Official Languages committee  I didn't understand your question. Are you asking if we have to follow any specific steps?

Official Languages committee  I can add that CIDA's Internet site is perfectly bilingual. As regards our service delivery, it's the same thing with our toll free number, and it is centralized. As we mentioned, we do not really have regional offices. We have some representatives, but all service to the public is provided through our Gatineau office.

Official Languages committee  In light of the recommendations in the commissioner's report, which stated that the plan wasn't integrated and that we did not have follow-up measures, we decided to organize our plan around five strategic objectives and to ensure that we were responsible for the timeline and progress.

Official Languages committee  We will make sure that people can write in their preferred language. We started doing so when we saw the commissioner's report and noted the very low rating.

Official Languages committee  That is why we have an advisory committee made up of employees from all levels, from the administrative staff to management. The committee represents all branches, this allowing us to gauge employees perceptions and identify issues. I think that the committee was recommending a linguistic duality award to the president as a way to recognize the extent to which the agency values the promotion of the official languages, and that the issue deserved an annual award.

Official Languages committee  People are entitled to write in their preferred official language. We are concerned by the fact that people are saying that they will write in the other language because they want to be understood. Having been made aware of that, we decided to let everyone know that all of the agency's employees, including the president, could very well read and understand documents in French without having to have them translated.

Official Languages committee  Francophone employees account for 54% of our staff, while anglophones account for 46%. Some 90% of our employees are bilingual. I do want to point out that CIDA is a highly bilingual department. The vast majority of our employees are bilingual, and that is perhaps because of our international mandate.

Official Languages committee  Yes, indeed, 54% is quite significant.

Official Languages committee  I said that 54% of our employees are francophone and 90% are bilingual.

Official Languages committee  Of course, we will want to meet with the Commissioner of Official Languages to better understand the ratings we received. Now is not the time to call into question those ratings. We know that we need to improve some things, and that is why we are moving ahead on that front. That said, we also want to understand why we received such low ratings.

Official Languages committee  Developing a plan and ensuring management follow-up and program oversight were priorities for us. Those are things we have undertaken and will continue to do. I think they will make a big difference. We are also very concerned by the fact that our employees do not feel free to use French; that is very important.

Official Languages committee  To get a better what?

Official Languages committee  Ours is a three-year plan, but I do hope we will achieve progress each and every year. I think it is very important to take concrete action and that people know that our senior management is very committed. We expect that our employees and partners will notice changes by the spring.

Official Languages committee  Pardon? I did not understand the question.

Official Languages committee  I don't know if they feel intimidated. When we saw those percentages, we spoke to our union representatives to see what employees were thinking. That isn't what they felt. But the international community is largely English-speaking, and many documents produced by other countries, such as the United Kingdom, are in English only.