Dialogue McGill Annual Conference

Summary

Local and international speakers presented on the best practices and the latest evidence in access to health and social services for language minorities, with a focus on mental health. Their wonderful presentations stimulated conversations with our audience members who joined us from many regions in Québec and parts of Canada. We were thrilled to have over 150 unique attendees including members from Health Canada, MSSS, Secrétariat général santé et services sociaux, Health and Social Services Institutions, Community Networks, Educational Institutions, and many others join us in addressing these substantive issues.

Day 1

Roundtable: Perspectives on Health Care Reforms In Quebec

The first day opened with a captivating roundtable to discuss perspectives on health care reforms in Quebec. We welcomed James Carter, Program and Policy Advisor at CHSSN who was interviewed by Richard Silver to discuss the reforms and legislative changes to the health and social services in Quebec. Professor Marie-Josée Fleury, McGill University followed with her talk on the accessibility of health and social services in Quebec. Panelists participated in a live discussion with Carmen G. Loiselle, Director and Principal Investigator at Dialogue McGill.

Keynote

Dr. Christine Grou, Psychologist and President, Ordre des psychologues du Québec

Mental Health Needs: Issues and Challenges

Symposium: Mental Health and Language Barriers

The first day closed with a symposium, moderated by Andrew G. Ryder, Chair and Professor of Psychology, Concordia University, to discuss language barriers in the context of mental health. We welcomed Jan Warnke, Director of JWCOMM, to present on improving access to mental health services and suicide prevention. His talk was followed by Amy Bilodeau, Program Manager for Youth and Mental Health at CHSSN who introduced the Community Health and Social Service Network (CHSSN) and their projects. The symposium was closed with Professor Yvan Leanza, Laval University, who presented research in moving to remote interpretation with the help of training.

Day 2

The second day opened with Janet Cleveland, SHERPA University Institute, who gave a keynote address on access to mental health and psychosocial services for asylum seekers, resettled refugees, and uninsured migrants in Québec

Presentation: WHO's scalable self-help and digital psychological interventions

The keynote was followed by a presentation from Dr. Ken Carswell, Department of Mental Health & Substance Use, WHO, Geneva who presented on the World Health Organization’s scalable self-help and digital psychological interventions.

Symposium: Building capacity of bilingual professionals: Recruitment, retention, and language training strategies

To close the conference, we hosted a final symposium, moderated by Celine Cooper, Managing Director, The Consortium of English-language CEGEPs, Colleges and Universities of Quebec. The aim of the symposium was to discuss the challengers and facilitators to building capacity of bilingual professionals in Quebec. Jean-Philippe Ferland, Director of Human Resources and Legal Affairs, CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’île-de-Montréal, presented a portrait of the challenges in the recruitment and retention of bilingual mental health professionals. Jean Robert, Senior Advisor at Dialogue McGill, discussed the challenges facing anglophone CEGEPS as they prepare health and social service students to serve our communities. Ariel Mercado, Coordinator and French Professor, French Language Center, McGill University, closed the symposium presentations by discussing the second language training needs and strategies for mental health professionals.

Objectives

Through it’s research mandate, Dialogue McGill aims to understand the key factors that facilitate or impede access to health and social services for Quebec’s official language minority communities (OLMC’s).

Our main objectives are to support, consolidate, and expand a growing body of original and interdisciplinary research on the equity and quality of healthcare access for linguistic minorities. The long-term objectives of these initiatives are to understand the ways in which access to health and social services by English speaking Quebecers may be limited, develop strategies so that identified barriers may be overcome or reduced, and Increase dissemination and uptake of related knowledge, strategies, and best practices.

To meet these objectives, Dialogue McGill hosts an annual conference to help improve the access and delivery of health and social services by sharing new knowledge, innovative ideas, and strengthen sustainable initiatives