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Historical Context of the CCS

The following is a brief summary of the significant events that have taken place in Manitoba with respect to French-language health and social services and that led to the establishment of the CCS:

1989

  • Tabling of a French Language Services Policy by the government in the Legislature.

1990

1991

  • Establishment of the Advisory Committee on French Language Health Services. The purpose of the Committee was to provide guidance for the implementation of the recommendations contained in the Gauthier Report. One of its main functions was to review the French-language services plans submitted by the institutions designated as bilingual or francophone under the Gauthier Report.

1992

  • Establishment of the Santé en français Resource Unit. Its purpose is to provide support services to the institutions designated as bilingual or francophone under the Gauthier Report. Its main services include assistance in the development of French-language services plans, translation, language training and acquisition of French-language resource materials. The Unit was first under the administrative responsibility of the St. Boniface General Hospital and, since 2000, it has been operating as a component of Regional Health Authorities of Manitoba (RHAM).

1996

  • Establishment of the regional health authorities which became responsible for the management and delivery of health services. As part of the regionalization of services, a regulation was enacted to require a number of regional health authorities to develop and submit French-language services plans.

1998

  • Release of the report on the review of the Government of Manitoba’s French Language Services Policy. In his report, Judge Richard Chartier of the Provincial Court of Manitoba recommended a general approach including two key principles: that bilingual services should be delivered primarily through service units known as “community service centres” and located in areas where francophones are concentrated; and that all staff members of the service units in question should be fluently bilingual.
  • Judge Chartier stated that, in his view, the establishment of a bilingual regional health authority would provide the most effective means of ensuring the implementation of French-language services. Given the lack of consensus in this regard, he recommended as an alternative solution that all institutions falling under Category 1 in the Gauthier Report be designated as bilingual institutions and that their signage and all new employees be bilingual.
  • Establishment of the Advisory Committee on French Language Social Services. The mandate of the committee mirrored that of the Advisory Committee on French Language Health Services. Initially, its main function was to review the French-language services plans submitted by the institutions designated as bilingual by the government.

2001

  • Dissolution of the Advisory Committee on French Language Health Services. It was planned that the CCS would be responsible for carrying on the work of the Advisory Committee.
  • Creation of the bilingual recruitment officer position.
  • Submission of the Report to the federal minister of Health by the Consultative Committee for French-Speaking Minority Communities. This report gives an overview of the situation and proposes a series of significant measures that will enable members of French-speaking minority communities to improve their state of health, both individually and collectively, through better access to health services in their mother tongue.

2003

  • Release of the federal government’s Action Plan on Official Languages. As part of this plan, Health Canada has committed to invest $119 million over five years to promote better access to health services for official language minority communities.

2004

  • Study on French Language Health and Social Services in South Eastman and in the Central Region of Manitoba.
  • Incorporation of the CCS.
  • Designation of the CCS as the official representative of the Francophone community in the areas of health and social services.
  • First annual general meeting of the CCS.

Who Are We?

The Conseil communauté en santé du Manitoba is part of the national French language health services movement. The Société Santé en français was created in December of 2002 and, almost simultaneously, 17 French language health networks were created in provinces, territories and regions across the country. Their purpose is to rally health partners around priority issues in their province / territory / region involving French language health services.

This marked the launch of French language health services movement across the country. What sets the movement apart is that it uses a partnership approach with all system partners. Each of the 17 networks consists of at least five (5) partners who must be one of the partners identified in the chart below:

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