Community development in English-speaking communities in Québec: lessons learned from a participatory action research project INSTITUT NATIONAL DE SANTÉ PUBLIQUE DU QUÉBEC Community development in English-speaking communities in Québec: lessons learned from a participatory action research project Développement des individus et des communautés January 2014 AUTHORS Mary Richardson, PhD, Anthropologist Institut national de santé publique du Québec Shirley Jobson, research professional Institut national de santé publique du Québec Joëlle Gauvin-Racine, research professional Institut national de santé publique du Québec REVIEW COMMITTEE Cheryl Gosselin, Professor Bishop’s University Jennifer Johnson, Executive Director Community Health and Social Services Network Kit Malo Centre for Community Organizations Lorraine O’Donnell Québec English-Speaking Communities Research Network (Concordia University and Canadian Institute for Research on Linguistic Minorities) Louis Poirier, Chef d’unité Institut national de santé publique du Québec Paule Simard, Chercheure Institut national de santé publique du Québec Normand Trempe, Project coordinator Institut national de santé publique du Québec ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project was instigated by the Community Health and Social Services Network (CHSSN) and received financial support from Health Canada. We also wish to acknowledge the valuable comments and suggestions made by the review committee. Ce document est disponible intégralement en format électronique (PDF) sur le site Web de l’Institut national de santé publique du Québec au : http://www.inspq.qc.ca. Les reproductions à des fins d’étude privée ou de recherche sont autorisées en vertu de l’article 29 de la Loi sur le droit d’auteur. Toute autre utilisation doit faire l’objet d’une autorisation du gouvernement du Québec qui détient les droits exclusifs de propriété intellectuelle sur ce document. Cette autorisation peut être obtenue en formulant une demande au guichet central du Service de la gestion des droits d’auteur des Publications du Québec à l’aide d’un formulaire en ligne accessible à l’adresse suivante : http://www.droitauteur.gouv.qc.ca/autorisation.php, ou en écrivant un courriel à : [email protected]. Les données contenues dans le document peuvent être citées, à condition d’en mentionner la source. er DÉPÔT LÉGAL – 1 TRIMESTRE 2014 BIBLIOTHÈQUE ET ARCHIVES NATIONALES DU QUÉBEC BIBLIOTHÈQUE ET ARCHIVES CANADA ISBN : 978-2-550-69831-9 (FRENCH PRINTED VERSION) ISBN : 978-2-550-69832-6 (FRENCH PDF) ISBN : 978-2-550-69852-4 (PRINTED VERSION) ISBN : 978-2-550-69853-1 (PDF) ©Gouvernement du Québec (2014) Community development in English-speaking communities in Québec: lessons learned from a participatory action research project TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................. III LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................ V LIST OF ACRONYMS ......................................................................................................... VII INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 1 1 PROJECT BACKGROUND ............................................................................................ 3 1.1 A collaboration with the Community Health and Social Services Network ............. 3 1.2 A project on community development .................................................................... 5 1.3 English-speaking communities in Québec: an overview ........................................ 6 1.4 Adding nuance to common perceptions ................................................................ 9 2 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK .................................................................................... 11 2.1 Community development and public health ......................................................... 11 2.2 The concept of community .................................................................................. 12 3 APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY ............................................................................ 15 3.1 Participatory action research ............................................................................... 15 3.2 Community portraits as a participatory method ................................................... 16 3.3 Selecting communities ........................................................................................ 18 3.4 The process and data collection techniques ........................................................ 19 3.5 Analysis .............................................................................................................. 20 4 FINDINGS ..................................................................................................................... 23 4.1 Six English-speaking communities: portraits of diversity...................................... 23 4.1.1 Bonne-Espérance: three remote villages near the Labrador border ........ 24 4.1.2 Sept-Îles, or “Seven Islands” to a small English-speaking population ..... 28 4.1.3 New Carlisle: a historic community on the Baie-des-Chaleurs ................ 30 4.1.4 Sutton: a shifting English-speaking population in the Eastern Townships .............................................................................................. 35 4.1.5 Laval: a young, diverse and growing English-speaking population ......... 37 4.1.6 St-Léonard: a Montréal borough with a strong Italian community ........... 40 4.1.7 Cross-case observations ........................................................................ 42 4.2 Community portraits as a participatory action research method .......................... 43 4.2.1 Forms of participation ............................................................................. 43 4.2.2 Benefits to communities ......................................................................... 45 4.2.3 Actions being taken ................................................................................ 46 4.3 Lessons on community development in English-speaking communities in Québec ............................................................................................................... 47 4.3.1 Community means different things to different people ............................ 47 4.3.2 Being a minority means different things in different contexts .................. 49 4.3.3 Territory has a different meaning for minority groups .............................. 49 4.3.4 English-speaking communities in Québec are diverse ............................ 50 4.3.5 Despite this diversity, community hubs are often similar ......................... 50 Institut national de santé publique du Québec I Community development in English-speaking communities in Québec: lessons learned from a participatory action research project 4.3.6 Community organizations are central in community development .......... 50 4.3.7 English speakers in Québec have different health and social service needs than the French-speaking majority............................................... 50 4.3.8 Socio-economic disparities are greater among English than French speakers ................................................................................................ 51 4.3.9 Community development strategies must be adapted to these realities .................................................................................................. 51 4.3.10 Capacity building must benefit a broader community of practice ............ 52 4.3.11 Summary ............................................................................................... 52 5 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................. 55 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................. 59 II Institut national de santé publique du Québec Community development in English-speaking communities in Québec: lessons learned from a participatory action research project LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Networking and Partnership Initiatives (regional networks) .............................. 4 Table 2 Communities selected for the community portrait process ............................. 19 Table 3 Overview of the six communities ................................................................... 23 Table 4 Focus group discussions held at the forums .................................................. 38 Institut national de santé publique du Québec III Community development in English-speaking communities in Québec: lessons learned from a participatory action research project LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Changes in the size of the English-speaking population (FOLS) ..................... 7 Figure 2 Changes in the proportion of the English-speaking population (FOLS) by region, 1996-2006 .......................................................................... 8 Figure 3 A typical community development process .................................................... 17 Figure 4 Participation in the action–research project ................................................... 18 Figure 5 The locations of the six communities involved in the project (map 1) ............. 24 Figure 6 Lower North Shore (map 2) ........................................................................... 25 Figure 7 Educational