OCOL - CHAPTER SEVEN: PERFORMANCE REPORT CARD FOR INSTITUTIONS AND SUCCESS STORIES

CHAPTER SEVEN: PERFORMANCE REPORT CARD FOR INSTITUTIONS AND SUCCESS STORIES

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Introduction

This chapter is partly a result of a recommendation by the Senate Standing Committee on Official Languages, which requested that the successes and lapses in the implementation of the Official Languages Act (the Act) be better known. It consists of two main sections.

The first presents an annual report card on the performance of federal institutions. It aims to describe and increase awareness of the activities of certain federal institutions in implementing the Act. At the same time, the Commissioner aims at increasing the accountability these institutions assume for linguistic duality in Canada.

The second, “Showcase of Success Stories”, highlights the contribution of federal councils in advancing official languages in Canada this year. The 2005-2006 exercise also identifies a number of federal institutions that have distinguished themselves by reason of their commitment and initiatives. Finally, the Commissioner pays tribute to a senior federal executive by awarding the Leon Leadership Award for 2005-2006.

Performance report card for federal institutions

This is the second edition of the Commissioner’s Report Card for Federal Institutions. (See tables below.)

Firstly, it should be noted that this year’s report card includes three additional federal institutions. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada now figures in the “Economy,Transport and Security” portfolio, while Social Development Canada and the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation have been included into the “Social, Cultural and Other Institutions” portfolio.

All institutions evaluated last year are still part of the report card in 2005-2006, with the sole exception of the Public Service Commission, which was assessed this year in terms of its coordination and leadership role in the area of appointments to bilingual positions in the public service.³⁰ The scope of the report card will broaden over time to record changes in institutional performance and the degree of commitment of the federal public service to official languages.

Methodology

Performance is measured against 13 basic criteria grouped under five factors. Each basic criterion applies to all institutions subject to the Act, regardless of their respective mandate. The criteria were established following consultations with several stakeholders. A relative weighting has been assigned to each of the 13 criteria to calculate an overall score for each institution. It was also possible to calculate an overall score for all of the institutions according to the factors that were examined. The detailed scoring guide describes the methodology used by analysts to score institutions.

METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS

It is worth noting that the methods used to gather data varied according to the factor being assessed. First, OCOL employees carried out direct field observations to measure the service provided to the public in the language of the linguistic minority: visual active offer, active offer and quality of in-person service and over the telephone. For other factors, our office used other sources of information (interviews, study of relevant documents and analysis of statistical data on the composition of the workforce and its bilingual capacity). In the case of service to the public and equitable participation, greater emphasis was placed on results. In regard to other factors, structural mechanisms, in particular, were examined.

Finally, this performance evaluation looked at a limited number of federal institutions, that is, over 30 out of approximately 200 in total.

PRESENTATION OF RESULTS

The results are presented in a manner that permits quick comparisons between institutions with similar characteristics. The “Economy, Transport and Security” portfolio is presented in the report card, as is the “Social, Cultural and Other Institutions” portfolio.

The results of last year’s evaluation are also shown to highlight changes in institutions’ performance. The results are presented here in summary; more detailed information on the various institutions is presented in fact sheets posted on the OCOL Web site.³¹

The left hand column sets out the evaluation criteria and their relative value. The overall score is a combination of scores for each of the evaluated items. Changes in performance are highlighted in colour for ease of reading.

The emoticons summarize the results
	Exemplary
	Good
	Fair
	Poor
	Very poor

Portfolio: Economy-Transport-Security

PORTFOLIO: ECONOMY — TRANSPORT— SECURITY
Legend: red = decline yellow = improvement	Border Services		Fisheries and Oceans		Public Works		Canada Post
Management	2004-2005	2005-2006	2004-2005	2005-2006	2004-2005	2005-2006	2004-2005	2005-2006
a) An accountability framework, an action plan and accountability mechanisms are in place (5%)
b) Visibility of official languages in the organization (5%)
c) Complaints (5%)
Service to the public - Part IV
a) Bilingual services advertised to the public and sufficient bilingual staff (4%)
b) Findings on active offer and service delivery (15%)
c) The service agreements delivered by third parties or in partnership provide for the delivery of bilingual services (2%)
d) Bilingual services quality monitoring (4%)
Language of Work - Part V
a) Adequate bilingual supervision and language of work policy (12.5%)
b) Establishment of an environment conducive to both official languages (12.5%)
Equitable Participation - Part VI
a) Percentage of Francophone participation throughout Canada (5%)
b) Percentage of Anglophone participation in Quebec (5%)
Development of official language minority communities and promotion of linguistic duality - Part VII
a) Strategic planning and the development of policies and programs take into account the development of minority language communities (12.5%)
b) Strategic planning and the development of policies and programs take into account the promotion of linguistic duality (12.5%)
OVERALL RATING:

