Official Languages Committee on April 29th, 2008

[John Furlong, Chief Executive Officer, Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games]

Good morning, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. It's a genuine pleasure for me to be here with my colleague Francine Bolduc to address you this morning. We're looking forward to our discussion with you.

Let me start by saying that it's always nice to be here and to see the support there is for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games across all of the parties of government. It's a wonderful situation for us to be in.

That said, let me start by walking you through a little bit of history, so you can put some perspective on where we are today.

As you may or may not be aware, the official language commitments of Vancouver 2010 originated in a document referred to as the Multiparty Agreement, which basically was an agreement signed among all of the parties that were involved in the bid for the Olympic Games many years ago. This Multiparty Agreement, in fact, was the brainchild of a person who worked at Heritage Canada. It was an agreement we decided to develop way back, long before the games would be staged, that covered many areas, including language.

This agreement spoke very clearly, though, to what the obligations of the organizing committee were in respect to performing its functions around official languages. What I'm going to be telling you today is that we are far surpassing the obligations that we had, and I'll come back to that in a moment.

Let me start my presentation this way. Shortly after we got the games, we were a very small infant organization with very few resources. Today, of course, we've grown. We're becoming quite large. We're about 900 persons strong, and we're going to be an enterprise of about 50,000 by 2010, including volunteers from all over the country and around the world.

In the early days, we had a visit from some people at Heritage Canada who told us that they had great concerns about our ability and commitment to deliver against these obligations as they were outlined in the Multiparty Agreement. If they were here today, they would probably tell you that they think we have actually gone dramatically past those obligations, and we are trying to achieve a level of performance unprecedented in Olympic history and in Paralympic history. We're doing everything we possibly can not just to keep our promises, but to really rise to the occasion and to respect and celebrate the duality of Canada through the power of the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games.

This formal agreement in place today among the organizing committee and the various partners, including the Government of Canada, is the first formal agreement of its kind in Olympic history. At the time, it was more about making sure we met the obligations, but I think behind it is our desire to really seize the opportunity that the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games give us to really showcase the unique linguistic duality of Canada in the most prolific way, and of course, especially while the world is watching us—and in our case, some 3.5 billion people will be watching the games from around the world.

For us, it's about quite a bit more than just language; it really is much more about the spirit of what linguistic duality itself is. What we have tried to do from the moment we started--or we would have risked failure--is to integrate official languages right into the organizational culture of Vancouver 2010. We have embedded a commitment to official languages right into our strategic plans. It exists in every division, every department, every function of the organizing committee. Whatever functional plan you look at--and as you can imagine, Vancouver 2010 is one of the most complex, complicated organizations in the country--you will find in every division and area a commitment to official languages. It's just part of everything that we are trying to do.

Frankly, if we tried just to live up to the basic obligations we have, I think we would really have undervalued the opportunity we have. We wouldn't really have seized the moment that we have to take advantage of what this duality really means in our country. While we want to perform at a very high level, we also want to set an example for future games. We have been told loud and clear that past organizing committees in different parts of the world have not performed particularly well in this area, so the expectations for us are pretty high. We are committed to demonstrating excellence wherever we can. We're doing everything we can to exceed expectations.

I would say that if you were to point to something about the performance of the organizing committee and say that this or that is not good enough, it would be because we made a mistake. It wouldn't be because of who we are. We are very committed to this, and I'll give you some examples of what I mean as we go forward.

We have a profoundly positive relationship with the francophone communities of Canada, all across the country. We've been in every province and territory. We meet with these communities all the time, and I think if they were sitting here beside us today they would confirm that they have a very good relationship with us. They see the opportunity much as we do.

We have profoundly positive relationships with the Government of Canada, the Commissioner of Official Languages, and Heritage Canada. We've been before the Senate committee, and I believe their findings on our performance so far have been quite positive.

Inside the organization—and you have to keep in mind that we are in Vancouver, a long way from Ottawa—25% of the Vancouver 2010 employees can communicate in both official languages very well. This is a dramatic departure from the local average, if you were to take the local average for any other business. We have tried extremely hard to make sure that we have strong capacity. This is especially true of the departments of Vancouver 2010 that are critical to helping us deliver on our outside performance. So we're dramatically ahead of the average.

