Ottawa, December 3, 2007
Notes for an appearance before the Senate Standing Committee on Official Languages
Graham Fraser – Commissioner of Official Languages
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Madam Chairperson, Senators,
I am very pleased to be meeting with you today. My first year as Commissioner of Official Languages has been an intense learning experience for me. I have had the opportunity to develop a greater understanding of the vitality of official language communities across the country and experience first-hand their energy and determination to make their pressing needs known to all levels of government. Furthermore, I visited a number of these communities across the country to see this for myself.
Accomplishments since October 2006
Since I became Commissioner, I have appeared before various parliamentary committees to explain my first annual report as well as my perspective on such issues as the 2010 Olympic Games, the relocation of head offices, the regulations of the Official Languages Act, the Air Canada Public Participation Act, the mandate of the CBC, the functional approach adopted by the Canadian Forces and the suggested modifications to the Criminal Code to guarantee the language rights of the accused. I have also had the opportunity to share my vision of linguistic duality through, among other things, the many interviews and speeches that I have given in the past year.
Over the past year I have realized the importance of parliamentary committee work on official languages. I am thinking in particular of the study carried out by the Senate Standing Committee on Official Languages on the consideration given to official languages in the organization of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games that will be held in Vancouver and Whistler. I am aware of the fact that the Committee has met with most of the partners involved and that the result of its work has allowed it to make 10 well-founded recommendations to Canadian Heritage and the federal government.
Immediately after taking office, I was faced with a major task. This was to examine the many complaints that were filed after the budget cuts made by the federal government in September 2006. For the Office of the Commissioner, this involved a preliminary examination based on an analysis of the application of Part VII of the Official Languages Act since it was amended in November 2005.
As you know, I completed my final report on this subject last October 9. After taking into account the comments made by the Government and the complainants in response to my preliminary report, I concluded that the 2006 expenditure review was not consistent with the Government of Canada’s commitment as it is expressed in Part VII of the Official Languages Act, or with the obligations of the federal institutions involved, which must take positive measures to implement this commitment.
Recently, I decided to intervene in the court proceedings initiated by the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne to oppose the Government’s decision to abolish the Court Challenges Program. I decided to request intervener status because the questions brought before the Court are of national interest. This legal recourse will allow the courts to clarify, for the first time, the scope of the language obligations set forth in Part VII of the Official Languages Act, which was amended in 2005. The recourse and its aftermath will have a major impact on all federal institutions and official language communities.
This past summer, the Office of the Commissioner published an audit of the health services offered to certain groups, such as veterans, Aboriginals, inmates and RCMP cadets. Clearly, the general shortage of available health care workers makes it difficult to hire bilingual staff, but the fact remains that all these groups are entitled to receive services in the official language of their choice. I therefore recommend that the Government act as quickly as possible to ensure the Act is fully respected.
The Office of the Commissioner also carried out several research projects. In particular, we published three studies on community vitality in Halifax, Sudbury and Winnipeg, a follow-up study on international relations and a study on the perceptions of the Saskatchewan public of French culture and learning French as a second language.
The development of official language minority communities depends increasingly on provincial and territorial measures, in education, health and immigration. I was pleased to hear the Francophone Affairs ministers declare last September that they strongly supported the renewal of the Action Plan for Official Languages. Provincial government representatives are anxiously awaiting a response.
Most recently, in its Speech from the Throne, the Government of Canada informed Canadians that it will develop a second phase to follow-up on the Action Plan, which comes to an end in March 2008. This is a much-anticipated initiative that demonstrates the Government’s leadership in linguistic duality. Furthermore, I was happy to learn today that Bernard Lord, former premier of New Brunswick, was appointed Special Advisor for the consultations on linguistic duality and official languages. In my opinion, his experience and his passion for both our official languages make him an ideal candidate for the position.
One year after being appointed Commissioner, I have a better understanding of the mechanics behind the application of official languages policies in the federal government. I can now confidently say that official languages cannot advance within the Canadian public service without strong leadership from its managers. Without strong leadership, the values associated with linguistic duality become a burden for federal public servants.
I have also come to the conclusion that linguistic duality is in fact an essential leadership skill for public service managers. How can you be a leader if you do not understand those you are leading? How can you respect members of the public if you are not aware of their language rights and culture? How can you really understand a country like Canada if you do not speak the two main languages?
