Official Languages Committee on Feb. 17th, 2011

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Thank you, Mr. Gravelle.

We will end the first round with Mr. Gourde.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I would like to thank the witnesses for being here with us this morning.

While you say in your presentation that you are disappointed, you have nevertheless taken measures to improve the situation, in particular through your action plan. However, there is something I find concerning. On page 5 of your opening remarks, in the section entitled "Development of Official Language Minority Communities and Promotion of Linguistic Duality", you state that the report card noted that you identified and consulted with official language minority communities, but that you failed to identify their needs. How can you explain that? Were you able to identify and communicate with them?

[Margaret Biggs]

I'll ask Darren to respond.

[Darren Schemmer, Vice-President, Partnerships with Canadians Branch, Canadian International Development Agency]

Last year, we did send out letters to Canada's 12 minority language minority associations. Some of them did not respond, and others told us that international development was not of interest to their association. We did follow up and try to contact some of the associations by phone or in person. We were unable to contact all the associations. That remains to be done.

Based on what we have and have not received to date, we note that the associations that represent official language minority communities are first and foremost concerned with the welfare of their communities here in Canada and do not consider international development as part of their main mandate. That said, some of the member organizations of those communities do have an interest in international development. I am referring in particular to institutions of high learning. We do engage with them more. We try to find ways for those institutions and their members to increase their involvement in international development through CIDA.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC]

According to the report, CIDA's eight staff members outside the National Capital area are all anglophones. Are official language minority communities in the rest of Canada served by the National Capital? How do you reach out to them?

[Darren Schemmer]

The vast majority of our communications with Canadians originate from our head office in Gatineau, whether through our 1-800 number, through our website, through phone calls or by other modes of communication. We have eight regional staff in Canada, including three who work part-time. They are all anglophones, but half of them are functionally bilingual.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC]

You also said that you use other languages internationally. Apart from English and French, what other languages are most used?

[Darren Schemmer]

I have not done a survey on that but, in my experience, I would say that Spanish is the most used. We also have some employees who speak Arabic and some who speak Portuguese.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC]

Domestically, of course, you have been working with the action plan.

In your view, what would be the most urgent actions to take in order to improve your rating?

[Darren Schemmer]

Do you mean in general?

[Diane Jacovella]

Developing a plan and ensuring management follow-up and program oversight were priorities for us. Those are things we have undertaken and will continue to do. I think they will make a big difference.

We are also very concerned by the fact that our employees do not feel free to use French; that is very important. We will make sure to share messages with our employees and managers.

We received very low ratings in two areas, including the development of official language minority communities. As my colleague mentioned, it has been somewhat difficult to reach out to them because they are not as focused on international matters. Therefore, we try and work with other internationally-minded departments to see how they do their outreach. We might be able to strike partnerships in order to engage those communities.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC]

You have implemented part of your action plan. Does that plan include a timeframe for getting a better score?

[Diane Jacovella]

To get a better what?

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC]

To get a better score. Is it one year, two or three years, or is it a matter of months?

[Diane Jacovella]

Ours is a three-year plan, but I do hope we will achieve progress each and every year. I think it is very important to take concrete action and that people know that our senior management is very committed. We expect that our employees and partners will notice changes by the spring. It is a three-year plan.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC]

I have a quick technical question. How many of your employees are bilingual francophones and how many are bilingual anglophones?

[Diane Jacovella]

Francophone employees account for 54% of our staff, while anglophones account for 46%. Some 90% of our employees are bilingual.

I do want to point out that CIDA is a highly bilingual department. The vast majority of our employees are bilingual, and that is perhaps because of our international mandate.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC]

Clearly, your department has one of the highest percentages of francophone employees.

[Diane Jacovella]

Yes, indeed, 54% is quite significant.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC]

How much time do I have left?

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Less than a minute.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC]

That will be all.

[The Chair, Conservative, Steven Blaney]

Thank you, Mr. Gourde.

Mr. Galipeau, please go ahead.

[Royal Galipeau, Conservative, Ottawa—Orléans, ON]

Did you say that 55% were francophones or bilingual?

[Diane Jacovella]

I said that 54% of our employees are francophone and 90% are bilingual.