PORTFOLIO: ECONOMY — TRANSPORT — SECURITY (cont.)
Legend: red = decline yellow = improvement	Canadian Forces		RCMP		Revenue Agency		Environment
Management	2004-2005	2005-2006	2004-2005	2005-2006	2004-2005	2005-2006	2004-2005	2005-2006
a) An accountability framework, an action plan and accountability mechanisms are in place (5%)
b) Visibility of official languages in the organization (5%)
c) Complaints (5%)
Service to the public - Part IV
a) Bilingual services advertised to the public and sufficient bilingual staff (4%)
b) Findings on active offer and service delivery (15%)
c) The service agreements delivered by third parties or in partnership provide for the delivery of bilingual services (2%)
d) Bilingual services quality monitoring (4%)
Language of Work - Part V
a) Adequate bilingual supervision and language of work policy (12.5%)
b) Establishment of an environment conducive to both official languages (12.5%)
Equitable Participation - Part VI
a) Percentage of Francophone participation throughout Canada (5%)
b) Percentage of Anglophone participation in Quebec (5%)	N/A¹	N/A¹
Development of official language minority communities and promotion of linguistic duality - Part VII
a) Strategic planning and the development of policies and programs take into account the development of minority language communities (12.5%)
b) Strategic planning and the development of policies and programs take into account the promotion of linguistic duality (12.5%)
OVERALL RATING:

PORTFOLIO: ECONOMY —TRANSPORT— SECURITY (cont.)
Legend: red = decline yellow = improvement	Industry		Transport		Passport		Mortgage and Housing
Management	2004-2005	2005-2006	2004-2005	2005-2006	2004-2005	2005-2006	2004-2005	2005-2006
a) An accountability framework, an action plan and accountability mechanisms are in place (5%)
b) Visibility of official languages in the organization (5%)
c) Complaints (5%)
Service to the public - Part IV
a) Bilingual services advertised to the public and sufficient bilingual staff (4%)
b) Findings on active offer and service delivery (15%)
c) The service agreements delivered by third parties or in partnership provide for the delivery of bilingual services (2%)
d) Bilingual services quality monitoring (4%)

Language of Work - Part V
a) Adequate bilingual supervision and language of work policy (12.5%)
b) Establishment of an environment conducive to both official languages (12.5%)

Equitable Participation - Part VI
a) Percentage of Francophone participation throughout Canada (5%)
b) Percentage of Anglophone participation in Quebec (5%)

Development of official language minority communities and promotion of linguistic duality - Part VII
a) Strategic planning and the development of policies and programs take into account the development of minority language communities (12.5%)
b) Strategic planning and the development of policies and programs take into account the promotion of linguistic duality (12.5%)
OVERALL RATING:

PORTFOLIO: ECONOMY — TRANSPORT— SECURITY (cont.)
Legend: red = decline yellow = improvement	Air Transport Security Authority		Business Development Bank		Food Inspection Agency		NAV CANADA
Management	2004-2005	2005-2006	2004-2005	2005-2006	2004-2005	2005-2006	2004-2005	2005-2006
a) An accountability framework, an action plan and accountability mechanisms are in place (5%)
b) Visibility of official languages in the organization (5%)
c) Complaints (5%)
Service to the public - Part IV
a) Bilingual services advertised to the public and sufficient bilingual staff (4%)
b) Findings on active offer and service delivery (15%)
c) The service agreements delivered by third parties or in partnership provide for the delivery of bilingual services (2%)
d) Bilingual services quality monitoring (4%)
Language of Work - Part V
a) Adequate bilingual supervision and language of work policy (12.5%)
b) Establishment of an environment conducive to both official languages (12.5%)
Equitable Participation - Part VI
a) Percentage of Francophone participation throughout Canada (5%)
b) Percentage of Anglophone participation in Quebec (5%)	N/A²	N/A²
Development of official language minority communities and promotion of linguistic duality - Part VII
a) Strategic planning and the development of policies and programs take into account the development of minority language communities (12.5%)
b) Strategic planning and the development of policies and programs take into account the promotion of linguistic duality (12.5%)
OVERALL RATING:

PORTFOLIO: ECONOMY —TRANSPORT— SECURITY (cont.)
Legend: red = decline yellow = improvement = not assessed in 2004-2005	Tourism Commission		VIA Rail		Macdonald-Cartier Airport		Agriculture and Agri-Food
Management	2004-2005	2005-2006	2004-2005	2005-2006	2004-2005	2005-2006	2004-2005	2005-2006
a) An accountability framework, an action plan and accountability mechanisms are in place (5%)
b) Visibility of official languages in the organization (5%)
c) Complaints (5%)
Service to the public - Part IV
a) Bilingual services advertised to the public and sufficient bilingual staff (4%)
b) Findings on active offer and service delivery (15%)
c) The service agreements delivered by third parties or in partnership provide for the delivery of bilingual services (2%)
d) Bilingual services quality monitoring (4%)
Language of Work - Part V
a) Adequate bilingual supervision and language of work policy (12.5%)
b) Establishment of an environment conducive to both official languages (12.5%)
Equitable Participation - Part VI
a) Percentage of Francophone participation throughout Canada (5%)
b) Percentage of Anglophone participation in Quebec (5%)	N/A²	N/A²			N/A²	N/A²
Development of official language minority communities and promotion of linguistic duality - Part VII
a) Strategic planning and the development of policies and programs take into account the development of minority language communities (12.5%)					N/A³	N/A³
b) Strategic planning and the development of policies and programs take into account the promotion of linguistic duality (12.5%)					N/A³	N/A³
OVERALL RATING:

