After controversial directive, Quebec now says anglophones have right to English health services [Video]

The Quebec government has clarified that anglophones have the right to receive health and social services in English in a new directive meant to allay concerns the province was trying to restrict access to health care in languages other than French.

The five-page document, published Monday, states that recent changes to Quebec’s Charter of the French language do not affect the right of anglophones to receive health care in English. It also states multiple times that English-speakers do not have to prove their identity to receive care in their language.

The new directive replaces a previous version, published in July, that angered members of Quebec’s anglophone community who worried it could restrict their access to health care in English. Several Liberal MPs from the Montreal area also voiced concerns about the document.

The original directive was “preposterous and offensive and worrisome, and we’re glad to see it go,” Ingrid Kovitch, …