Inside the organization, we have for years provided French classes to our staff, to our volunteers. We have people inside the organization who volunteer on a daily basis to teach French. As I sit here today in front of the committee, I can tell you that some 7,000 applicants for our volunteer program are fluent in French, which is a very good sign. We believe that by the time the games begin we will be able to provide these services at a very high level to those who need them. We'll be able to meet our obligations.

We have also tried very hard to make sure this spirit also exists inside the cultural programs of Vancouver 2010. We're working with the francophone community to make sure the Cultural Olympiad embodies that spirit in its work. This year, when we launched the Cultural Olympiad, which will go on for three years and conclude in 2010, we featured francophone artists and a global star on the opening night presentation in Vancouver. Everybody felt that this was a good sign and a great success.

We will have no difficulty in meeting our obligations in respect of signage. It will all be bilingual. It is now. We produce all of our press releases and documentation in both languages. Are we absolutely perfect? Of course not, but we are doing everything we can to grow and complement our expertise so that our performance will continue to serve as an example that everybody can be proud of.

Many of our national sponsors deal with this every day. They perform in both languages all the time. This is not the case for all of them, though, and wherever we can we try to encourage the sponsors to abide by essentially the same spirit.

One of the areas of concern that were brought to our attention many years ago here in Ottawa was the airport—what would happen when people landed in Vancouver, what it would feel like. A long time ago, long before we started to talk about official languages and what our obligations were, we concluded that the airport was a mission-critical facility for the games. This is true for many reasons: it's the place where people land, where they get their first impressions, where they get a sense of what this adventure is going to be like. Many years ago, we chose to pursue Vancouver International Airport not just as a facility for us to occupy and use during the games, but also as a fully pledged partner. They are in fact a third-tier sponsor of the games.

When you land at Vancouver International Airport, you will land in an Olympic venue. It will be like landing right in the middle of the Olympic Games. You will be met by bilingual signage, with all of the proper sounds and announcements in both languages. There will be volunteers and staff who speak both languages fluently. The atmosphere will send a message that you're in Canada, that this duality is here. It will be quite impressive, and it is already moving in that direction. We have a spectacularly good partner here. It's a tremendous opportunity to show what can be achieved when you work with a good partner who has the same passion for this as you have.

So our progress has been good and we're receiving pretty good international commendation for how this has all gone so far, but there are still lots of challenges. This is a very big undertaking for us. We're obviously building our capacity as we go. Most of what we're doing is being funded by our sponsors; we're not separately funded for this. So we're trying to find ways wherever we can to improvise and grow our capacity so we can perform at a high level.

We expect to be held to account, and we are held to account. We hear regularly from people who would like our performance to be better than it is. But overall, over the past three years we have gone from struggling somewhat with this to pretty well getting ahead of it. Now we're in a position where we believe we can do a spectacularly good job and make the country proud, so everybody will feel that this was one of our finest hours. We're certainly trying our best to do that.

We're proud of our progress. There's lots to do, and any help we can get from any entity or partner is welcome. But today we are well set to perform at the highest level of any organizing committee in Olympic history.

I would be happy to take any questions, ideas, or comments you have on all of that.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Vice-Chair, Liberal, Pablo Rodriguez]

Thank you very much, Mr. Furlong.

We'll start the first seven-minute round with Mr. D'Amours.

[Jean-Claude D'Amours, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I would like to thank you for appearing before us this morning. You have clearly spoken about significant issues with regard to bilingualism, and the need to provide bilingual services within the organizing committee. I nevertheless have a few questions for you.

Being from New Brunswick, I am very much attuned to the importance of bilingualism. Mr. Furlong, you mentioned a number of elements. For example, you said that you had established good relations with the francophone community of British Columbia. However, having good relations is one thing, but I would like to know how the francophone community in British Columbia directly participates in the organizing committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

[John Furlong]

Let me start, and then I'll hand it over to my colleague.

First of all, the relationships are positive. They're ongoing and the dialogue is continuing week in and week out. They're engaged almost on a day-to-day, week-to-week basis in the work we're doing.

But I'll let Francine give you a more detailed comment on how that all plays out.

