Evidence of meeting #48 for Official Languages in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was languages.
A recording is available from Parliament.
10 a.m.
Liberal
Brian Murphy Liberal Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB
I would like to ask you some questions on your efforts under part VII of the act.
When, exactly, did you hire Donald Savoie, the man who is so well known in my neck of the woods, Moncton?
10 a.m.
Deputy Minister, Department of Natural Resources
We have had discussions with Mr. Savoie over the past few weeks. If I'm not mistaken, the initial conversations about hiring him date back to last December. Essentially, we have reached an agreement with him over the past few days. All we need now is to finalize the contract. We have already agreed with him on the conditions of the contract.
10 a.m.
Liberal
Brian Murphy Liberal Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB
You are right that he is a renowned expert on official language minority communities. That is clear. We know that. However, I would like to know if you consulted him and if he provided you with any advice prior to the publishing of this report.
10 a.m.
Deputy Minister, Department of Natural Resources
No. Mr. Chairman, we want Mr. Savoie to guide us in the application of part VII of the act. It is part of our plan to call upon an expert to help us implement part VII of the act, in addition to taking the necessary steps outlined in the plan.
As for the plan itself, some aspects are relatively easy to implement. For example, as regards service to the public, the obligations are very clear and we know what must be done. The same is true for the language of work. Part VII is not as clear, as the commissioner himself has admitted, and we wanted to obtain Mr. Savoie's advice in this area.
10 a.m.
Liberal
Brian Murphy Liberal Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB
I appreciate that, while you have only been in your position since last October, we received this report yesterday and you hired Mr. Savoie recently. This is not intended as criticism, but is it accurate to say that your action plan released yesterday doesn't provide any direction on your obligations under part VII of the act?
10 a.m.
Deputy Minister, Department of Natural Resources
I mentioned that we already had some concrete initiatives underway, like the open house for our labs throughout the country. Nevertheless, to go a step farther—and we specified this in the plan—we will draw on the advice provided by Mr. Savoie. In any case, we will clearly do our utmost to honour our obligations, but we will do so with the advice of an expert.
10 a.m.
Liberal
Brian Murphy Liberal Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB
If we compare your department to CIDA, for example, we see that CIDA is involved globally, whereas your department is involved in the regions of Canada. In eastern Canada, for example, many people speak French and work in French. You must therefore be aware of your obligations under part VII of the act. Am I right about that?
10:05 a.m.
Deputy Minister, Department of Natural Resources
I think you are absolutely right. I think that in some ways, what has perhaps become clear for some institutions is that part VII is not strictly linked to the organization's mandate. Initially, there was perhaps a false impression among management. For example, on the national resources side, do we need to hold this specific dialogue with minority language communities on oil and gas in our western offices? For a department like Canadian Heritage, the need to consult official language minority groups is probably clear. What the commissioner has invited us to do is go beyond that. That comes from a conversation I had with him. It is about looking at how, within our mandate and beyond that, we can help promote the vitality of both official languages throughout Canada. That is a new dimension for us and one we will now try to meet. So there is a certain obligation, and we will have to do a better job of meeting it than we have done to date.
10:05 a.m.
Conservative
10:05 a.m.
Bloc
Monique Guay Bloc Rivière-du-Nord, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I would like to remind you that the Official Languages Act has existed for 40 years.
10:05 a.m.
Bloc
Monique Guay Bloc Rivière-du-Nord, QC
Not part VII, but the Official Languages Act has existed for 40 years.
That is very disappointing. Among the departments we have met with to date, yours is the one with the worst ratings. So we have a great deal of work to do. I would like to know how many employees there are at the Department of Natural Resources.
10:05 a.m.
Deputy Minister, Department of Natural Resources
We have approximately 4,500 employees.
10:05 a.m.
Bloc
Monique Guay Bloc Rivière-du-Nord, QC
Have you ever had to do a report on official languages within your department?
10:05 a.m.
Deputy Minister, Department of Natural Resources
I mentioned that this was the first time we were subject to an assessment by the commissioner.
10:05 a.m.
Bloc
Monique Guay Bloc Rivière-du-Nord, QC
Did you ever try to prepare an action plan for the application of official languages in your department?
10:05 a.m.
Deputy Minister, Department of Natural Resources
I must refer to my colleague who was there before I arrived.
February 17th, 2011 / 10:05 a.m.
Monique Paquin Director General, Corporate Management and Services Sector, Department of Natural Resources
The department had initiatives in place. A working group on official languages had been very active for several years. The initiatives were in place and were moving forward. We identified best practices throughout the government. However, there was no integrated action plan. However initiatives already existed at the department, whether they dealt with the school or language training program that thus existed since 2005, if I am not mistaken—that was before me as well—and other things. Having said that, there was no integrated way of considering official languages within the organization. The commissioner's report specifically enabled us to bring that together, to integrate the initiatives, and to look forward.
10:05 a.m.
Director General, Corporate Management and Services Sector, Department of Natural Resources
Yes, absolutely.
10:05 a.m.
Deputy Minister, Department of Natural Resources
Essentially, this school is made up of 12 full-time teachers. They represent an expenditure of approximately $1 million per year—$950,000 to be more precise. They provide training to approximately 400 to 425 of our employees at all times. There are always between 400 and 425 people registered in full- or part-time training.
