Long­-term care

In 2015, the Commissioner warned that in 2017, for the first time, there would be more people aged 65 and over than people aged 15 and under in Ontario.¹³ According to the Ministry of Finance, the proportion of seniors could double this year and reach 4.5 million by 2040, compared with 2.3 million in 2016. By 2040, the 65-and-over age group will make up more than a quarter of Ontario’s population.¹⁴

Clearly, the number of Francophones who will need long-term care at home or in a residence will continue to grow. However, access to long-term care homes, respite care beds and home care services in French for Francophone seniors is not always guaranteed.

At the moment, some families have to wait up to five years for access to a long-term care home that provides services in French. Many families also have to make the tough choice between language of service and distance.

The patient’s language preference also creates challenges. It is not taken into consideration equally by all of Ontario’s service providers. Yet, there are mechanisms for identifying patients’ preferred language in the provision of services. This is the responsibility of the Community Care Access Centres.¹⁵ The problem lies with health service providers that have clauses in their service contracts that specifically cover the delivery of French-language services. In theory, those clauses guarantee the delivery of French-language services to patients. In practice, the matter of the patient’s language preference sometimes falls through the cracks. As a result, some Francophones receive home care in English, even in designated areas.

The scope of the systemic problem is evident in the fact that it affects other areas, such as severe cognitive disorders and dementia. Access to French-language services is unequal from region to region. Eastern, Northwestern Ontario as well as the Greater Toronto Region have either special care wings or Behavioral Support Ontario (BSO) programs for Francophone seniors. In Southwestern Ontario, special care wings for Francophones seniors are not available for elderly patients suffering from advanced forms of Alzheimer or dementia in designated Long-Term Care Homes under the French Language Services Act.

Access to French-language health services is essential, not just for Francophone seniors but also for informal caregivers. The latter are often family members caring for a sick elderly person living at home. Hence, access to respite care beds remains a major issue. The situation is worse for informal caregivers served by Community Care Access Centres (now LHINs) that straddle a designated area and a non-designated area.

13. Office of the French Language Services Commissioner, Annual Report 2014-2015: A Voice for the Voiceless, Toronto, 2015, p. 15.

15. With the passing of Bill 41, this is the responsibility of the LHINs as of May 1, 2017.