Appendix C: Report cards for the airports – Methodology and results
Page 13 of 15
This year, the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages introduced a new type of report card, which examines the performance of three institutions operating within five large Canadian international airports. The methodology used was designed by the Office of the Commissioner in cooperation with Statistics Canada, which compiled the results.
The Commissioner evaluated visual active offer and active offer in person, as well as the availability of service in the language of the linguistic minority, at the following institutions:
- Air Canada: at baggage check-in and at the boarding gate, including the announcements made there;
- Canadian Air Transport Security Authority: where containers and liquids are examined, at the entrance to the screening point, at the walk-through metal detectors and where luggage is X-rayed;
- Airport authority: at car rental counters, in cafés and restaurants, during general announcements and on signage.
An overall rating was given to each airport that was examined, based on the ratings obtained by the various institutions evaluated.
The Commissioner is disappointed that the language rights of travellers are often poorly protected in four of the five largest airports in the country, a weakness that the government should seek to correct very quickly.
It is hoped that this new type of report card will promote the sharing of best practices within institutions, and that it will encourage different institutions operating at the same airport to seek joint solutions, as they often face common challenges. The complete report cards of the institutions that were examined are available on the Office of the Commissioner’s Web site.
| Table 2 - Airport observation results 2008–2009 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airport | |||||||||||||
| Halifax Robert L. Stanfield International Airport (Rating in %) | Montréal– Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (Rating in %) | Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport (Rating in %) | Toronto Pearson International Airport (Rating in %) | Vancouver International Airport (Rating in %) | |||||||||
| Institution | Air Canada | Visual active offer | 75.0 | 55.8 | 100.0 | 89.2 | 77.3 | 70.8 | 78.3 | 58.7 | 73.1 | 33.6 | |
| Active offer by employee | 0.0 | 46.2 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 0.0 | ||||||||
| Service available | 6.8 | 100.0 | 90.8 | 70.3 | 31.6 | ||||||||
| Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) | Visual active offer | 100.0 | 35.7 | 100.0 | 85.7 | 71.4 | 50.5 | 66.7 | 25.3 | 66.7 | 29.4 | ||
| Active offer by employee | 26.1 | 28.6 | 28.8 | 17.1 | 13.9 | ||||||||
| Service available | 17.4 | 100.0 | 50.7 | 14.3 | 22.2 | ||||||||
| Airport Authority | Visual active offer | 67.7 | 33.8 | 96.4 | 86.6 | 85.7 | 45.5 | 64.2 | 33.0 | 66.7 | 27.7 | ||
| Active offer by employee | 4.3 | 47.6 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 0.0 | ||||||||
| Service available | 32.3 | 96.3 | 46.3 | 32.7 | 24.0 | ||||||||
| Overall Result | 41.7 | 87.2 | 55.6 | 39.0 | 30.2 | ||||||||
