Official Languages Committee on Oct. 8th, 2009

[Christena Keon Sirsly]

Would you like me to read the complaint letter to you?

[Shelly Glover, Conservative, Saint Boniface, MB]

Yes please.

[Christena Keon Sirsly]

On August 16, 2009, on board Toronto to Ottawa VIA Rail train number 46, specifically car number 3, most announcements were provided in English only during an emergency situation. The railway conductor initially provided security instructions in English only but subsequently partially repeated them in French in response to a request from a complainant. The complainant believes the railway conductor does not have a sufficient command of French to be responsible for a train as the second set of instructions she provided were such that passengers had to guess at the information provided in French. Furthermore, another employee advised passengers, in English only, that VIA Rail had been contacted and that engineers would be arriving shortly. Further to that, two or three staff members stated, in English only, that they would establish a medical list to recover a suitcase containing medication. The complainant also finds deplorable comments made by the VIA Rail spokesperson with regard to questions on the lack of services and instructions in French during this incident. The complainant is of the view that VIA Rail should make a greater effort to serve travellers in the language of their choice, especially in emergency situations.

[Shelly Glover, Conservative, Saint Boniface, MB]

You have investigated this matter. What have you found? In your preliminary remarks, Mr. Côté, you stated that an announcement had been made in French, which contradicts what is said in the complaint.

Have you determined the validity of this complaint?

[Christena Keon Sirsly]

Before I respond, I would like to point out that further to all the media attention, we received testimony from other passengers stating that the announcements had been made in both languages. These comments support what our own staff was saying.

[Shelly Glover, Conservative, Saint Boniface, MB]

Has there been testimony from other passengers who supported this gentleman's complaint?

[Christena Keon Sirsly]

Not to my knowledge.

[Shelly Glover, Conservative, Saint Boniface, MB]

Most of the testimonies seem to confirm what you have said, in other words that the announcements were made in French, as required.

There was also an issue as to attitude. I would like you to describe this.

[Christena Keon Sirsly]

I think employees were stressed, and perhaps a bit abrupt, but the findings pointed to them not necessarily being insensitive to this person's fears. They were very task-oriented. A number of passengers had left their suitcases on the train, and they contained medication. These passengers were worried. The employees were trying to address the problem, and perhaps they were a bit impatient.

[Shelly Glover, Conservative, Saint Boniface, MB]

It would seem to me, as was mentioned by the passenger in his complaint, that a number of employees were focused on these tasks.

I would like to know to what extent the employee who made the announcement in French is fluent.

[Christena Keon Sirsly]

He is the service director. He is the one that makes the announcements. Based on the assessments we've had done, he is bilingual.

[Shelly Glover, Conservative, Saint Boniface, MB]

Very well.

And the other staff members who spoke to this gentleman, did they pass their test, are they fully bilingual?

[Paul Côté]

Yes. As I explained earlier, if people have English as their mother tongue but are fluent enough in French to work at VIA, it may happen that in carrying out these duties in a crisis and panic situation, they may not necessarily comply with the requirement to use both languages. The emergency was to complete certain tasks. That is my assumption, but I wasn't there.

I myself have experienced these types of situations on trains, during derailments, for instance. I can tell you that we focus on the task at hand. Ms. Sirsly used the expression task-oriented, and that is accurate. In these cases, we must proceed to evacuation. Unfortunately, some obligations are probably set aside, but we are attempting to rectify things through training and feedback.

[Shelly Glover, Conservative, Saint Boniface, MB]

I agree. I too have been involved in emergency situations and I know that mistakes are made. I am talking about human error.

[Paul Côté]

Exactly.

[Shelly Glover, Conservative, Saint Boniface, MB]

It could also be that the passenger heard something different from what was said, there could have been human error at that level as well.

[Paul Côté]

You are absolutely right to bring that up.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Thank you. That has given us a good overview of your expertise, Ms. Glover.

We are now going to move on to Mr. Godin.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

It is true that, during emergencies, new voices are sometimes heard, but that was not the case here.

You said that you received letters confirming that the announcements were relayed in both languages. Is that correct?

[Christena Keon Sirsly]

Are you referring to the letter that was sent afterwards?

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

I am referring to the letters you received from clients.

[Christena Keon Sirsly]

Okay.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Were they English-speaking or French-speaking clients?

[Christena Keon Sirsly]

French-speaking.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

They all said that the announcements were made in both languages. So, in reality, there was no incident.