Accountability framework

EC adopted a new accountability framework for official languages in 2007. This document states, in general terms, the guiding principles for effective management of official languages issues and the responsibilities of senior managers, champions, managers and employees. The framework takes into account the various obligations incumbent on the Department under the Official Languages Act. The Human Resources Branch is responsible for its implementation, together with the operational sectors.

Drawing on the policies of the Canada Public Service Agency, the guiding principles provide the context and overall tone for each major departmental linguistic obligation. Our audit showed that the current framework encompasses all EC programs, but does not define the MSC’s particular responsibilities, especially those pertaining to the delivery of bilingual weather and environmental services on its automated telephone network. Our analysis revealed that the Department did not appropriately describe the responsibilities associated with weather information in both official languages.

The Executive Management Council, chaired by the Deputy Minister, ensures a direction for official languages together with the Official Languages Champion (an assistant deputy minister), who is in turn assisted by a co-champion (a regional director general). The Champion’s leadership applies to all files connected to Parts IV, V and VI of the Official Languages Act. Our interview with her led us to understand that her role is to direct, influence and provide advice during the preparation and implementation of the action plan for official languages, in order to improve the Department’s performance. It is also worth noting that the champion recently set up an internal network of official languages champions, consisting of managers from the Department’s various operational sectors. Moreover, EC has recently appointed a champion (an associate assistant deputy minister) responsible for Part VII of the Act, which focuses on enhancing the vitality of official language minority communities and promoting linguistic duality.

In the MSC, two official languages co-champions are responsible for the implementation of a project charter on official languages, which the MSC management committee approved in July 2007. The project charter includes measures dealing primarily with obligations related to language of work. We believe the charter should be revised to encompass bilingual services, especially weather information transmitted over the automated telephone network. Moreover, we noted during our interviews that, short of a few exceptions, MSC employees are not aware of the roles of the champions and the network of official languages champions.

At the institutional level, the Department has an established structure for managing the official languages program. At head office, three people are responsible for the overall implementation of the official languages program. At the operational level, the Assistant Deputy Minister for Human Resources has appointed an MSC Human Resources Portfolio Director, who is also responsible for official languages activities. Finally, there is a network of official languages coordinators comprised of human resources administrators working at each of the six regional offices. These people participate in the complaint resolution process and provide the regional data needed for the Department’s annual report on official languages, and for the report card prepared by the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages.

EC also has a mechanism in place to manage complaints on official languages. Complaints are handled by the national coordinator for official languages and the managers responsible for various areas of activity. The most significant complaints may be brought to the attention of the Executive Management Council by the official languages champions who are sitting members.

Most MSC managers interviewed were unaware of the accountability framework for official languages, and we noted that awareness of official languages issues varied from one regional office to the other. In fact, during our interviews, a number of people mentioned that they thought the Executive Management Council was concerned about promotion for official languages in the Department, but that the preferred approach was generally reactive in that appropriate corrective steps were taken after complaints had been received.

Our audit shows that the EC organizational culture has an increasingly positive view of official languages issues, especially since the new management structure was introduced. However, we believe that the Department must do more in terms of the accountability and awareness of MSC staff. It must ensure that employees from this operational sector take full responsibility for providing bilingual services to the public on the automated telephone network.

Policy on official languages or guidelines for service to the public

To support its accountability framework, EC has adopted a departmental directive for service to the public in both official languages that includes a brief reference to services offered to the public on answering machines. Other than this reference, the directive does not specifically address the delivery of weather and environmental services on the MSC automated telephone network. Given the importance of these services to the Canadian public, and the extent to which they are used, we believe the MSC should adopt clear, specific guidelines on the linguistic obligations related to active offer and the delivery of bilingual services on its automated telephone network to ensure the proper training of employees in all its offices.

The Department has also adopted guidelines on second-language learning for professional development purposes and on non-imperative staffing of bilingual positions. It also prepared memoranda, forms and practical tools to help guide employees and managers whose work deals with official languages. For example, a reminder of minimum linguistic obligations was recently sent to all human resources managers in regional offices, including those in the National Capital Region.

During the audit, the Department informed us that it intended to review its guidelines in consideration of its new management structure. We encourage the Department to make the most of this opportunity to develop and implement an official languages policy that is appropriate to its mandate and that covers all of its linguistic obligations under the Official Languages Act.

Action plan for official languages

EC prepared an action plan for official languages, which was approved by the Executive Management Committee. This plan was in effect from 2004 to 2007. Our analysis of the plan shows that it addresses several major issues, such as bilingual capacity and language of work, but does not include specific steps to improve the availability of weather services in both official languages on the MSC automated telephone network.

