[Welland, Septembre 26, 2024] The fourteenth Annual General Meeting of the French Language Health Planning Entity 2 for the Waterloo-Wellington (WW) and Hamilton-Niagara-Haldimand-Brant (HNHB) regions was held via videoconference on September 23, 2024, bringing together community representatives and systemic partners. This was a valuable opportunity for Entity 2 to review the past year.
In her address, Chair Melinda Chartrand stated, “We remain optimistic and committed to improving services for the Francophone community, despite the uncertainty surrounding the ongoing evaluation of French language service planning since July 2023.” Executive Director Annie Boucher took the opportunity to explain the guiding principles that steer her organization: Entity 2 is an expert, Entity 2 is a partner, and Entity 2 listens.
Presentations from team members provided further insight into this triptych, revealing highlights of the activities carried out by the team over the past fiscal year. Indeed, Hanane Kabli illustrated, with concrete examples, the expertise of Entity 2, particularly in supporting healthcare service providers. Baba Diop then outlined the various facets of Entity 2 as a partner, before Boucher explained what it means for Entity 2 to be listening to the diverse francophone communities and organizations. The team also reviewed the progress made in planning French language health services and engaging the Francophone community, concluding with an overview of priority projects on the horizon.
Entity 2 also took the opportunity to highlight successful partnerships with Entity 1, with which it shares the Western Ontario Health administrative region.
Two new members joined the board during this meeting: Marcel Levesque and Aristide Kouamé. The board warmly thanked Suzette Hafner, a member since 2017, who completed two three-year terms followed by an exceptional one-year extension.
Following the AGM, the new board held a special meeting to elect its executive committee. Melinda Chartrand was re-elected as Chair of Entity 2, while Debbie Beaudoin from Niagara and Jean-Rock Boutin from Hamilton retained their respective roles as Vice-Chair and Secretary. Aristide Kouamé accepted the position of Treasurer on the board.
“This year will undoubtedly be pivotal for Entity 2. The renewal of the mandate announced will take us through to August 2025. We will need to navigate the establishment of a restructured framework for planning French language services in the coming months. We are ready to contribute to ensure this transformation result in concrete improvements for Francophones in our regions and across Ontario,” stated Chartrand. “The healthcare system transformation initiated in 2019 presents a unique opportunity to plan French language services in an integrated, interconnected, and proactive manner. The board and the team at Entity 2 will put their shoulder to the wheel,” she concluded.
Entity 2 is a nonprofit organization serving the territories of Hamilton-Niagara-Haldimand-Brant and Waterloo-Wellington (WW). Entity 2 is attentive to the needs of Francophone communities and recommends strategies to improve access to quality healthcare services in French.
INFORMATION:
Annie Boucher – Executive Director
C | aboucher@entitesante2.ca / T | 905.734.1579 / www.entitesante2.ca