Priorities for the Office of the Commissioner in 2007–2008
I am convinced more than ever that English and French are Canadian languages that belong to all of the citizens of this country. Nationally, bilingualism is essential in several areas of activity for those who must demonstrate leadership. The public service, which is the largest employer in the country, is one of these areas of activity. Education is therefore paramount, and as a result, I will continue my efforts to ensure post-secondary institutions recognize the value of educating bilingual students. To fulfill this objective, I will be conducting a study in co-operation with the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada on second-language learning opportunities in Canadian universities.
As you know, my mandate is based on two separate but complementary functions: promotion and protection.
The events that marked the first year of my mandate have led me to reflect on my role as ombudsman and how it relates to the fundamental need to advance the culture of federal institutions and make people understand that a strong language policy brings added value to the federal government.
Investigations, audits and performance report cards remain important tools. However, we would like to expand our field of activity and are therefore considering other options. My role as language ombudsman involves ensuring that the Government and federal public service abide in a proactive way by the Official Languages Act.
In a spirit of supporting federal institutions in the implementation of their obligations, and in order to ensure the language rights of citizens, employees and communities are fully respected, I am reviewing other methods that could add to the investigation, audit and report card tools that we already use. I plan on expanding this role through intervention mechanisms that are based on a more effective dispute resolution process and the prevention of problems that cause these disputes.
It is in the spirit of co-operation and prevention that I am closely monitoring the planning for the 2010 Olympic Games. This will be an exciting time for Canada, a time when the entire world will be watching. We are proud to live in a country that recognizes the importance of its linguistic duality, and that is why Canada’s bilingual image must be unequivocal, whether at international entry points like the Vancouver and Toronto airports, on VIA Rail or at U.S. border crossings. There is still time for us to prepare, and together with different partners, including the Francophone community, we must get to work. This is why the Office of the Commissioner is getting ready to study the preparatory work of the organizing committee of the 2010 Olympics from the point of view of linguistic duality. I would like to take the findings and recommendations of your recent report as a starting point. We intend to publish the results of this study in the fall of 2008, which will give the Organizing Committee time to make adjustments, if necessary. My hope is that this major event will be a source of national pride, rather than a source of criticism.
In addition, I am following up on the recommendation you made in your May 2007 report on the relocation of head offices of federal institutions, in which the Office of the Commissioner was asked to carry out a study on the horizontal coordination of the government's official languages policies. We have asked Donald Savoie, a well-known expert in public administration and horizontal management, to help us conduct this study. It would be my pleasure to share these results with you in a few months.
Also in 2008, the Office of the Commissioner will review all of the training offered by the Canadian Forces to determine the extent to which training opportunities are offered in both official languages. Obviously, we are working closely with the ombudsman at National Defence, Yves Côté, to ensure our processes are complementary.
We will also continue reviewing official language community vitality in order to recommend tools that will help them better focus their efforts with federal institutions to implement Part VII of the Act as effectively as possible. This is an opportunity for federal institutions to reaffirm the role they must play in implementing Part VII.
I will also continue communicating to members of the public service my vision of leadership in terms of official languages. At present, a less thorough, even minimalist, application of the Official Languages Act appears to be taking place within the federal public service, particularly in terms of “active offer”. Without sustained leadership from managers, backsliding is imminent. The Clerk of the Privy Council launched an initiative to renew the public service; clearly, linguistic duality must find its place in all parts of this initiative. This is another issue I am monitoring closely.
On this same topic, the data I presented in my annual report on service to the public and language of work continues to be of concern. I am worried that these shortcomings will only grow if the public service senses a lack of commitment to official languages by the federal government.
While Canadian society may consist of many cultural identities, English and French remain its two official languages. Our official languages and multiculturalism policies should work together to promote respect and equality of opportunity.
I have begun to explore the relationship between linguistic duality and cultural diversity, in particular through a forum in Toronto last month. I intend to continue my work in this area in order to better understand the relationship between new Canadians from diverse backgrounds and the two official languages, and to take this into account in our work and in our recommendations to the Government.
Conclusion
I have shared some of my priorities with you for the second year of my mandate. Obviously, the Commissioner of Official Languages is not solely responsible for Canadian linguistic duality, as the Government has an important role to play as well. As such, I expect to see results from the Government over the course of the next year in three specific areas:
- The Government must absolutely move into action and develop and implement the next phase of the Action Plan for Official Languages;
- It must also show strong leadership in order to improve the active offer of service to the Canadian public;
- Finally, it must consider the knowledge of both official languages as a leadership skill during the renewal process for the public service.
I hope that you as well, as members of this committee, will examine these issues, which I consider to be among the most pressing.
Thank you for your attention. I would be happy to answer any questions.
