Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC), joined by representatives from the Association des francophone du Nord-Ouest de l’Ontario (AFNOO) and Réseau du mieux-être francophone du Nord de l’Ontario (Réseau), recognized the rich Francophone culture in Northwestern Ontario by raising the Franco-Ontarian Day flag earlier today.

Franco-Ontarian Day officially recognizes the contribution of Ontario’s Francophone community to the cultural, historical, social, economic, and political life of the province. There are more than 622,000 Francophones and 1.5 million who can speak French, making Ontario the largest Francophone community outside of Quebec. September 25th marks the anniversary of the first raising of the Franco-Ontarian Flag in 1975.

Today, there are over 8,000 Francophones who call Northwestern Ontario home.

TBRHSC knows that providing care that is culturally sensitive can improve health outcomes and quality of care. Our goal is to meet the social, cultural and linguistic needs of all our patients. We are committed to ensuring that we are respectful and responsive to Francophone cultural preferences, needs and values, and all the other diverse populations we serve.

To learn more about Franco-Ontarian Day. visit https://bit.ly/Franco-Ontarian-Day-2023