As Francophones across Ontario celebrate Franco-Ontarian Day in the province, the Alliance for Healthier Communities continues to advocate for Francophone health and stands with other advocates and allies across the province.
For years, our members have been on the front lines of the devastating toxic drug crisis, made worse by a major gap in affordable, supportive housing units.
As we mark National Indigenous Peoples History Month in June, and celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21, we want to pause and reflect on what it means to listen, and what it means to act.
Being in solidarity must always extend beyond words, statements and commitments. When we commit to action and hold ourselves accountable, change is possible. This month we’re focused on reaffirming our commitments to listening to the truth, and acting on oppression, reducing risks, harms and injustices by:
As we celebrate Pride Month 2025, it’s with a sense of sorrow, grief and anger in our hearts at the attacks on people based on who they are, where they’re from, who they love, the colour of their skin. In Canada and around the world, we see long sought after and fought for change, change that affords dignity, human rights and safety from violence for 2SLGBTQ+ and other marginalized people, being threatened. We see the ravages of hate and ignorance of fear taking a toll on people’s lives, their mental health, and the strength of communities.
Last week, Alliance members, partners, decision-makers, and community leaders got together to celebrate the 2025 Transformative Change Award recipients during the Alliance’s annual conference. Transformative Change Awards recognize individuals, teams and organizations that have made extraordinary contributions to improving the health and wellbeing of people and communities in Ontario.
As Black History Month begins, we acknowledge and celebrate Black culture, knowledge, ways of being, healing, philosophies of life. This month is an open invitation to reflect and push back on oppression and erasure through marking, telling, sharing and learning about Black histories in Canada. It’s a month to take hard looks and acknowledge the history of slavery, systemic racism and racial discrimination, anti-Black racism and systemic colonial violence that continues today, including in Canada’s institutions of justice, education and health.
On December 4, the Government of Ontario passed the Safer Streets Stronger Communities Act, legislation that will permanently close vital supervised consumption services in communities across Ontario. At the same time, the government is removing critical harm reduction tools from its new model of care that help save lives, keep used needles off our streets, and allow people to access mental health and addictions services.
To mark this Truth and Reconciliation Day, we recognize truths that remain unheard, and actions that still need to be taken. We’re also celebrating the work currently underway to advance Indigenous health, while calling for increased access to culturally appropriate and safe care to address ongoing health inequities in Indigenous communities all across these lands.
As we celebrate Franco-Ontarian Day today, and all the contributions that Francophones make to the culture and communities across the province, we call for action from Ontario on a provincial Francophone Primary Care Strategy. The health outcomes of thousands of Francophones living in Ontario depend on urgent action to ensure health equity for French speakers in the province.