montreal Gazette as Aislin). Atwater Library president Bruce Bolton paid tribute to Montreal philanthropist Scott Jones who delivered gave an inspirational speech about the important role our organization has played in the development of Montreal over the course of 195 years since our founding as a mechanics' institute. He also made a rousing call for community support. I would like to congratulate the hard-working staff and board of this great institution, and I look forward to many more opportunities for connection and collaboration.

As snowflakes began to fall this week, our thoughts turned to the coming holiday season. I am excited to share with all our members that the QCGN's Holiday Breakfast and Open House will be back in full force this year. I invite everyone to save the date for December 13, from 8 a.m. till noon.

Before the COVID-19 public health crisis, our annual holiday event was the place to share greetings with QCGN members as well as community and political stakeholders during the festive season. While a scaled back version of our holiday breakfast did take place last year, this year we are renewing the full tradition by welcoming everyone to celebrate with us back at our home. And this year, as we integrate individual members into our family, we are inviting everyone to bring along a friend.