Official Languages committee  You cannot close that office, but do you not think that there would be someone already in the organization who is bilingual, knows the work, and could staff the position on an acting basis?

Official Languages committee  We are talking about any other position.

Official Languages committee  Yes.

Official Languages committee  Mr. Gourde, I remain convinced that someone could be found, whatever the position. I am sincerely convinced that if the official languages commissioner were no longer there tomorrow morning, we could appoint a bilingual person from the Office of the Commissioner to ensure the position was staffed during two or three months, without having to shut down the position.

Official Languages committee  There is a difference, Mr. Gourde, between needing the services of an interpreter and needing those of a translator. If I am not sure about the meaning or the use of a word, I will turn to a colleague, naturally. There is a difference between that and being shadowed by an interpreter who translates everything, or being forced to listen to an interview in English with subtitles in French or through the voice of an interpreter who may not render certain nuances.

Official Languages committee  Yes, but that must not happen every second word; it should be occasional, as needed. It has happened to me to look for the word « essuie-glace ». I said « my wipers ». We understand each other.

Official Languages committee  Yes I am, because we do not expect perfection, and that it is not the objective. If that were the goal, none of us could ever occupy any of these positions. No one on earth could occupy them.

Official Languages committee  Yes. I was of course bilingual, since I was a translator. If someone wants to have a career in a government department or agency or aspires to a position in the upper echelons of the public service, like that of the Auditor General, they should be bilingual, as our young people know as of high school.

Official Languages committee  The principle is good and I approve what Mr. Thompson says in principle, but in reality, perhaps none of us will be sitting here in 10 years. People will then be able to interpret this as they wish, by reducing the necessary language competency level. I want to ensure that there is a minimum threshold.

Official Languages committee  Currently, the Official Languages Act regulations stipulate that when a designated bilingual position is staffed on an acting basis, the person must have the language skills required by the position. I don't see why it should be any different for key positions in the government and for the agents of Parliament.

Official Languages committee  I'd say that after the advanced level there are the semi-professional and professional levels—at least, they were where I used to work—and those were reserved for communications people who had to be extremely...and linguists. I'm not expecting an auditor general, or someone at CBC/Radio-Canada, or a The Chief Electoral Officer of Canada has to have a professional language level in both French and English.

Official Languages committee  I'll speak from experience as a person responsible for official languages and language training in a crown corporation that is not subjected to the CBC levels. We had our own rating level. What's important here is whether you can perform your job in both official languages. If I were hiring an IT person, my interview with this person would be strictly IT based.

Official Languages committee  If they are at the C level, I think that's totally acceptable. That's what we're looking for, somebody who can converse in their field of expertise in both official languages, somebody who can understand in both official languages in their field of expertise at the C level, advanced.

Official Languages committee  I'll answer that one in English. I'm a translator, but as my colleague said, as good as translators are, it never does justice to the person or the emotion. I would like to believe that it's not necessary. I would. I sincerely would. Until we had the nomination of a unilingual general...a vérificateur général—

Official Languages committee  I'm a translator, but I couldn't figure out that word. For me, it just made common sense that the person would be bilingual. So what is the risk, then, in terms of trying to find the next person, and then creating an interim...? We have that risk. It happened. I'm still without an auditor general who can speak to me in my language during a French interview on Radio-Canada.