Background on Health Initiatives for French and English-Speaking Minority Communities

News Release - Government of Canada Invests $174.3 Million in Health Initiatives for French and English-Speaking Minority Communities

November 2009 [Updated December 15, 2011]

Under Canada's Roadmap for Linguistic Duality 2008-2013, Health Canada received $174.3 million to improve access to health services for official language minority communities in Canada. The following is a breakdown of how funding is allotted.

Health Networking - $22 million

A portion of funding from this envelope is designated for the Community Health and Social Services Network (CHSSN) which is made up of eighteen networks across Quebec. The CHSSN is a network of community organizations, resources and public institutions striving to ensure access to health and social services in English for Quebec's English-speaking communities.

CHSSN funding for health networking initiatives - - $8,500,000 (2008-2013)

Funding from this envelope is also designated for the Société Santé en français (SSF) which is made up of 17 networks across Canada outside of Quebec. SSF is a national group that aims to promote health development in French-language minority communities in Canada.

SSF funding for health networking initiatives - - $13,500,000 (2008-2013)

Training and Retention of Health Professionals - $109.5 million

Francophones: $86.5 million

Funding in this envelope is designated for the Consortium national de formation en santé (CNFS), an umbrella organization that represents 11 universities and colleges outside of Quebec, that offer studies in French in a variety of health training programs. The objective of the alliance is to increase the number of health professionals in Canada who can serve the linguistic needs of French speaking minority communities across the country. The 11 member institutions include: Ottawa University, La Cité collégiale, Collège Boréal, Université Laurentienne, Université de Moncton, Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick-Campus Campbellton, Sainte-Anne University, Entente Québec/Nouveau-Brunswick, Collège de l'Acadie, Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface, Campus Saint-Jean Alberta University.

• Ottawa University - - $25,164,015
• Université de Moncton - - $12,603,283
• Government of New Brunswick - - $10,854,267
• Université Laurentienne - - $7.897,762
• Consortium national de formation en santé - - $6,411,400
• La Cité collégiale - - $6,202,971
• Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface - - $3,982,976
• Collège Boréal - - $3,617,951
• Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick-Campus Campbellton - - $3,683,648
• University of Alberta - Campus Saint-Jean - - $3,376,161
• Sainte-Anne University - $1,965,566
• Collège de l'Acadie - - $740,000

Anglophones: $23 million

Similarly, McGill University is also receiving $23 million in funding under the training and retention envelope. This training and retention project of health professionals from McGill University will help ensure that English-speaking Quebecers have access to a range of health and social services in their language. As such, the project proposes various measures to train and retain a workforce capable of providing these services in English. This project encompasses an additional tool for the implementation and revision of regional access programs for English-language services, as per the Quebec Act, la Loi sur les services de santé et les services sociaux. In addition, this project also contains both a research and best practices component.

Linguistic Training and Cultural Adaptation - $5 million

Funding from this envelope will be divided between the Consortium national de formation en santé (CNFS) and the Société Santé en français (SSF). Projects include the following:

• CNFS/SSF - - $1,000,000 (2009-2010)
• CNFS/SSF - - $ 4,000,000 will be available to this targeted recipient over 2010-2013 for project activities.

Projects for Official Language Minority Communities - $33.5 million

Funding in this envelope is divided between the Community Health and Social Services Network (CHSSN) and the Société Santé en français (SSF) for project activities.

Francophones: $21.5M (2008-2013)

• SSF - - $976,499 (2009-2010) for health promotion
• SSF- - $1,024,349 (2009-2010) for information sharing, dissemination and knowledge transfer
• SSF- - $1,999,152 (2009-2010) for access to primary health care, social and specialized services
• SSF-- $1,000,000 (2009-2010) for the organization of services
• SSF-- $16,500,000 will be available to this targeted group over 2010-2013 for project activities.

Anglophones: $12M (2008-2013)

• CHSSN -- $2,500,000 (2008-2013) for community health promotion
• CHSSN - - $7,500,000 (2008-2013) for adaptation of health and social services
• CHSSN- - $2,000,000 (2008-2013) for enhancing knowledge

Note: A sum of $4.3 million has been set aside for Program measurement and evaluation.