Official Languages Committee on April 2nd, 2019

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(3), we are continuing the study of the subject matter of the Interim Estimates 2019-20: Vote 1 under the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages.

This morning, we are pleased to hear from the Commissioner of Official Languages, Raymond Théberge, who is joined by members of his team.

Mr. Théberge, I will give you time to introduce the people accompanying you.

As usual, you have about 10 minutes to make your presentation, which will be followed by questions and comments from committee members.

Mr. Théberge, go ahead.

[Raymond Théberge, Commissioner of Official Languages, Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Chair and honourable members of the committee, good morning.

I'm appearing before your committee to present the highlights of the main estimates for my office, and to talk about a possible federal-provincial-territorial summit.

Joining me today are my three assistant commissioners: Ghislaine Saikaley, Pierre Leduc and Éric Trépanier; and my general counsel, Pascale Giguère.

My office has a budget of $21.7 million to carry out its mandate during the 2019-20 fiscal year. This amount includes $15.1 million in salaries, which is nearly 70% of the main estimates. An additional $4.3 million for operating expenses accounts for almost 20% of the main estimates. The remaining $2.3 million—or just over 10%—of the main estimates represents statutory expenditures related to the employer's contribution to employee benefit plans.

These funds are used to support my office in carrying out its mandate through its two programs: protection of official languages rights and advancements of English and French in Canadian society, which are supported by internal services. Other than the statutory expenditures I mentioned earlier, the budget for 2019-20 is essentially the same as last year's.

Protection activities include investigations, audits and other compliance-related activities, as well as legal services. Planned spending in 2019-20 for this program is $7.6 million, or 35% of the total budget. Planned spending for advancement activities is $7.2 million in 2019-20, and $6.9 million has been allocated for internal services. These respectively represent 33% and 32% of the total budget.

Because we are committed to using public funds with the utmost integrity, we have also developed a culture of continuous improvement. Some measures have already been put in place, such as continued investment in information management and information technology to make business processes more efficient and effective. We will continue to ensure sound management of our budget, based on the priorities I will establish.

Of course, if we had a bigger budget, we could undoubtedly be able to resolve some investigation files more quickly and conduct more research, studies and audits. The latter three often take a back seat when we need to focus our resources on investigating complaints and following up on commitments and recommendations made during those investigations.

As an ombudsman, I have to focus my resources on the two programs through which my mandate is carried out, which I talked about earlier. Complaints have been on the rise since 2012—from 400 or 500 to more than 1,000.

For now, based on the improvements we have made to manage our complaint files, I am confident that my staff and I can continue to fulfill our mandate within the current funding envelope. However, if the trend continues, we will understandably have to consider asking for additional funding.

If I may, I'd like to come back to the discussion we had here last December. In 2018, official language minority communities across Canada experienced many setbacks owing to various budget cuts and government decisions that weakened the status of our official languages, despite the fact that the Official Languages Act has been around for five decades. Obviously, I am dismayed and disappointed by this turn of events. I never thought I'd have to make public statements about language rights setbacks in 2018, just as the act was about the celebrate its 50th anniversary.

Sadly, Canadians' language rights are still being infringed. For example, some voters are still being denied their right to vote in the official language of their choice, even though it is a fundamental right. And it is still difficult for many to obtain services in the official language of their choice where required by law.

Given the current situation and the fact that the Official Languages Act is about to turn 50 years old, it's time for the government to take action on a national level and establish a dialogue with the provinces and territories, perhaps in the form of a federal-provincial-territorial summit, in order to discuss the future of linguistic duality and of official language communities and to come up with concrete and long-lasting solutions.

The federal government has already taken some positive steps with respect to official languages. For example, it has announced its intention to modernize the act and has recently begun conducting national discussions on official languages and bilingualism. It has also begun implementing the action plan for official languages 2018 - 2023, “Investing in Our Future”, which provides significant funding for official language communities. Given these positive steps, I see an opportunity for the Prime Minister to exercise strong political leadership to reaffirm linguistic duality across the country.

In order for linguistic duality to be meaningful and to be something that brings us together, Canada's official languages must claim their rightful place. Without strong support for official language minority communities across Canada, our linguistic duality cannot succeed and the social contract that brings us together is weakened.

As you know, the act is a federal statute, but the way Canadians live their lives in their own official language is very dependent on provincial and municipal governments, in school, at work, at play, online and even while simply ordering a coffee. How then do we ensure that our two languages have their own place in these public spaces where the power of federal law is limited? This is an issue that could be discussed at a summit.

I've said before and I'll say it again: official languages are everyone's business.

I want to add that the provinces and territories have an important role to play in protecting official language minority communities by making sure that linguistic duality is always on the agenda. They need to recognize the economic and cultural contribution of these communities across Canada.

I think that a federal-provincial-territorial summit would yield tangible results among key stakeholders, such as increased awareness and a renewed commitment to linguistic duality. Investing in the future, in young Canadians and in our communities ensures the vitality and longevity of Canada's official languages.

