Appendix B - List of recommendations for each objective, Environment Canada’s action plan and our response
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We are satisfied with the measures and timelines proposed by Environment Canada (EC) to implement our recommendations. We understand the challenges faced by the institution in terms of following up on recommendations 4 and 7, which deal with active offer and broadcasting weather and environmental information in both official languages on the automated telephone network. However, we believe that if the Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC) opts to maintain and update the existing automated telephone system, it will have to be creative to improve this system and identify a permanent solution to providing service in both official languages at all designated bilingual points of service throughout Canada, as stipulated in the Official Languages Act. Moreover, we believe that a good communications strategy, as set out in the Department’s action plan, is necessary in order to inform all employees of the Department’s official languages activities, accountability framework, guidelines and action plan, and thus ensure that everyone understands EC’s and MSC’s responsibilities and obligations.
| OBJECTIVE 1 – Ensure that Environment Canada senior management is committed to applying Part IV of the Official Languages Act by providing adequate bilingual services to the Canadian public, particularly weather and environmental services offered on the automated telephone network. |
| Recommendation 1 |
EC’s action plan
EC concurs with this recommendation.
The Human Resources Branch, in consultation with the official languages champions, will review and update the accountability framework for official languages by September 2008, in order to clearly establish the roles and responsibilities under Parts IV, V, VI and VII of the Official Languages Act. This document will be revised and updated as required. In October 2008, the revised framework will be communicated to senior management through a note to the Leadership Council, and to all EC employees through the Department’s intranet. The main indicator of progress would be an improvement in the Department’s rating on the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages report card. A decrease in the number of founded complaints on service to the public would also be a good indication of improvement.
| Recommendation 2 |
EC’s action plan
EC concurs with the recommendation.
The Human Resources Branch will review and update the current departmental guidelines on service to the public to more clearly address active offer and the delivery of bilingual services. The new guidelines will be sent to all employees in October 2008. The Human Resources Branch will also communicate these guidelines through management meetings in each branch that delivers services to the public. The main indicator of progress would be an improvement in the Department’s rating on the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages report card. A decrease in the number of founded complaints on service to the public would also be a good indication of improvement.
The MSC will take two actions to address this issue. First, by August 31, 2008, the management of the automated telephone network will be consolidated on a national level so that employees who maintain the network become more specialized and thus gain a better knowledge of operational procedures. Second, the MSC will prepare clear operational guidelines by October 2008.
These guidelines will include the following:
- the identification of the designated bilingual points of service;
- the manner in which to make an active offer and to deliver adequate bilingual services.
By December 2008, the guidelines will be provided to all staff directly involved in the day-to-day management of the service’s operations, and to their managers. As part of the MSC ISO 9001 quality management system, the guidelines will become an ISO-controlled document as part of the ISO dissemination processes.
| Recommendation 3 |
EC’s action plan
EC concurs with the recommendation.
The Human Resources Branch and the official languages champions are working on a new action plan for official languages. The action plan will include the measures planned to meet EC’s various obligations under the Official Languages Act, including specific measures related to bilingual weather services. The finalized plan will be communicated to employees, most likely through the Department’s intranet, in July 2008. The Human Resources Branch will monitor the actions taken by those designated in charge of implementing the plan, and will report to the Executive Management Committee on a regular basis.
| Recommendation 4 |
EC’s action plan
EC concurs with this recommendation, which is closely connected to Recommendation 7, according to which it must adopt measures to ensure compliance with the Official Languages Act in the operation of its automated telephone network.
In providing a weather and environmental information service to Canadians on an automated telephone network, there are two issues related to equity that must be considered: linguistic equity and equity related to service. In regards to this recommendation and to Recommendation 7, a distinction must be made between linguistic equity and equal access to services. When fully compliant bilingual services are provided, these services are not necessarily accessible to everyone on a national scale.
The MSC is currently evaluating the feasibility and cost of replacing the automated telephone network with a 511 telephone service. The 511 service has the potential to resolve the issues of equal access and linguistic equity. The Department plans to make a final decision on the matter by the end of 2008. If the implementation of a 511 service proves to be technically or financially unfeasable, the MSC will rebuild the existing automated telephone network with new equipment and software that will enable it to provide an active offer of bilingual service on all telephone lines on the system. If a 511 service is implemented or the existing system is rebuilt, full delivery of bilingual services, where this service is provided, will be achieved by the end of fiscal year 2009–2010.
