Cornwall francophone CHC supported on language question.

Centre de sante Communautaire de l'Estrie in Cornwall, Ont. was the focus of a linguistic dispute when an English-speaking woman walked into the Centre asking to see her doctor. (She normally sees the particular doctor at another office.) The receptionist turned her away because the Centre serves the Francophone community in the area. The patient then went to a walk-in clinic nearby.

The woman complained publicly that she was the victim of discrimination. However, Minister of Health and Long Term Care and the Ontario Association of Community Health Centres backed the Centre in its actions. Marc Bisson, the clinic director, insisted that the health centre's refusal to treat her was a matter of policy, not discrimination.

Minister George Smitherman found nothing improper in the Centre's practice and stated that the CHCs are specifically mandated to provide services at community level based on the fact that the health system is situated in a context where various social factors pose barriers for some people in accessing the system. The target population of the Cornwall Francophone CHC is individuals who wish or need to receive primary health care in French, reflecting the significant number of Francophone Ontarians in the Cornwall area and their constitutional right to access French language health care services.

According to an AOHC statement: "It is critical to understand first and foremost that CHCs are not walk-in clinics, nor are they suited to deliver emergency medical care. They are primary health care centres that, like a family doctor's office, provide services to registered clients on an appointment basis."

The Ontario Ministry of Health says if the situation is non-urgent, specialized centres such as the one in Cornwall have the right to turn patients away.