Moreover, we noted that the action plan for official languages does not reflect the new departmental governance structure; due to numerous organizational changes, the plan has not been revised since it was first drafted in 2004. Finally, the action plan was not officially communicated to managers or employees, nor does it appear on the MSC intranet or on the Department’s Infolane Web site.

New 511 telephone service

For several years, the MSC has been exploring the possibility of setting up a new cross-Canada 511 telephone service to make weather and environmental information available to Canadians. In 2006, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission assigned this telephone number to the Canada 511 Consortium, a group of government and private organizations that includes EC, Transport Canada, provincial and territorial governments, the Canadian Urban Transit Association and the Intelligent Transportation Systems Society of Canada, which is responsible for Consortium operations. The MSC works with the Consortium to provide a range of weather information.

Our interviews revealed that MSC managers and employees strongly support the implementation of a new universal telephone service, which would help improve the delivery of weather and environmental services in both official languages. Furthermore, the new 511 number—both easy to remember and available across Canada—would provide free access for all Canadians. In fact, in some rural areas, members of the public currently pay long-distance rates when they use the MSC automated telephone network to obtain weather information in the official language of their choice.

Nevertheless, over the course of our interviews, we learned that the implementation of the new system has been delayed for financial reasons. A report was recently submitted to the Deputy Minister to request the funding needed to establish the service. In the meantime, the MSC continues to explore other options that would allow it to provide weather and environmental information in both official languages through its automated telephone network, in compliance with its linguistic obligations.

The MSC has shown considerable delay in acting to improve the delivery of weather services on answering machines, and has not performed satisfactorily during the annual observations conducted for the report card issued by the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. We therefore believe the MSC should act quickly to resolve this situation and improve the delivery of services in both official languages.

Performance evaluations

As mentioned previously, managing of the official languages program and meeting departmental objectives for official languages fall under the purview of the Assistant Deputy Minister for Human Resources. Our audit has allowed us to ascertain that the performance evaluations of MSC senior managers, managers, and employees whose responsibilities involve the delivery of bilingual weather and environmental services do not specifically take into account linguistic obligations derived from Part IV of the Official Languages Act. Indeed, the goals mentioned in the 2007–2008 performance evaluations of senior managers include only a general statement on the implementation of official languages policies, bilingualism and the use of both official languages in the workplace. We believe all levels of management involved should be made accountable, through their performance evaluations, for providing weather services in both official languages.

Communication of requirements for providing services in both official languages

Although some relevant information is published on EC’s national human resources intranet, the results of our interviews with MSC managers and employees show that they are not sufficiently aware of their responsibility and their obligation to actively offer and to provide services in both official languages. Indeed, most people interviewed said they had not been informed about the accountability framework, policies and departmental guidelines, nor of the action plan for official languages. What is more, most MSC managers and employees we spoke to were under the impression that weather information was always offered in both official languages simultaneously, which is contradictory to what we noted.

Given the need to raise employee awareness, we encourage EC to prepare information kits and other tools, and provide information sessions to MSC employees. The Department could use the Canada Public Service Agency official languages information tools as a model.

Active offer of bilingual services and delivery of weather services in both official languages on the automated telephone network.

Although more people use the EC Weatheroffice site and Weatheradio than the automated telephone system, the MSC still receives almost 30 million calls on its automated telephone network each year.

The MSC has 133 designated bilingual points of service listed in Burolis, a Government of Canada computerized directory that lists federal government offices and points of service as well as their bilingual or unilingual designation. MSC managers and employees sharing the responsibility for the effective operation of the automated telephone network in both official languages are unaware of or unfamiliar with Burolis.

In fact, although these individuals regularly check to ensure that the equipment is working properly, they do not have to verify that weather information is provided in both official languages. The MSC employees interviewed informed us that one does not have to be bilingual to perform this task because weather information is automatically forwarded to the answering machines in both official languages.

More specifically, the transmission of information is as follows: meteorologists produce text bulletins in both official languages, and then software converts these bulletins into voice files. The data is converted automatically and continuously, almost in real time. Communications software then sorts the sound files and transmits them to the audio storage device, where the public has access to them through the answering machines. Weather forecasts are updated three times a day, weather conditions are updated every hour and weather warnings are announced immediately.

