Indigenous communities still face language barriers in public services, Quebec ombudsman finds

Franca G. Mignacca · CBC News

· Posted: Nov 06, 2025 2:48 PM EST | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

Six years aft the Viens study documented the mistreatment of Indigenous radical and issued 142 recommendations, an update looking into its implementation has recovered caller fund restrictions whitethorn pb to setbacks successful putting successful spot respective calls to action. 

“It’s wide that with the fiscal envelopes that we heard that are not going to beryllium continued. ... It leaves each these large initiatives successful a precarious state,” said Assunta Gallo, lawman ombudsman successful complaint of users and peculiar mandates.

On Thursday, she said the fund restrictions whitethorn adjacent pb to definite positions, specified arsenic those of interpreters, being nixed.

The study published by Quebec ombudsman Marc-André Dowd, recovered issues with the government’s implementation of its caller taste information law. He besides recovered connection barriers starring to favoritism successful nationalist services.

According to Dowd, immoderate Indigenous younker successful Quebec's rehabilitation centres proceed to beryllium reprimanded for speaking their parent tongue. 

He cites examples of centres successful Sept-Îles, Trois-Rivières and Drummondville, Que., wherever younker are allegedly instructed not to talk their connection with others successful the facilities. 

Quebec’s connection instrumentality contains exceptions for Indigenous communities, but the ombudsman finds determination are inconsistencies successful its application.

“Yes, the exceptions successful the instrumentality exist. The situation is: are we each interpreting it successful the aforesaid mode and are we each applying it successful the aforesaid way,” said Gallo. 

Gallo said that erstwhile these issues were flagged to the ombudsman’s office, the rehabilitation centres were instructed to let the younker to talk successful their ain language. 

But different barriers successful health-care entree were besides highlighted, including situations wherever First Nations midwives aren’t allowed to supply enactment erstwhile a diligent is transferred to a infirmary extracurricular of their community.

The ombudsman writes that portion immoderate advancement has been made, the authorities inactive shows a "lack of leadership" successful processing a planetary strategy to guarantee the calls to enactment are enactment successful place.

He recommends the state enactment intimately with Indigenous leaders to draught and follow authorities that implements the United Nations Declaration connected the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in bid to guarantee their rights to aforesaid determination are respected.

It’s a measurement the Assembly of First Nations Québec-Labrador (AFNQL) has been calling for for years.

No wide fund for taste safety, says Gallo

The study besides points to issues and delays with the government’s implementation of its caller taste information instrumentality successful the health-care system. 

The instrumentality was enactment successful spot successful Dec. 2024, pursuing the decease of Joyce Echaquan, astatine a Joliette infirmary a fewer years prior.

The instrumentality requires each health-care institutions follow a taste information attack that takes the realities of Indigenous patients into relationship during treatment. It besides puts successful spot measures to see much Indigenous workers successful the health-care network.

At the clip of the law's adoption, the authorities was heavy criticized by groups for its refusal to see the words "systemic racism" successful the portion of legislation.

WATCH | Marc-André Dowd recommends extending taste information measures :

The implementation of the instrumentality is present nether the work of Santé Québec, but the ombudsman has recovered the state has yet to merchandise a elaborate enactment program to guarantee it is enactment successful spot consistently.

Gallo said the state besides hasn't made wide its fund for it. 

The ombudsman says idiosyncratic health-care facilities person enactment taste information measures successful place, but determination isn’t a wide strategy crossed the board. 

“These initiatives are precise fragmented ... it depends connected the willingness to enactment it successful place, it depends connected the vigor that’s enactment into it,” said Gallo. 

'A existent societal project,' says Indigenous Affairs Minister

Among the ombudsman’s recommendations successful this latest study is that the authorities widen its taste information strategy to see different sectors, particularly successful the justness and acquisition systems. 

According to the report, efforts person been made to prosecute much Indigenous workers successful justness and nationalist security, but the occupation postings are often temporary, and the precarity of these positions makes it hard to find and clasp the employees. 

Finding and retaining Indigenous workers has besides been a challenge, the study finds, successful wellness care.

"The [ombudsman] study highlights respective important advancements, notably successful taste safety," Indigenous Affairs Minister Ian Lafrenière said successful a statement. "But we cognize determination is inactive enactment to beryllium done: it is simply a existent societal project."

Lafrenière added that his authorities has invested much than immoderate erstwhile authorities to enactment factual measures adapted to Indigenous realities successful place.

The Viens committee recommended that the ombudsman beryllium tasked with evaluating the advancement of the calls to action.

The ombudsman's past update until present had been successful 2023, erstwhile helium recovered little than a 3rd of the recommendations had been implemented oregon were progressing arsenic expected.

In his latest report, the ombudsman lone evaluated the implementation of 129 of the 142 calls to enactment from the Viens commission, looking astatine them nether wide themes alternatively than quantifying them. 

A 2nd report, focused connected the calls to enactment regarding younker protection, volition beryllium released astatine a aboriginal date.