Portfolio: Social-Cultural-Other Institutions

PORTFOLIO: SOCIAL — CULTURAL — OTHER INSTITUTIONS
Legend: red = decline yellow = improvement = not assessed in 2004-2005	Health		Human Resources		Social Development		CBC/Radio-Canada
Management	2004-2005	2005-2006	2004-2005	2005-2006	2004-2005	2005-2006	2004-2005	2005-2006
a) An accountability framework, an action plan and accountability mechanisms are in place (5%)
b) Visibility of official languages in the organization (5%)
c) Complaints (5%)
Service to the public - Part IV
a) Bilingual services advertised to the public and sufficient bilingual staff (4%)
b) Findings on active offer and service delivery (15%)
c) The service agreements delivered by third parties or in partnership provide for the delivery of bilingual services (2%)
d) Bilingual services quality monitoring (4%)
Language of Work - Part V
a) Adequate bilingual supervision and language of work policy (12.5%)
b) Establishment of an environment conducive to both official languages (12.5%)
Equitable Participation - Part VI
a) Percentage of Francophone participation throughout Canada (5%)
b) Percentage of Anglophone participation in Quebec (5%)
Development of official language minority communities and promotion of linguistic duality - Part VII
a) Strategic planning and the development of policies and programs take into account the development of minority language communities (12.5%)
b) Strategic planning and the development of policies and programs take into account the promotion of linguistic duality (12.5%)
OVERALL RATING:

PORTFOLIO: SOCIAL — CULTURAL — OTHER INSTITUTIONS (cont.)
Legend: red = decline yellow = improvement	Citizenship and Immigration		Statistics		Parks		National Arts Centre
Management	2004-2005	2005-2006	2004-2005	2005-2006	2004-2005	2005-2006	2004-2005	2005-2006
a) An accountability framework, an action plan and accountability mechanisms are in place (5%)
b) Visibility of official languages in the organization (5%)
c) Complaints (5%)
Service to the public - Part IV
a) Bilingual services advertised to the public and sufficient bilingual staff (4%)
b) Findings on active offer and service delivery (15%)
c) The service agreements delivered by third parties or in partnership provide for the delivery of bilingual services (2%)
d) Bilingual services quality monitoring (4%)
Language of Work - Part V
a) Adequate bilingual supervision and language of work policy (12.5%)
b) Establishment of an environment conducive to both official languages (12.5%)
Equitable Participation - Part VI
a) Percentage of Francophone participation throughout Canada (5%)
b) Percentage of Anglophone participation in Quebec (5%)							N/A²	N/A²
Development of official language minority communities and promotion of linguistic duality - Part VII
a) Strategic planning and the development of policies and programs take into account the development of minority language communities (12.5%)
b) Strategic planning and the development of policies and programs take into account the promotion of linguistic duality (12.5%)
OVERALL RATING:

PORTFOLIO: SOCIAL — CULTURAL — OTHER INSTITUTIONS (cont.)
Legend: red = decline yellow = improvement = not assessed in 2004-2005	National Capital Commission		National Film Board		Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation		Overall Average
Management	2004-2005	2005-2006	2004-2005	2005-2006	2004-2005	2005-2006	2004-2005	2005-2006
a) An accountability framework, an action plan and accountability mechanisms are in place (5%)							70%	73%
b) Visibility of official languages in the organization (5%)
c) Complaints (5%)
Service to the public - Part IV
a) Bilingual services advertised to the public and sufficient bilingual staff (4%)							62%	61%
b) Findings on active offer and service delivery (15%)
c) The service agreements delivered by third parties or in partnership provide for the delivery of bilingual services (2%)
d) Bilingual services quality monitoring (4%)
Language of Work - Part V
a) Adequate bilingual supervision and language of work policy (12.5%)							65%	69%
b) Establishment of an environment conducive to both official languages (12.5%)							65%	69%
Equitable Participation - Part VI
a) Percentage of Francophone participation throughout Canada (5%)							83%	83%
b) Percentage of Anglophone participation in Quebec (5%)	N/A²	N/A²				N/A²	83%	83%
Development of official language minority communities and promotion of linguistic duality - Part VII
a) Strategic planning and the development of policies and programs take into account the development of minority language communities (12.5%)							74%	78%
b) Strategic planning and the development of policies and programs take into account the promotion of linguistic duality (12.5%)							74%	78%
OVERALL RATING:							69%	71%

N/A ¹ Given that members of the Canadian Forces are very mobile, the representation of both language groups will not correspond to provincial demographical statistics.

