Earlier on, the commissioner mentioned that the public's right to services in both official languages depends on demand. That is provided for in the act.
The regulations provide for those cases where demand is significant. There are demographic rules which depend on the size of the minority population and on the ratio of that population to the majority population.
In the annual report we showed the shortcomings of the use of these demographic rules in terms of the impact it can have on the community, be that francophone or anglophone, and the delivery of services in both languages. There are inconsistencies within some communities. For example, in Yarmouth, because of the numbers and percentage involved, the francophone community has the right to services in their language. However, the anglophone community in Sept-Îles, which is bigger but only corresponds to the threshold of 5 per cent of the population, does not have a right to services in English.
That is an example of inconsistent application of current rules. This is something that should be reviewed based on principle. If a community demonstrates a certain level of vitality, then they should have a right to services in the language of their choice. That is a concept that we are exploring. There should be criteria based on the presence of those communities and their level of vitality rather than on their numbers or the proportion of the population that they represent.
In terms of Air Canada, there are rules that determine whether certain trips are bilingual or not. That has led to confusion amongst travellers who do not know whether they have a right to be served in their own language by ground staff but not in the air, and vice versa. That is another example of inconsistencies that we have looked at.
We continue to review these issues in order to find solutions that will result in Canadians having a right to services of equal quality. Regulations do not determine how services will be offered. We feel that there should be a minimum number of rules that will guide federal institutions in order to be able to provide services of equal quality.
Earlier, the commissioner gave as an example the location and number of offices. Sometimes, in larger cities, there's only one office that is designated bilingual. In Vancouver, for example, if people have to travel from one end of the city to the other in order to obtain services in their own language, they're unlikely to do so.
Those are all aspects of service delivery that merit further review.