III. Audit objectives and legislative framework
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IT&E is the system that provides accreditation in over 150 military occupations to military members, allowing them to be deployed in a military conflict anywhere in the world. Every military member, whether assigned to administrative duties in Ottawa or as an instructor at a training establishment, must be accredited in a military profession or field. From an official languages standpoint, if this system were to fail and not meet the requirements of the Official Languages Act, it could negatively impact the advancement opportunities of military members and their capacity to exercise their rights with regard to language of work for the duration of their career.
Therefore, the CF should ensure that IT&E is not only delivered at the right time and the right place, but also in accordance with the objectives of the Act. It is clear that, to meet language of work requirements and provide equitable access to advancement and employment to military members, IT&E should be accessible in the participant’s official language of choice.
For this reason, the audit focused on Parts V and VI of the Act. In Part V, the Act requires federal institutions to create a work environment conducive to the effective use of both official languages in the National Capital Region and in designated regions. Section 36 stipulates that personal and central services must be provided in both official languages in all locations set out by the Act. To take into account the unique character of the CF within the federal government and the CF’s special training, assignment and employment system, the CF established the CF Unit Designation Framework to meet its language of work requirements. This framework provides for English language units (ELUs), French language units (FLUs) and bilingual units (BUs). The ELUs offer Anglophones the opportunity to work in their first official language; FLUs offer Francophones the opportunity to work in French; and BUs, located anywhere in Canada, use both English and French as their language of work. Examples of BUs are CF training establishments. With respect to the definition of personal services, the CF indicated that it must be able to lead, train and manage its personnel in both official languages. Training in one’s own language is considered a right. Therefore, training establishments are required to have training capacity in both official languages.
To comply with Part VI, Anglophones and Francophones must not encounter any obstacles to their employment and advancement in federal institutions. Therefore, the CF must ensure that there are no systemic barriers to the employment and advancement of Anglophones and Francophones related to IT&E planning and delivery.