N/A² No staff in Quebec (excluding NCR)

N/A³ Part VII of the Act does not apply to the Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport Authority

FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS

General findings

An analysis of the report card allows the overall institutional performance to be rated according to the factors examined:

Program management – Overall, institutions obtained a performance rating of 73%, deemed “fair”. A slightly higher mark would place them in the category of "good."
Service to the public – Institutions obtained a collective grade of 61%, barely attaining the “fair” category. This disappointing result may indicate why the offer and availability of bilingual service to the Canadian public, in person or over the telephone, is not improving. This issue is discussed later in this chapter.
Language of work – Institutions registered a grade of 69% for their efforts to reach their language-of-work objectives. This performance is considered "fair."
Equitable participation – With respect to equitable participation, the institutions earned a “good” performance of 83%.
Development of official language communities and promotion of equal status of English and French – Institutions obtained an overall performance grade of “good”. Their rating of 78% is partly explained by the fact that 15 of the 31 institutions evaluated were already required to develop an action plan and report on these matters to Canadian Heritage. Thus, they were better prepared in terms of the evaluation criteria used. Emphasis must now be placed on results, following the adoption of Bill S-3, which mandates federal institutions to take positive steps to contribute to the development of communities and the promotion of linguistic duality in Canadian society.

In light of these general findings, the Commissioner believes that it is useful to examine more closely the two factors registering the poorest institutional performance, namely, service to the public and language of work.

Grading of performance factors
Exemplary	90-100%
Good	75-89%
Fair	60-74%
Poor	45-59%
Very Poor	44% and less

Service to the public

Bilingual capacity

Obviously, an essential element in offering good service is adequate bilingual capacity on the part of employees in federal institutions.

This year, the Commissioner asked all institutions being evaluated to provide data on the bilingual capacity of staff designated to offer bilingual service directly to the public. Most did so, but some were unable to, which casts doubt on their ability to serve the public properly and meet their linguistic obligations.

In addition to ensuring bilingual capacity, institutions must take additional measures to guarantee and respect the equality of English and French in service delivery. For example, ongoing monitoring of the quality of bilingual service should be more anchored in the culture of the federal public service. Too often, the outcomes of bilingual service are not evaluated and staff and managers responsible for service delivery are not sufficiently accountable. The same can be said of services delivered by third parties or in partnership. Finally, with a few exceptions, field observations of in-person service have not shown significant improvements this year.³²

Active Offer

Active offer requires those delivering services to indicate to members of the public (verbally, visually and otherwise) that they can address employees and receive services in both official languages. Employees must ensure that the public is comfortable in dealing with federal institutions in the language of their choice.

An analysis of data collected during this evaluation confirms yet again that the active offer of bilingual services is not yet truly part of the service culture of organizations. In fact, active offer in person is practiced less than one time in four. The situation is scarcely better in terms of other forms of active offer.³³ Institutions subject to the Act must ensure that staff assigned to serve the public is properly trained in providing active offer and is evaluated for compliance.

On a regional basis, our observations show that visual active offer has clearly declined in Quebec. In the National Capital Region, visual and active offer seem to also have lost some ground. Results concerning active offer by staff are also not encouraging in Prince Edward Island and Alberta, for example.

"IT’S TIME TO MOVE FROM A STANDARD OF ROUTINE SERVICE TO A CULTURE OF SERVICE EXCELLENCE" ³⁴ [TRANSLATION]

In-person service

Overall, observations by the Office of the Commissioner show that in-person service has not really improved over the last year. Nationally, it is estimated again this year that service delivery in the minority official language is adequate three times out of four. This finding leads the Commissioner to conclude that the quality of bilingual services offered to the public at the national level is stagnating.³⁵

The following table shows the results of observations by province and territory, as well as last year’s results for comparison. For each evaluated item, the left-hand figure shows the number of successful observations, and the right-hand figure shows the total number of observations.³⁶

