Our Mandate

The Réseau du mieux-être francophone du Nord de l’Ontario (Réseau) is one of 16 members of Société Santé en français (SSF) and has been receiving technical and financial support since 2003. Created in 2002, the Société Santé en français (SSF) is a national umbrella organization that promotes the development of French language health services for minority Francophone communities.

As member of this network, the Réseau works in collaboration with the other member networks on the national, provincial and regional scenes (three Réseaux in Ontario), through the SSF Board of Directors and the SSF Executive Directors’ Table, to promote the development of French language health services. The objectives of the SSF networks is to develop an integrated approach to French language services while ensuring ongoing representation from the following sectors:

• Healthcare professionals;
• Government bodies;
• Administrators of healthcare institutions;
• Training institutions; and
• Community organizations.

Ontario’s French Language Health Planning Entities are mandated by the Ministry of Health to improve access to French Language Health Services. These six Entities work with provincial, regional and local partners to build and sustain health services for Ontario’s official language minority population.

The Réseau du mieux-être francophone du Nord de l’Ontario (Réseau) was named the French Language Health Planning Entity for Northern Ontario in 2010. The Réseau offers expertise in the planning of French language health services and in Francophone community engagement in regards to health. The Réseau is responsible to advise Health Ontario North (formerly the North East and North West LHINs) on:

• the methods of engaging the Francophone community in the area;
  
• the health needs and priorities of the Francophone community in the area, including the needs and priorities of diverse groups within that community;
  
• the health services available to the Francophone community in the area;
  
• the identification and designation of health service providers for the provision of French language health services in the area;
  
• the strategies to improve access to, accessibility of and integration of French language health services in the local health system; and
  
• the planning for and integration of health services in the area.

The roles and responsibilities of the Health Ontario and Entities were revised and clarified in November 2017 :

A funding and accountability agreement outlines the responsibilities of each party. Priorities and activities are identified through a Joint Action Plan (JAP).

The Regroupement des Entités de planification des services de santé en français de l’Ontario strives to develop principles and common positions to advance, in a cohesive and efficient manner, French language health services at the provincial level.