[Francine Bolduc, Program Director, Human Resources and Official Languages, Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games]

First of all, we signed a cooperative agreement with the Fondation dialogue and the Fédération des francophones de la Colombie-Britannique, in November 2006. That is more than a written agreement. We organize quarterly meetings and deal with specific files for which the francophone community can truly provide us with assistance, in such sectors as culture, education and volunteer work. We therefore work together on those various files and projects, and we meet on a quarterly basis. I set up meetings with the persons who are directly responsible for those issues within the francophone community. The Fondation dialogue and the Fédération des francophones attend those meetings; we come together to work on those files.

[Jean-Claude D'Amours, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

If I understood correctly, the discussions are held during regularly scheduled meetings. An agreement was signed, as you indicated, but is there a direct relationship? Is the francophone community directly integrated into the organization? And I mean in addition to quarterly meetings and the like or when you need their assistance. Is the francophone community engaged? It perhaps did not want to get involved; that might be what you will tell us. Is the community now directly engaged in the organization of the Olympic Games?

[Francine Bolduc]

The francophone community is active in a number of areas. For example, a representative of the francophone community of British Columbia is participating directly in VANOC's educational sector committee. As well, francophone community representatives are working in close cooperation with the person responsible for the cultural component on the development of a specific project, i.e., the Place de la francophonie on Granville Island. They are not working within our building, but we have numerous discussions with them.

Recently, someone from the federation has been coming to work one day a week to better focus on the various files. Someone was made available for that purpose.

[Jean-Claude D'Amours, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Very well.

[John Furlong]

To fully answer the question, I think you almost have to ask both entities at the same time. If you were to speak directly to the francophone community about how they feel about the relationship, I think they would say that it's been carved out quite well to work in a very positive way, that it's a good one. They have no outstanding queries about it. I think they feel it's quite progressive and is working well. Part of the reason for having the relationship is to give them the opportunity to speak, in a way, for the way they would like this to work.

We told them, in our initial presentation, that this needs to be great for you and great for us, so let's work with each other to develop the perfect relationship for you to be able to achieve your goals and for you to be able to help us achieve our goals. And I would say that they feel it's quite positive.

[Jean-Claude D'Amours, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

You said that francophone artists would take part in the opening ceremonies. Is that correct?

[John Furlong]

The answer to that question is that there will be full consideration of the duality of Canada in the developing of this. The ceremony plan is not done yet, but it's part of the planning work that's going on today. They certainly have been involved in all of the work that has taken place up to today. There have been seminars and workshops for the last several months with all of these communities, including many from Quebec and many from New Brunswick. The whole country has come to Vancouver to collaborate with us on how that ceremony program is going to be put together.

[Jean-Claude D'Amours, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

I would ask you not to follow the example of the CBC, which stated that, because francophone artists weren't very well-known with anglophone audiences, it would not broadcast their performances.

TQS, the broadcaster which is under the protection of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, has just announced the complete dismantlement of its news service. TQS is one of the partners that will broadcast the Olympic Games to francophones. Things at TQS appear to be very unclear at the moment.

Do you have a plan B to ensure that the small francophone communities in Canada will be able to watch the Olympic Games in French?

[John Furlong]

First of all, they're not our partner, and neither is CTV our partner. CTV and the channel you speak of are partners with the IOC. For us, we're an advocate, and we want to achieve the same outcome as you want--that is, to make sure that Canadians get to watch the Olympic Games in their living room in the language of their choice.

We have no contractual arrangement with CTV other than that we've been working with them. We're working with the Government of Canada, with the official languages commissioner's office, and with the television companies trying to find a way to come up with a solution that can work. This is a complex situation, and we have influence but no power in this area.

Just prior to the last meeting before the Senate committee on languages, I gave Minister Emerson an undertaking--albeit this is not an area where we actually have any control--that we at Vancouver 2010 would be working to try to bring the various players together to have the dialogue that we need to have. After all, this is Canada, and we should be better than this, but it's complicated. We will be trying to bring as much influence to bear as we can to find a solution to the problem so that Canadians can watch the Olympic Games the way they want to watch it.

[The Vice-Chair, Liberal, Pablo Rodriguez]

Thank you, Mr. Furlong.