However, providing equal access to the automated telephone service to all Canadians would be a more complicated matter if the 511 telephone service were not implemented. The current automated telephone network is accessible as a toll-free service only where EC has installed a system within a caller’s local calling area, or in regions where a toll-free number has been established to facilitate the delivery of services in the minority language of the region. In some parts of the country, Canadians must pay long-distance fees to access the automated telephone network in either official language. Equal access, meaning toll-free access from anywhere in Canada, would have a significant financial impact, and while necessary from a service policy perspective, equal access is not a requirement under the Official Languages Act. Therefore, if the solution adopted by the end of fiscal year 2009–2010 is that of refurbishing the existing automated telephone service, equity will be achieved in the sense that toll-free calling will be available in both official languages in most regions of Canada.
| Recommendation 5 |
EC’s action plan
EC concurs with the recommendation.
The MSC will ensure that specific objectives for official languages related to service delivery in general and the automated telephone network in particular are incorporated into the performance objectives and commitments of executives, senior managers, managers and employees for the 2008–2009 period by September 2008, and that these objectives constitute an ongoing element of such assessment instruments in the future.
| Recommendation 6 |
EC’s action plan
EC concurs with the recommendation.
A communications strategy to increase employees’ and managers’ awareness of their responsibilities and obligations under the Official Languages Act will be developed by the Human Resources Branch in consultation with employees from Communications, and implemented in September 2008. The strategy will include the communications tools associated with the accountability framework and the guidelines addressed in recommendations 1 and 2, to help departmental staff at all levels understand the requirements and obligations under the Official Languages Act. These tools could include brochures and information sheets from the Canada Public Service Agency. The success of the communications strategy will be measured by the level of awareness in employees and managers, which would lead to a decrease in the number of founded complaints on service to the public.
As for the MSC, it will ensure that the responsibilities and obligations are fully described as part of the ISO 9001 quality management system, in an ISO-controlled document.
| OBJECTIVE 2 - Ensure that the Meteorological Service of Canada’s designated bilingual points of service make an active offer and provide adequate weather services in the official language chosen by the public on the automated telephone network. |
| Recommendation 7 |
EC’s action plan
EC concurs with the recommendation, which is closely connected to Recommendation 4.
Using the guidelines developed in response to Recommendation 2, EC will carry out an assessment of the changes required at each point of service to ensure that an active offer and bilingual services are provided. This assessment will be completed by December 2008 and will include an estimate of the amount of equipment that will have to be replaced to meet the requirement. Based on the assessment, an implementation plan and schedule will be developed and, provided the Department has the financial capacity to purchase the required equipment, implementation may be completed by July 2009.
At the end of this process, all designated bilingual points of service will provide an active offer and adequate bilingual services.
In addition, in order to minimize the problems as quickly as possible, EC intends to take corrective action on a casual basis before the aforementioned dates and at specific points of service, where and when feasible. Further, through the actions to be taken as described in the response to Recommendation 4, bilingual services will be made available at all locations where service is offered by the end of fiscal year 2009–2010.
| OBJECTIVE 3 - Ensure that the Meteorological Service of Canada effectively monitors the quality of weather services offered in both official languages on its automated telephone network. |
| Recommendation 8 |
EC’s action plan
EC concurs with the recommendation that effective monitoring mechanisms are required.
Because the MSC adheres to a formal quality management system, well-documented procedures are being implemented to ensure that the automated system functions properly. Because it is a fully automated system, procedures and mechanisms will alert the responsible staff members if any message is not successfully loaded on the equipment, and action can be then be taken in order to intervene and reload the system. Regular and routine spot-checks are necessary in an effective quality management approach, and the MSC will implement such audits as part of the procedures developed in response to Recommendation 2. Furthermore, as was noted in the report, if a user detects a problem with the service and then contacts us, procedures are in place to quickly rectify the situation.