Region	Visual Active Offer		Active Offer by Staff		Adequate Service
Table 1 Results by region: Observations on in-person service
Region	2004-2005	2005-2006	2004-2005	2005-2006	2004-2005	2005-2006
N.L.	3/5	10/12	1/5	5/12	3/5	4/12
N.S.	9/18	15/24	5/18	4/24	10/18	12/24
P.E.I.	7/8	10/17	0/8	1/17	3/8	8/17
N.B.	25/26	32/36	7/26	8/36	24/26	30/36
Quebec	40/50	30/73	10/50	7/73	40/50	44/73
NCR	22/23	28/39	16/23	15/39	23/23	30/39
Ontario	44/58	50/74	15/58	19/74	37/58	42/74
Manitoba	10/13	16/23	2/13	11/23	4/13	13/23
Saskatchewan	13/14	22/28	4/14	15/28	7/14	15/28
N.W.T.	2/6	2/4	0/6	1/4	3/6	2/4
Alberta	16/22	10/21	3/22	2/21	17/22	10/21
B.C.	15/21	16/25	3/21	8/25	17/21	18/25
Yukon	2/3	4/6	0/3	2/6	2/3	5/6

What about service delivery over the telephone? The following table shows results for services delivered over the telephone in each province and territory.³⁷

Region	Active Offer	Adequate Service
Table 2 Results by region: Observations on telephone service
N.L.	9/10	4/10
N.S.	18/25	18/25
P.E.I.	12/16	11/16
N.B.	31/33	31/33
Quebec	43/74	59/74
NCR	32/37	31/37
Ontario	59/75	56/75
Manitoba	11/20	12/20
Saskatchewan	14/28	17/28
N.W.T.	2/4	2/4
Alberta	14/22	16/22
B.C.	19/29	16/29
Yukon	3/6	4/6

New Brunswick stands out in terms of active offer and delivering service over the telephone in the minority official language. Newfoundland and Labrador also garners a positive review for actively offering service in both official languages. However, this latter province must ensure that it has sufficient infrastructure to deliver the expected service in the minority official language.

The mediocre performance in some provinces is disappointing. After all, many of the telephone lines checked were answered by an automated system or an answering machine. Yet, it would be so simple to set up bilingual messages. Officers from the Office of the Commissioner even found that some telephone numbers advertised as offering bilingual service turned out to be unilingual lines offering services only in the language of the majority.

For the Commissioner, this is an area of zero tolerance. Promoting the equality of English and French necessarily requires appropriate advertising of office addresses and telephone numbers where services of equal quality are offered in the official language of choice.

POUR UN SERVICE EN ANGLAIS...

Language of Work

The Commissioner’s earlier studies³⁸ clearly show that technical measures—such as offering workplace documents in both languages or providing language training for managers and supervisors who do not meet the linguistic requirements of their positions—are not enough. Strong leadership is needed to create a culture of respect for and acceptance of the linguistic values that lie at the heart of the Official Languages Act. The study on language of work in the National Capital Region showed that English often prevails in both verbal and written communications, mainly because many supervisors lack adequate French language skills, leading to an organizational culture in which working in English is a well-established habit. On the other hand, in bilingual regions in Quebec, French dominates as the language of work in departments, except for Crown corporations, where a higher proportion of employees are English-speaking than in government departments, and the use of both languages is more evenly balanced.

It is encouraging to see that almost all departments evaluated have improved the bilingual capacity of senior management. At Passport Canada, however, only 60% of senior managers in bilingual positions meet the linguistic requirements of their positions. This institution has much catching up to do.

Another positive finding is that the bilingual capacity of supervisors in bilingual regions has improved, with over half of all institutions recording progress in this area. The situation has remained stable for some institutions, and three show a slight decrease. The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority has slipped in this area. Another promising finding: some institutions are following up more closely on the linguistic skills of supervisors in bilingual positions.

However, efforts must continue to encourage the effective use of both languages and promote the equality of English and French in the workplace. Senior management plays a central role in enforcing the right of staff to work in the official language of their choice. This requires that senior officials put into effect mechanisms to evaluate the implementation of a language-of-work policy, just as they would do for any other program, and hold public service employees accountable.

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF INSTITUTIONAL PERFORMANCE

On the whole, the data gathered (see tables above) for this evaluation leads to the conclusion that there is a slight shift in the right direction. Nine institutions saw their overall grade climb to a higher category, while three saw their grades fall.

Statistics Canada deserves to be cited for its “exemplary” performance. This is in no small part due to the attentive leadership of Chief Statistician Dr. Ivan Fellegi, who was the first recipient of the Leon Leadership Award created by the Commissioner at the beginning of her mandate.

Thirteen other institutions received an overall score of “good”, including, for the first time, Health Canada, the Business Development Bank of Canada and the Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport. However, CBC/Radio-Canada, which was ranked "good" last year, was downgraded this year. This year, Fisheries and Oceans and Public Works and Government Services Canada join the ranks of "poorly" performing institutions.

Program Management

Gains in program management achieved by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Health Canada and the Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport deserve mention. On the other hand, Public Works and Government Services Canada has lost ground. It is worth mentioning that the Office of the Commissioner conducted an audit of program management in that Department this year. It revealed that the Department must show stronger leadership if it hopes to improve its performance in this regard.

Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Health Canada
Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport

Service to the Public

Regarding service to the public, Transport Canada, Statistics Canada and Human Resources and Skills Development Canada have made progress, while Canada Post and the CBC/Radio-Canada have slipped. It is disappointing to see the very poor results posted by Public Works and Government Services Canada and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

Transport Canada
Statistics Canada
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada

Language of Work

The following institutions have taken further initiatives to create a workplace conducive to the use of both languages: Parks Canada, Statistics Canada, Health Canada, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport and Transport Canada. The results are less encouraging at Public Works and Government Services Canada and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Parks Canada
Statistics Canada
Health Canada
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport
Transport Canada

The case of National Defence deserves mention. For several decades, successive commissioners have been noting in their investigations and annual reports the mediocre performance of this institution regarding language of work. Yet again this year, the Commissioner has found poor performance in the use of both official languages at Department Headquarters in Ottawa.³⁹ It is time for this institution to roll up its sleeves and move beyond the planning stage. It should aim for full implementation of the Act.

Development of Official Language Communities and Promotion of Equality of English and French

The Official Languages Act and the Accountability Framework on Official Languages impose obligations in terms of development of official language minority communities and promotion of equality of English and French in Canadian society. Institutions subject to the Act are required, among other obligations, to ensure that their strategic planning, policy-making and program development processes take this commitment into account. Institutions joining the “exemplary” category are: the National Capital Commission, Parks Canada and Human Resources and Skills Development Canada.

National Capital Commission
Parks Canada
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada

In conclusion, the following institutions show the most improvement over the previous year: Transport Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport. The Commissioner congratulates these institutions and encourages them to keep up the good work.

Transport Canada
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport

Showcase of success stories for 2005-2006

LEON LEADERSHIP AWARD FOR 2005-2006

As has been the practice for the last few years, the Commissioner solicited nominations for an award recognizing the head of an institution in the federal public service who stands out in the area of leadership on official languages. After reviewing the nominations, the Commissioner is pleased to award the Leon Leadership Award for 2005-2006 to Mr. Alan Latourelle, Director General, Parks Canada Agency.

Since Mr. Latourelle assumed his position in 2002, the Agency has made considerable efforts to integrate both official languages fully in its operations and to promote Canada’s linguistic duality.

Despite its status as a separate employer, the Parks Canada Agency has retained all Treasury Board policies, which are well ingrained in the organization’s culture. Under Mr. Latourelle’s leadership, the Agency has even adopted two directives that go beyond public service requirements. It is the policy of Parks Canada that all PCX (or EX equivalent) positions be designated bilingual in every region of the country. The Agency also uses imperative staffing for all PCX positions in regions designated bilingual for language of work.

Meetings of the Executive Committee take place in both official languages, since all participants have the language skills required. Monthly meetings of senior agency managers, chaired by Mr. Latourelle and involving some 75 people, are always held in both official languages. This style of chairmanship creates a climate conducive to the use of both official languages within the Agency.

Parks Canada systematically surveys visitors to gauge their satisfaction and to evaluate the availability and quality of services in both official languages.

In addition, at the Minister’s round table—a biannual public consultation of national stakeholders and partners—the Agency proactively ensures significant participation by organizations representing both of Canada’s linguistic communities.

Under Mr. Latourelle’s leadership, the Agency has taken many initiatives to promote Canada’s linguistic duality. One such initiative is “Parks Canada in schools”, a program designed to provide teachers throughout the country with course materials concerning protected heritage areas managed by the agency. Parks Canada also seized the opportunity of the 400th anniversary of the arrival of French settlers in Canada in 2004 to create a lesson plan for high-school students in order to encourage greater knowledge of individuals, events and places of national historic importance related to the French presence in Canada.

Leon

The Commissioner congratulates Mr. Latourelle for his leadership in creating a culture of respect of linguistic duality within his organization and seeking to promote this value throughout Canadian society.

SUCCESS STORIES FOR 2005-2006

1) Federal councils

Federal councils are comprised of senior departmental officials from federal departments and institutions in regions. This year, the Commissioner salutes their work and their heightened interest for official languages. For about six years, federal councils have played a more dominant leadership role in the provision of integrated and improved services. The Commissioner also wants to highlight the important role the councils play in the horizontal governance of official languages.⁴⁰

Pacific Federal Council

The Official Languages Committee of the Pacific Federal Council produced a bilingual DVD, titled Employee Orientation to Official Languages in British Columbia. This tool, intended for both new and existing staff, includes a history of the Francophone community in British Columbia and addresses the role of central agencies in the area of official languages while illustrating what active offer of service in English and French means. Four hundred copies of the DVD were distributed in departments and agencies in British Columbia.

Last year, the Committee also produced a mouse pad showing a few basic expressions in English and French, along with a pronunciation guide for the main phrases used in active offer of service. Three other federal councils have adopted the same concept. The mouse pad was so successful that an identity card displaying several of the same phrases was also designed. Twenty thousand cards were distributed in British Columbia for federal government employees.