Thank you, Mr. D'Amours.

We will move on to Mr. Nadeau. You have seven minutes.

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

I am extremely skeptical. Not so long ago, the newspapers indicated that VANOC wanted to recruit people who spoke Mandarin and English for the Beijing Games that will be held very shortly. A press release was distributed stating that that was not what was meant. And yet, that was what was written in the media. Unfortunately, the government never answered our question, and preferred speaking to us about the Vancouver Olympic Games.

That said, can you publicly state that the third parties with which you are now signing contracts will provide services in both official languages, in French and English, to all persons who will ask for services in French during the Olympic Games in Vancouver?

[John Furlong]

Yes, they will.

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

We will check up on that.

As Mr. D'Amours said, the official languages commissioner is very concerned by the fact that Quebeckers and francophone Canadians without cable access might not be able to watch the games in French if they so wish. We were talking about TQS and whether it would be possible to reach between 95% and 100% of audiences.

You referred to CTV, but did Radio-Canada, which is the state broadcaster, step in to ensure the broadcasting of the Olympic Games both in French and English?

[John Furlong]

I'm not sure exactly what I can add to what I've said, but let me just set this up for you so that you understand how this all came together and what we can do.

Vancouver 2010 has no role in negotiating television contracts with anyone. These are done exclusively by the IOC, and in the case of Canada, they had a competition between CTV and their group of companies and the CBC. Those negotiations were separate from Vancouver 2010. We had no role, no influence, and we weren't present for them. So when the IOC did its contract with CTV, that was a contract between the IOC and CTV, and whatever obligations to the IOC were contained in that contract, CTV has to live up to.

In Canada, of course, we have high expectations that the performance of the television companies will be the way you've just described. Our influences in this are really quite limited, other than the fact that we don't like being in this position where we have Canadians contacting us and saying, “We want to be able to watch the Olympic Games in French and English equally, whenever we like”--and we agree with that.

So the best that we have been able to do is to put our foot down and ask everybody who can play a role in this to get around the table and see if we can't find a solution.

Now, there have been some efforts made at this, and I think Heritage Canada--

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

Mr. Furlong, I understand what you are saying and it is all very interesting. Are you telling me that you do not have the mandate to ensure that the Olympic Games are broadcast equally in both official languages?

The television contracts are something else altogether. We make do with what is given to us. Does no one have the mandate to ensure that the Olympic Games are broadcast in both languages?

[John Furlong]

What I'm saying to you is that for television we do not have that mandate. We have the mandate to deliver in both languages in everything but that. This contract has got--

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

Who do you report to, Mr. Furlong? To British Columbia? To Canada? To Canadian Heritage?

[John Furlong]

No. I report to the board of directors of Vancouver 2010. The situation you describe is a complex one, but the television contract that you speak of is a television contract that exists between the Canadian television company and the IOC. We are not a signatory to that.

The only way we benefit from that contract is that some funds from that are provided to the organizing committee to help stage the games. But in that contract, the IOC holds the television companies accountable for the services they provide--

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

I understand. Now if I am not mistaken, there might not have been an interested francophone broadcaster and no broadcasts in French. In any case, that is not part of your mandate. We will eventually hear from officials at Radio-Canada.

As for the contracts pertaining to services at the airport, Olympic Games and the services provided by sponsors, you have good hope, but they are not part of your mandate. That is very troubling. You and I know that if there are shortcomings in services offered in French at the start of the Olympic Games, that will make headlines faster than we can imagine.

On another note, the documents that were handed to us indicate that there will be twice the amount of broadcasting hours in English than there will be in French. If I understand correctly, that does not fall under your purview either. They are planning 550 hours in French and 1,117 hours in English.

[John Furlong]

No. The application from Canadian television to the IOC was made exclusive of Vancouver 2010.

Let me go back and be really clear. We have full obligations for absolutely everything to do with the delivery of these services except that contract you speak of. We have no role in television. The best we have is influence, and we are applying that influence vigorously. We have talked to CTV, we have talked to Heritage, we have talked to Official Languages, we've talked to everybody who may have some role to play in this to get those who have the ability to do it to find a way to do it.

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

I will ask you another question.