Official Languages Committee on March 24th, 2011

[Liseanne Forand]

It was an error on my part not to have been clearer and more precise then.

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

Excuse me. You say you wish you had been clearer and more precise.

In all of Service Canada's press releases these days, you talk about service to Canadians. Now, you are talking about the administrative structure. Let's stop talking about service to Canadians. Let's talk about the administrative structure.

Before the administrative structure for the Atlantic provinces was centralized, Mr. Bill Ferguson, who was bilingual, was the director of the administrative structure in New Brunswick. Mr. Bill Ferguson has retired and been replaced by Ms. Louise Branch. Do you know her?

[Liseanne Forand]

Yes.

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

Ms. Louise Branch got a promotion and became head of the administrative structure for the Atlantic provinces. So she was in charge of the entire Atlantic region. Do you recall that?

[Liseanne Forand]

Yes.

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

Now, she has left and been replaced by Ms. Lynne Bruvels. Is that correct?

[Liseanne Forand]

No.

The management position that was held by Ms. Branch for the Atlantic region is now held by Mr. Mike Alexander on an acting basis until the position can be filled permanently.

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

All right.

[Liseanne Forand]

The competition to fill that position permanently is currently in progress.

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

All right.

Ms. Lynne Bruvels is the director of processing and payment services for employment insurance at Service Canada for the Atlantic region. Is that correct?

[Liseanne Forand]

I would like to ask my colleague Gina Rallis to confirm who holds the position you are referring to, because there are people in that position both provincially and regionally. So I would ask Ms. Rallis to confirm Ms. Bruvels' position.

[Gina Rallis, Assistant Deputy Minister of the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development, Human Resources Services Branch, Service Canada]

Thank you.

I will check and get back to you. Ms. Branch was indeed the person in charge. So it wasn't Ms. Bruvels who replaced her, it was Mr. Michael Alexander.

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

Is Michael Alexander bilingual?

[Gina Rallis]

Yes.

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

When we called to speak with Ms. Branch, we were told she had been replaced by Ms. Bruvels. Ms. Bruvels' title is director of employment insurance processing and payment services.

Let's turn now to Mr. Jim Wood, who was the director of employment insurance in Saint-John. He was replaced by Mr. Doug Johnson, in Newfoundland. I agree with you when you say that your people are all over the Atlantic region. Mr. Doug Johnson is not bilingual. Is he?

As for the 60 jobs lost in Bathurst, the employees told me they were dealing with Mr. Doug Johnson, who doesn't speak French. According to part V of the Official Languages Act, workers are entitled to speak the language of their choice.

[Liseanne Forand]

Mr. Godin, I am going to ask Ms. Rallis to give you a more specific answer.

However, you are right, Mr. Johnson is the executive director responsible for processing and payment...

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

For the Atlantic region?

[Liseanne Forand]

... for the Atlantic Region. He has been receiving language training and should be completing that shortly. We have also taken administrative measures, as provided for in the Official Languages Act, to ensure that employees in New Brunswick have access to a supervisor in the language of their choice.

I would ask Ms. Rallis to add a few details in that regard.

[Gina Rallis]

Mr. Wood is still the incumbent. He is the director general responsible for integrity and national services throughout the region.

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

Very well, but why are the employees who must contact Service Canada referred to Doug Johnson, in Newfoundland, who does not currently speak French and responds by sending them letters in English?

[Gina Rallis]

Mr. Chair, employees are not referred to Mr. Johnson. They have supervisors who are...

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

Do you want me to show you letters that Mr. Johnson wrote in English to people in Bathurst?

[Gina Rallis]

Mr. Johnson is responsible for employment insurance benefits, but there are direct supervisors who are bilingual.

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

We are talking about the administrative structure. In the past, the Bathurst office dealt with Jim Wood. He said that he no longer holds that position and that people must now deal with Doug Johnson. But Doug Johnson does not speak French.

When I called Ms. Bruvels, the message on her answering machine said that she was absent and invited people to call Carson Littlejohn, the director of EI payment and processing, who also works in St. John's and does not speak French.

That is what the Atlantic Region has lost. So, do you agree that things have changed? When things were run out of New Brunswick and had not yet been centralized, people could receive services in French wherever they called. Today their calls are falling on deaf ears. When I asked a question about that, Ms. Forand, you were quite clear: the Atlantic is a unilingual region. Ms. Therrien, the communication director, told me that the offices are not bilingual. The administrative structure is not bilingual.

Do you agree with me, yes or no?

[Liseanne Forand]

Are you asking me to respond?