Management
a) An accountability framework, an action plan and accountability mechanisms are in place |
The roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders are
clearly identified in Cross-cutting Principles Underlying the SC
Approach to Human Resources Development, distributed
to all employees. An action plan that covers overall
responsibilities was developed in consultation with management
while taking government
priorities into account.
SC examines the achievement of the Official Languages
Program (OLP) during its biennial program review; the strategic orientation
and client satisfaction are reviewed during the quadrennial program
review.
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| b) Visibility of official languages in the organization |
SC reflects the OLP objectives in its Human Resources Strategy. The official languages (OL) objectives are not in the Report on Plans and Priorities but are mentioned in the Performance Report. The OLP's management matrix ensures maximum visibility and integration of OL objectives. An OL Committee reports every three months to the senior Human Resources Development Committee, on which the Chief Statistician sits. Additionally, the internal reports prepared by each division make reference to HR and to OL. There are periodic internal audits.
There are regular communications between the champion, the OL officer, the OL Committee and the officer responsible for Part VII of the Official Languages Act (OLA). The champion is a member of the Executive Committee and OL are regularly discussed at that committee. |
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| c) Complaints |
There are very few complaints lodged with the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. Complaints are received by an advisor from the Official Languages and Translation Division and responsible managers are involved in finding solutions and in taking the required corrective measures. Lessons learned are shared in order to prevent similar complaints in the future.
During the 2001 Census, the Institution concluded an agreement with the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages that facilitated co-operation and allowed for efficient and rapid resolution of complaints. |
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Service to the public - Part IV
a) Bilingual services advertised to the public and sufficient bilingual staff |
All information of general interest is distributed free
of charge in both OL and the nine bilingual service centres are identified
in Burolis and in the Blue Pages. The interviewers, the main point of
contact between SC and the general public, must provide an active offer
of service, as indicated in the training manual.
As of March 31, 2004, the Position and Classification Information
System (PCIS) indicated that 83.3% of incumbents of bilingual positions
serving the public met the linguistic requirements of their position. |
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| b) Findings on active offer and service delivery |
According to observations on in-person service made by
the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages in
the fall of 2004, active visual offer was present in 87.5% of cases; active
offer by staff
was made in 25.0% of cases, while service in the language
of the minority was adequate in 87.5% of cases.
The results of the telephone service audit conducted by the Public Service Human Resources Management Agency showed that active offer was made by staff 100% of the time, and on telephone answering systems 100% of the time, while the service was actually provided in both OL in 88.2% of cases. |
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| c) The service agreements delivered by third parties or in partnership provide for the delivery of bilingual services |
A standard language clause is included in all contracts,
which are awarded by a centralized process, and in partnership agreements.
There are few contracts. Verifications are made by the Material Services
and Contracts section. |
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| d) Bilingual services quality monitoring |
The Communications Division controls the production and dissemination of information to the public and to employees. All new supervisors must follow the orientation program, which contains an OL component.
Client service standards are in place and client satisfaction is measured by a questionnaire in the quality assurance framework. A monthly newsletter is distributed to all staff; it frequently contains reminders on language rights and obligations. |
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Language of work - Part V
a) Adequate bilingual supervision and language of work policy |
Data obtained from the Position and Classification Information
System (PCIS) as of March 31, 2004 indicate that 77.0%
of supervisors in bilingual positions in bilingual regions meet the linguistic
profile required
for their position and 88.7% of EXs who are required to
be bilingual meet the linguistic profile of their positions.
The Institution has an official languages policy that covers in detail language of work issues. There are support measures such as a terminology bank, writing assistance and linguistic consultations, language training and an official languages guide. SC has also developed a repertoire of models of bilingual e-mails covering routine situations that is accessible to all personnel. In addition, SC offers workshops on language of work (300 participants a year). |
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| b) Use of each language in the workplace |
Information concerning language of work is given to employees during practical workshops and in the context of the Supervisor Development Program.
Control is done through follow-ups to the Public Service-Wide
Employee Survey and by internal surveys, as well as through the
monitoring done by the OL Coordinators.
Meetings of the Executive Committee are held in both official languages; the minutes are posted on the Intranet in both OL. Staff members make presentations in the language of their choice and are strongly encouraged to do so in French.
The results of the 2002 Public Service Employee Survey showed that 79.6% of Francophone respondents of the bilingual regions of Ontario, the NCR and New Brunswick, and 49.4% of Anglophone respondents of Quebec did "strongly agree" or "mostly agree" with the language of work regime. |
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Equitable participation - Part VI
a) Percentage of Francophone participation throughout Canada |
According to data from the Position and Classification
Information System (PCIS) as of March 31, 2004, 41.0% of
all SC employees were Francophones. |
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| b) Percentage of Anglophone participation in Quebec |
According to data from the Position and Classification Information System (PCIS) as of March 31, 2004, there were no Anglophone employees in Quebec. |
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Development of minority language communities and promotion of linguistic duality - Part VII
a) Strategic planning and the development of policies and programs take into account the development of minority language communities |
SC is aware of the needs of the minority language communities and regularly consults representatives of minority groups to find out what their priority needs are in terms of data. SC provides data that supports the communities and is a member of Canadian Heritage's Interdepartmental Research Group on OL.
There is an internal committee that revises all statistical surveys to
ensure that they take into account the development of official language
minorities.
SC ensures the consolidation and improved sharing of data on linguistic minorities among the key divisions in which the surveys of interest to these minority communities are developed (Committee on Statistical Information on OL Minorities).
SC takes account of the specific needs of the minority language communities, in particular by asking its interviewers to pay attention to certain indicators, such as the language children play in, to determine clients' preferred language for interaction.
SC has created new partnerships with other departments to fund the over-sampling of OL minorities in order to estimate with greater precision the characteristics of minority groups and the publication of studies of particular interest to the communities.
SC ensures the purchases of time and space take account
of the minority press; all advertising goes through the office of a single
person.
Employees are informed of the needs of official language
minorities; training on section 41 of the Official Languages Act was
offered. Managers are made aware of the requirements of
OL minorities when statistical surveys are planned. |
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| b) Strategic planning and the development of policies and programs take into account the promotion of linguistic duality |
SC's strategy is to set an example by taking proactive
measures. The internal committee that revises all statistical
surveys ensures that such surveys take into account linguistic
duality and promote both
official languages.
Before each census, SC consults linguistic minority groups concerning the questions relating to linguistic characteristics. The Department is one of the participants on the interdepartmental committee chaired by Canadian Heritage.
The institution promotes linguistic duality by holding
activities for its staff during la Semaine de la Francophonie.
SC promotes linguistic duality through numerous presentations
as an expert on language statistics to various orders of
government and academic groups
and through the distribution of documents free of charge,
in particular Profile
of languages in Canada, Use of French and English at Work,
and Canadian
Community Health Survey. |
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| OVERALL RATING |
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