Audit Results
Page 7 of 25
1. THE CRTC’S COMMITMENT TO IMPLEMENT SECTION 41 OF THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGES ACT
Official Languages at the CRTC
The CRTC’s secretary general serves as the official languages champion. In addition, two managers are assigned to administer the official languages program.The acting director of planning and priorities for French language radio and television is responsible for implementing section 41 of the Act and is also a member of the network of coordinators established by Canadian Heritage. The chief of human resources programs and policies administers other activities related to the Official Languages Act. An official languages committee made up of managers and employees from the various sectors was also established in 2003. However, the committee does not yet have a clear mandate. Some managers identified a need for more official languages experts in each branch of the CRTC. The interviews revealed a lack of sufficient resources to properly manage the CRTC’s section 41 activities.
The CRTC does not yet have a policy or guidelines addressing all aspects of the Official Languages Act. Instead, it relies on the various policies of the Public Service Human Resources Management Agency of Canada. We believe the Commission should develop and implement its own official languages policy and guidelines that take its specific mandate into account. This would demonstrate its commitment to implementing the Act, supporting official language minority communities and fostering the recognition and use of English and French in Canadian society.
Some managers mentioned that official languages are discussed by the executive committee, particularly when the CRTC has received a complaint and when official documents concerning official languages need to be approved (e.g., the Annual Review of Official Languages and the action plan for implementation of section 41). Nevertheless, our view is that the CRTC’s official languages obligations, including those under Part Vll of the Act, should be discussed more regularly at executive committee meetings.
The CRTC’s mission statement, which contains a general reference to Canada’s linguistic duality and the reflection of Canadian society, is not adequately communicated to CRTC employees. We encourage the Commission to take its official languages obligations into account when it updates its From Vision to Results at the CRTC document.
Appropriate implementation of section 41, further to Part VII amendments, will be impossible without a significant change in the organization’s culture. Senior management should set the tone.
| Recommendation 1 |
| Recommendation 2 |
Information for Managers and Employees
Managers and executives were not sufficiently aware of their responsibilities and roles regarding the CRTC’s obligations towards the vitality and development of linguistic communities and the promotion of English and French. Generally, they confuse various aspects of the Act: service delivery in both official languages, language of work, and the vitality and development of communities. The problem is more acute in the telecommunications sector, where the link between the sector’s activities and the objectives of section 41, while it does exist, is less obvious than in the broadcasting sector. Our view is that managers in all sectors need more information and training about their responsibilities under Part VII, particularly since its amendment.
Although the action plan for implementation of section 41 is posted on the Commission’s Web site and mentioned in the report entitled CRTC Achievements Report 2004-2005, the 2005 Performance Report and the CRTC’s Three-Year Work Plan 2005-2008, our interviews revealed that staff members have little or no knowledge of any of the CRTC’s obligations under section 41. However, they do know whom to contact for information about official languages.
| In order to incorporate linguistic duality into its corporate culture, the CRTC needs to regularly communicate to all its employees its commitment to enhancing the vitality and supporting and assisting the development of official language minority communities, and fostering the full recognition and use of both English and French in Canadian society. |
The CRTC’s intranet site has an official languages tab, which contains information about the CRTC’s official languages award for language of work and links to the Annual Review of Official Languages and the site of the Public Service Human Resources Management Agency of Canada. However, the official languages section does not contain the Commission’s action plan for the implementation of section 41.
| Recommendation 3 |
