Summary
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The 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games are international events that provide a unique opportunity for Canada to promote its linguistic duality. Thousands of spectators from every corner of the globe will attend the Games, while billions more around the world will watch them on television and through other media. This event is also an excellent opportunity to support the vitality of Canada’s Anglophone and Francophone communities and to promote the use of English and French in Canadian society.
This study examines the measures planned by the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) to meet the language requirements set out in Annex A of the Multiparty Agreement, so as to ensure that the 2010 Games fully demonstrate Canada’s linguistic duality. This study also evaluates how Canadian Heritage, as the Government of Canada’s representative to VANOC, is fulfilling its responsibilities with respect to orientation, coordination and monitoring of the application of language requirements.
Annex A of the Multiparty Agreement sets out the requirements that VANOC has accepted in providing its many services to the general public in both official languages. This annex also establishes the need to provide services in English and French in to athletes, trainers, officials and delegation members. The Government of Canada, through Canadian Heritage, incorporated in the Agreement between the signatory parties specific official languages requirements that are to be met in organizing the Games. VANOC must acquire staff and volunteers with adequate bilingual capacity in order to meet these requirements.
This study began with a review of relevant documents pertaining to the Games and to linguistic duality. Observations were then made on site, and some 50 interviews were conducted with representatives of VANOC, Canadian Heritage, Francophone communities, sports organizations, various provinces, the City of Vancouver and the Municipality of Whistler. Canadian Heritage and VANOC had the opportunity to comment on a draft of the study in the fall of 2008. The final report integrates their comments and reflects the status of the implementation of the various measures at that point in time.
Canadian Heritage and VANOC have established generally comprehensive and solid language provisions that serve as guidelines and courses of action for ensuring linguistic duality at the Games and implementing Annex A of the Multiparty Agreement. VANOC has also adopted an internal policy to implement these provisions. We have observed that VANOC is making a substantial effort to meet the requirements of Annex A, and has made progress since its work began. VANOC’s achievements to date are due in part to the commitment and leadership demonstrated by its Chief Executive Officer, among others. He has set the bar high by expressing a desire to not only meet but exceed official languages requirements, a goal that is shared by the other members of VANOC’s senior management team.
VANOC’s Official Languages Function demonstrates clear leadership through its support and advice to the organization’s divisions for the implementation of language provisions. Many participants who were interviewed commended the Function for its contribution. As auspicious as the achievements of VANOC and the Official Languages Function have been, VANOC must allocate additional resources to the Function so it can effectively fulfill its many responsibilities. It plays a key support role within VANOC in meeting the requirements of the Multiparty Agreement but to adequately fulfill this role, the Function must have the necessary human resources.
In order to fully give concrete expression to Canada’s linguistic duality, VANOC has signed agreements with partners in the French-speaking community, including the Fédération des francophones de la Colombie-Britannique (FFCB), the Canadian Foundation for Cross-Cultural Dialogue (Fondation Dialogue) and the governments of Quebec and New Brunswick. Although relations with the Francophone communities were difficult at first, they are now strong and productive.
Current planning for the Games shows that VANOC has begun to take the requirements of the Multiparty Agreement into account with respect to communications with the public and other client groups. The organization’s Web site, which serves as its primary means of communicating with the public, is on the whole of equal quality in both languages. However, with the Games approaching, translation and interpretation needs continue to increase. Allocation of sufficient resources for translation and interpretation is a key issue in which Canadian Heritage and other departments involved must support VANOC.
Without adequate resources and substantial government cooperation, the ability to host Games that respect or even surpass requirements will be compromised.
VANOC has also made efforts to recruit bilingual individuals; 15% of its staff speak both languages, and another 10% have some knowledge of French. VANOC is also seeking to recruit the largest possible number of bilingual volunteers. Since volunteers are a vital part of the Games, VANOC must now define the number of bilingual volunteers needed and specify its methods for recruiting them from Eastern Canada, because the potential pool from Greater Vancouver and British Columbia as a whole will be insufficient. VANOC plans to recruit some 25,000 volunteers and is currently determining the number of bilingual volunteer positions that will be required at each site. In the fall of 2008, VANOC informed us that more than 9,000 applicants from across the country indicated having a conversational level of French or above.
VANOC’s achievements bode well. However, various elements related to the foregoing requirements must still be resolved to ensure that VANOC, with the support of Canadian Heritage, can fully comply with all requirements of the Multiparty Agreement. Among these challenges is signage and services from the other levels of government, sponsors and the monitoring carried out by the Games Secretariat.
The Government of Canada, through Canadian Heritage, must show leadership in urging Vancouver, Whistler and the rest of British Columbia to provide signage and services in both official languages.
VANOC must do everything possible, with the support of the federal government, to make the International Olympic Committee and international sponsors aware of the realities of hosting bilingual Games and to require national sponsors to comply with requirements in this area.
The Games Secretariat must also be more proactive in monitoring the official languages situation at VANOC, to better identify critical issues and challenges requiring action by Canadian Heritage or the federal government. Doing so will ensure that measures are taken before conditions deteriorate.
We believe that VANOC is on the right track. However, to meet the requirements of the Multiparty Agreement, with the crucial support of Canadian Heritage, it must overcome major hurdles prior to the Games. VANOC and Canadian Heritage must work to resolve all elements raised in this report if they are to meet the challenge of hosting exemplary bilingual Games that reflect the country’s linguistic duality, and the official languages of the Olympic Movement.