And so, we must continue to be vigilant to prevent federal and provincial authorities from making decisions and taking actions that undermine official language minority communities. We need to strengthen these communities, not weaken them. And we need leaders from all levels of government to make this happen.

Thank you for your attention.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them in the official language of your choice, and I will be happy to answer them.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Thank you very much, Mr. Théberge.

We will begin the questions and comments right away with Mr. Clarke.

[Alupa Clarke, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Commissioner and all those accompanying you, good morning.

Welcome to this new room; this is the first time we are meeting here.

Mr. Théberge, I would first like to ask you how many employees the office has.

[Éric Trépanier, Assistant Commissioner, Corporate Management Branch, Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages]

We have 165 employees.

[Alupa Clarke, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

That's a fairly substantial number.

You shouldn't see any hidden agenda in my next question.

I see that you have $19 million in main estimates 2018-19.

We also see an amount of $4 million for the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying, and another $5 million for the Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner.

What explains that discrepancy between your office and those other offices, just for our information?

[Raymond Théberge]

Our office's mandate is the protection and promotion of linguistic duality. That is why the government decided, a long time ago, to provide us with funding to enable us to fulfill our mandate, both in terms of the protection aspect and the promotion aspect. Our office's history stretches further back than that of other parliamentary agencies.

[Alupa Clarke, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Indeed.

I assume you also have more employees, right?

[Raymond Théberge]

Yes. We have more employees.

As I was saying earlier, there has been a significant increase in complaints. Some other commissioners have also noted an increase in complaints, and they're seeking additional funds, as well.

[Alupa Clarke, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

That is noteworthy.

Commissioner, in your opening remarks, you talked about the fact that you didn't think you would take office during a year when language rights were being infringed, as you put it.

In relation to that realization, have you seen an increase in complaints during this year compared with other years?

[Raymond Théberge]

Yes. During the fiscal year that ended on March 31, we received a record number of complaints—1,086. That is unprecedented, and it has clearly resulted in a lot of work. Investigations must follow steps, and we must ensure that they are always properly conducted.

So it is true that Canadians are increasingly aware of their rights and increasingly prepared to assert their rights with federal institutions.

[Alupa Clarke, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

What part of the act did most complaints focus on?

[Raymond Théberge]

More than 50% of complaints focused on part IV—the part that concerns communications with and services to the public.

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d’Orléans—Charlevoix, QC]

Is that right?

[Raymond Théberge]

Yes, over 50% of them have to do with part IV.

[Alupa Clarke, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Okay.

That's interesting.

For next year, you are seeking $21.7 million. Are you requesting that money or is the government giving it to you of its own accord? Is it sufficient? Are you satisfied? Is it enough? Is it too much? I suppose it is never too much.

[Raymond Théberge]

I will let Mr. Trépanier answer part of the question, and I will then answer the other part.

[Éric Trépanier]

As for the $21.7-million request, that is the annual amount allocated to us, and it varies somewhat when collective agreements are signed. The amount is more or less the same from year to year. The only variations for the time being are due to salary increases.

[Alupa Clarke, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Okay.

I understand.

[Raymond Théberge]

The second part of your question was about whether or not the amount is sufficient. As I said, right now, we are capable of managing the increase in complaints. However, there are still some areas where we could do more, such as in education, research, audits and follow-ups. It is extremely important to properly understand the context we are operating within.

The research aspect is extremely important. We are not really doing the research ourselves; we put in orders with researchers. It is extremely important to be able to use evidence produced by researchers. So it is a matter of knowing how we can use that to better guide our work.

However, as I also mentioned, if the trend continues, we will have to increase the number of investigators, without neglecting the promotion aspect. Something I have noted this year, as I travelled around the country, is to what extent official languages are not understood by people in majority situations. We often talk amongst ourselves, we are very familiar with official languages, but those individuals very often do not understand the concept of official languages, linguistic duality, or even official bilingualism. So it is important to conduct promotion with people in majority settings, as well as with those in minority settings.

[Alupa Clarke, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

That brings me to a sub-question, Commissioner.

There are issues with translation at the Canada Infrastructure Bank, the National Energy Board, or NEB, on tendering Internet sites, and so on. There are also cases of flagrant arrogance, such as what happened at the NEB.

Do you have the power to send them a letter signed by you asking what the issue is? Are you doing that?

[Raymond Théberge]

The two cases you brought up are currently under investigation. So I don't have much to say about this.

[Alupa Clarke, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

I understand.

[Raymond Théberge]

However, there is an important consideration regarding complaints, which is that nearly 30% of them are resolved through the facilitated resolution approach. For example, if someone notices that a website is not available in both official languages, they call us, and we resolve the issue. It is as simple as that. The complainant will then receive a letter informing them that the situation has been resolved.

In a formal investigation, we have to follow steps. When it comes to the informal aspect, however, we have a lot more flexibility.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Thank you very much, Mr. Clarke.

We now go to Mrs. Fortier.