The Official Languages Committee of the Pacific Federal Council also sponsors on-line, Internet based learning maintenance courses. Four courses allowed 25 participants to update their knowledge of French. The courses are designed for employees who work shifts, who often travel on business or who live in areas where no courses are offered. This pilot project, open to employees across Western Canada, was made possible thanks to the Regional Partnership Fund of the Public Service Human Resources Management Agency of Canada.

New Brunswick Federal Council

The Official Languages Committee of the New Brunswick Federal Council organized the first Official Languages Week in the province. Celebrating the value of official languages, under the theme “Official Languages, Our Treasure”, the week’s events dealt with the obligations and rights of public servants regarding language of service and language of work. This activity helped over 500 federal public servants from across the province gain a better understanding of the Official Languages Act and the tools at their disposal.

Alberta Federal Council

In November 2005, the Alberta Federal Council organized a lunch event to set up a network of program officers in several departments with a mandate to support the Francophone community. The aim was to share information, improve understanding of each officer’s programs and create personal contacts to help departments offering funding programs comply with section 41 of the Official Languages Act.

Quebec Federal Council

The Quebec Federal Council created a recognition program to reward the most exemplary contributions of federal public servants in Quebec in the area of official languages. In 2005, the Federal Council awarded its first prize to Ms. Élisabeth Châtillon, former Deputy Commissioner of the Canada Revenue Agency for the Quebec Region, for her initiative, entitled “Quality Management System – Official Languages”. This innovative project promotes the use of both languages in the workplace and also raises awareness of the values of linguistic duality and respect for others. Other institutions, such as Citizenship and Immigration Canada and Transport Canada, have developed a similar model and adapted it to their own setting.

Nova Scotia Federal Council

The Nova Scotia Federal Council, together with a number of departments and agencies, is offering interdepartmental sessions for learning retention and introduction to conversational French in Halifax-Dartmouth and Sydney. The learning retention sessions are designed for individuals with a valid B or C level in oral interaction, while the introduction to French sessions are designed for those with a basic knowledge of spoken French. One hundred and fifty one employees from both federal and provincial levels of government registered for the Fall/Winter 2005-2006 sessions.

Ontario Federal Council

The Ontario Federal Council held its first Forum on Official Languages last January 23 and 24 at Niagara-on-the-Lake. Nearly 80 attendees from different organizations and departments throughout the province took part in numerous activities, including: conferences, a discussion with the leaders of various activity sectors, and a session on best practices. Forum results will lead to the development of recommendations aimed at highlighting official languages in Ontario.

Manitoba Federal Council

The Société franco-manitobaine, the provincial French Language Services Secretariat and the Manitoba Federal Council jointly created the Prix Ronald-Duhamel, to be awarded annually to a public servant or team of public servants in a federal or provincial organization that distinguish themselves in promoting the vitality of Manitoba’s Francophone community. The partners awarded the prize for the first time at Les Rendez-vous de la Francophonie, in March 2006, to Edmond Labossière (provincial government representative) and Mike Styre (federal government representative) for their contribution to the establishment of the Bilingual Services Centres in Manitoba.

Newfoundland and Labrador Federal Council

The Official Languages Committee of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federal Council collaborated with Service Canada and several other federal departments on an initiative that established a Service Canada mobile office for Francophones of the Port-au-Port Peninsula. Thus, a few days a week, the citizens of Black Duck Brook, Mainland and Cape St. George receive federal government services in their language, in their own community. It is interesting that this service came about from a community consultation held in 2003.

2) Federal Institutions

The Commissioner congratulates certain institutions that have shown leadership in different aspects of the implementation of the Official Languages Act. Here are the Success Stories for 2005-2006.

Canada Revenue Agency

A Tax Services Office in the Quebec Region found a way to help its auditors work in English in order to retain their learning. Every year, under an agreement with the Toronto Centre office, the Eastern Quebec office audits a number of major files from the Toronto Region. Auditors thus have an opportunity to improve their oral communication in their second language in the areas of tax, audit and accounting.

In addition, the Toronto East Tax Services Office created a French Toastmasters Club to help employees in bilingual positions maintain their language skills. The club encourages participation by bilingual employees from other government offices located in Scarborough, and had 17 members in the winter of 2006.

For its part, the Pacific Regional Office helped design a new promotional brochure for the Association francoyukonnaise by translating material from French to English. The bilingual brochure helps the Association in its efforts to raise awareness of the presence and achievements of the Francophone community in the territory.

In addition, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Fédération des Francophones de la Colombie-Britannique, the Agency provided translation of a souvenir booklet to support the federation in promoting this project.

