Official Languages committee  In principle, when a position is classified bilingual, the candidate must meet requirements, but non-imperative staffing is always a possibility, and we get a lot of complaints on that score. Since our recommendation is always based on the job description, we always request that the position be filled by a bilingual candidate.

Official Languages committee  I think we should take a holistic approach to our immigration policy because there are many aspects to it. There are economic immigration, temporary workers, refugees and, of course, international students. In minority francophone post-secondary education, foreign students very often represent additional funding for post-secondary educational institutions.

Official Languages committee  In the federal public service, we have the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector. It refers to diversity, reconciliation, official languages and certain key values. Consequently, exercising leadership in the federal public service means complying with that code. It's also important not to favour certain parts of the code.

Official Languages committee  I'm going to clarify that statement. First, it has to do with our new mandate in the area of promotion. We have to promote compliance now. It has nothing to do with whether or not we support French-language schools, FSL schools or immersion schools. That's not the point. This has to do with the new legislation, which requires us to report on different....

Official Languages committee  The short answer is no.

Official Languages committee  We were provided new resources in the budget with respect to those parts of the legislation that have already been enacted, but moving forward, we'll talk about monetary administrative penalties and the new use of French in businesses act. That's not part of the mix. My colleague here is very much into promotion.

Official Languages committee  Yes, the situation hasn't changed.

Official Languages committee  Let's say that the top offenders in that department every year are often federal institutions that have a lot of contact with the public. For example, we don't get a lot of complaints from the public concerning the Department of Finance, but—

Official Languages committee  Yes, there are actually a lot.

Official Languages committee  It's very often a matter of resources, of needs. Take, for example, the Canada Border Services Agency, which has 1,200 service points across the country. Its resource needs are extraordinary. It's always a challenge to improve bilingualism proficiency in all organizations. In concrete terms, we need to ensure that federal institutions have the resources to provide language training, for example, so that every employee has an opportunity to take a good training program and become bilingual.

Official Languages committee  That's an interesting question. We have to let a certain amount of time pass if we want to know what effect an act is having. A year has already gone by. I think it takes more than five or six years to measure that effect; it may take 10. We have to determine the impact on society.

Official Languages committee  As I've often said, this starts with leadership that is committed to official languages. It also starts at the highest levels. Under the new act, if new deputy ministers are appointed but aren't bilingual, they must become bilingual. As we've previously said, official languages will truly find their place within the federal government when anglophone senior officials work in French.

Official Languages committee  The case law that has been established over the past 30 years has provided considerable support for the development of the communities. I'm thinking here of section 23 of the charter. Without the Supreme Court's judgment in the Mahe affair, we wouldn't have the school systems that we now have.

Official Languages committee  Here's an example regarding language of work. There's a significant connection between language of work and language of service. If the federal government is unable to work in both official languages, how can it provide service and communicate in both official languages? Some years ago, we published a report on the impact of emergencies on official languages.

Official Languages committee  Those requirements should absolutely be raised. The number of complaints regarding language of work didn't decline this past year. In fact, we saw an increase in those kinds of complaints. The language-of-work issue is always a problem in the federal government.