Each region manages its own network of answering machines, which are updated from a central system. However, not all the machines are configured in the same way. Some answering machines provide bilingual weather forecasts, while others are connected to unilingual English or French telephone lines. Our audit allowed us to determine that weather information initially produced in both languages is not necessarily available in both languages where it should be. It is also important to note that although Burolis indicates the availability of bilingual weather forecasts, the service is not always available in the language of the linguistic minority. Furthermore, our audit showed considerable deficiencies in the active offer of bilingual services.

The following table presents the results of our monitoring of answering machines. Monitoring was undertaken from June to September 2007 and covered 35 MSC designated bilingual points of service listed in Burolis.

TABLE OF OBSERVATIONS

Of the 35 telephone numbers we audited, 26 were designated bilingual in Burolis, while the remaining 9 were classified as unilingual French and located mostly in Ontario. The results of our audit showed that, at all designated bilingual points of service, an active offer of bilingual service was made approximately one quarter of the time. Service in the official language of the minority was available in just over half of all cases.

In the Pacific and Yukon region, weather information was available in the minority official language at only three of the eight points of service audited. An active offer of bilingual services was made only in one of the six situations where it was required.

In the Prairie and Northern regions, weather information was available in the minority official language at four of the nine points of service audited. An active offer of bilingual services was nonetheless lacking at the five points of service where it was required.

Our observations in Ontario revealed that service in the minority language was available at the three points of service we evaluated. As these points of service used answering machines connected to unilingual French telephone lines, active offer was not assessed.

In Quebec, our observations showed that service was provided in the minority language at four of the seven points of service audited. However, an active offer of bilingual service was made at only one of these designated bilingual points of service.

Finally, in the Atlantic region, we observed that weather information was provided in the minority language at six of the eight points of service audited. An active offer of bilingual service was made at five of the eight designated bilingual points of service.

In summary, our audit allows us to conclude that in the areas of active offer and delivery of weather services in both official languages on answering machines, MSC’s performance requires a great deal of improvement.

In anticipation of the 2010 Olympic Games to be held in Vancouver, we used our audit as an opportunity to ask whether the MSC was planning specific actions for the provision of weather information in both official languages. We were informed that the MSC will continue with normal operations of its automated network and will not issue specific weather information for the Games; the International Olympic Committee will in fact be responsible for issuing weather information during the Games. Three teams of bilingual meteorologists have been assigned to the Games for this purpose.

Monitoring mechanisms and quality service management

Throughout our audit, we examined the monitoring mechanisms the MSC set up to ensure that weather services provided on answering machines were offered in the minority language at all designated bilingual points of service. We noted that, in 2002, the MSC conducted a nationwide public opinion survey to assess Canadians’ needs, use, satisfaction and expectations regarding its products and services. The survey covered weather forecasts for the media, issuance of weather warnings, and other services, such as Weatheradio and the Internet. However, the survey did not cover the services offered on the automated telephone network or the MSC’s linguistic obligations.

Our interviews revealed that the MSC recognizes it does not fully meet its obligations related to the delivery of bilingual weather and environmental services on the current automated telephone network. According to the information we gathered, the MSC has taken a number of steps to monitor its overall operations.

In 2006, it set up an electronic data management system enabling members of the public to communicate with the Department and to file complaints about weather services. The implementation of this system is part of the ISO 9000 standardization program, under which the MSC is certified. The program describes the standards governing the process of transmitting weather and environmental information to the Canadian public. Although there is a reference to the Official Languages Act in the description of Government of Canada’s responsibilities regarding the process of providing and standardizing internal Web sites, there is no mention of official languages in descriptions of the various stages of this process. Furthermore, the MSC has not yet prepared a process description concerning the delivery of weather and environmental services on its automated telephone network in the context of the ISO 9000 program. We therefore encourage the MSC to mention and emphasize official languages in its standards, to ensure compliance with the Official Languages Act.

Finally, the national public request response team received 94 complaints regarding the service provided on answering machines, six of which involved official languages. In response to these complaints, the MSC has taken the necessary measures to correct the situations by changing the answering machines.

Our audit also allowed us to confirm that official languages issues do not appear in the Department’s current internal audit plan, since this item was not on its risks grid. Furthermore, there is no mechanism in place to make managers and employees accountable for the linguistic obligation to provide weather services on the automated telephone network in both official languages.

We have already mentioned the initiative of the Official Languages Champion to establish an internal network of official languages champions. We believe this network could play a major preventive role, and give special attention to the obligation to make an active offer and to provide weather announcements in both official languages on the MSC automated telephone network at designated bilingual points of service.

Finally, the audit allows us to conclude that the Department is not in a position to control the quality of its automated telephone services because it has not established the appropriate structured monitoring mechanisms.