Canadian Food Inspection Agency

The official languages team at the Atlantic Operations Centre launched a language training and development program related to succession planning within the organization. The Centre was able to create a pool of fully bilingual candidates who will be ready to apply for bilingual positions in future. That initiative was made possible thanks to the support of the Agency’s Development Fund.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has also invested considerable resources in improving its employees’ skills in official languages. In particular, the Agency developed and implemented a language training program to support employees who wished to improve their skills in their second official language. A number of employees have taken advantage of the program and the Agency has observed significant growth in demand.

Natural Resources Canada

The Minerals and Metal Sector of Natural Resources Canada offers an internal language training program to encourage daily, continuous use of the second language and improve the linguistic capacity of staff. The program also offers a range of other services, such as coaching for employees who give speeches or presentations in their second language, workshops on a variety of topics, and private lessons. The sector also organizes cultural activities throughout the year, especially as part of Les Rendez-vous de la Francophonie. All staff are eligible, regardless of classification, language profile or job linguistic requirements. This year, the program is delivering four 10 week sessions to close to 200 employees.

Canadian Heritage

Canadian Heritage developed an on-line tool entitled “Making Your Organization Bilingual”, which encourages and helps volunteer, privateand public-sector organizations offer bilingual services. Through this Web site, Canadian Heritage fosters the exchange of best practices. This tool is currently being promoted across the country.

3) Encouraging initiatives in other sectors of Canadian society

The Commissioner also wishes to congratulate the organizations and governments that distinguished themselves throughout the year through their special efforts or innovative measures in official languages.

A modern look for Saskatchewan’s francophonie Saskatchewan has given itself a major promotional strategy, whose objective is to make the province’s francophonie better known, both to the French-speaking population and the majority. A coalition of private, government and community-based organizations has been established with a view to promoting a dynamic, inclusive and modern image of the French language and culture in Saskatchewan. Grouping representatives of the Francophone population and as well as the community at large, the Coalition hopes to increase the participation by the citizens of this province in all facets of the francophonie, whether it be first- or second-language education or in the number of activities that are held within the French-speaking community. Last March in Saskatoon, the Coalition launched its five-year campaign, named Francofièvre, in front of a crowd of 1,400 young students from the province’s immersion and French schools.

Francophone immigration in Manitoba: It’s everyone’s business

Manitoba Premier Gary Doer and Finance Minister Greg Selinger joined a Franco-Manitoban economic mission to Alsace, France, last year. In total, more than 75 people from all sectors took part in this delegation—funded by the federal and provincial governments—that aimed at achieving concrete results for the community. The Franco-Manitoban community has since witnessed a tangible increase in Francophone immigration within the province’s business sector and expanded co-operation with that region of France with respect to early childhood and health services in French. Francophone immigration remains at the forefront and continues to make progress, which is a sign of this community’s vitality.

Sherbrooke Police Service

Following the merger in 2002 of the city of Sherbrooke and neighbouring municipalities such as Lennoxville (which includes a sizeable Anglophone community), 30 Sherbrooke police officers volunteered to sign up for English courses. This laudable initiative will allow the Sherbrooke Police Service to offer better service in English to the region’s Anglophone population.

Community Partnership in Manitoba

The Manitoba Federal Council, the provincial French Language Services Secretariat and the Société francomanitobaine organized a federal provincial-community forum on Manitoba’s Francophone community in March 2006 as part of the Rendez-vous de la francophonie. This forum, entitled ConverGence : Mieux se connaître pour mieux travailler ensemble, was designed to enlist public servants in changing their organization culture to meet the linguistic obligations of their respective governments. The forum facilitated dialogue between public servants and community representatives and helped explore new mechanisms for collaboration.

Municipalities Make Progress on Languages

As many stores in regions with Francophone majorities have no French signage, three Eastern Ontario municipalities, Clarence-Rockland, Casselman and La Nation, adopted municipal bylaws this year requiring new businesses opening in their jurisdictions to post signs in both official languages, giving English and French equal prominence.

Last August, the City of Montréal, in its role of World Book Capital 2005, appointed English-speaking journalist Josh Freed its Ambassador, in recognition of the cultural contribution of its English-speaking population. In September, following a special agreement between Ontario and Quebec municipalities, the annual congress of the Association française des municipalités de l’Ontario (AFMO) took place both in Kirkland Lake, Ontario and Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec. The congress discussions focused on “Conventions Without Borders: Common Challenges”, and included, among other things, the promotion of economic and cultural development in official language communities and a study of concrete steps to take to publish bylaws in English and French.

Laskin Moot Court Competition: Partnership between the Association des juristes d’expression française du Manitoba and the University of Manitoba

In February 2006, teaming up with the Association des juristes d’expression française du Manitoba, the University of Manitoba participated for the first time in the Laskin Moot Court Competition. This national moot competition, focusing on constitutional law, is open to Canadian law students. Every year, almost all law schools (including both civil and common law) participate in the moot. As part of this prestigious competition, all teams are required to provide teams to plead in both official languages. Renowned judges and lawyers also participate in the competition.

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