I will explain the process that we follow when we receive a complaint. First of all, I send a letter to the deputy minister or to the president of the institution that is the subject of the complaint. This letter indicates that we have received a complaint alleging that an incident has taken place, that we will investigate according to a section of the act, and that, if there are questions, they can be addressed to the analyst responsible for the investigation.
The analyst then contacts someone at the department, an official languages coordinator or an official languages champion. We try to establish the facts, whether or not the allegations are true, and if the complaint is well founded.
I should have explained that first we evaluate whether or not the complaint is admissible, whether or not it deals with part of the act, whether or not the institution in question is subject to the act, and whether or not the incident took place at a specific time. If someone sends me a letter saying that one institution or another hates francophones, well, that's unfortunate, but that is not an admissible complaint. However, if the person says that they were unable to receive service in French on flight 871, on July 25, 2013, that is an admissible complaint.
After we have determined if the complaint is admissible, we begin an investigation and we send a preliminary report to the institution. We indicate that they have 30 days, I think, to answer and to give us their version of the facts. If we have made any mistakes, or if we have misunderstood how the department works, we take the necessary corrective measures.