Following this committee's 2005 report, which stated that language requirements were not being met in more than 800 cases, the commission made a commitment to follow up those files very closely, and now only 50 are left.
We also now have a new order stating that, when an individual accepts a position and makes a commitment to become bilingual in the context of his or her position, that person has two years to become bilingual in accordance with the standards of the position. There is also the possibility of a two-year extension. Consequently, an individual has a maximum of four years. At the end of four years, if that persons does not meet the language requirements, he or she must be transferred to another position. That person may not keep the same position. In addition, we now conduct an annual follow-up of these files and we are requiring departments to shift those individuals to positions where they meet language requirements.
In the past, that went on forever, but with the new order and the follow-up we've put in place, that's changed a lot. There were nearly 900 cases at first.