Official Languages Committee on Feb. 2nd, 2017

[Carl Trottier]

I don't have any measures, however.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

How is it that you don't have any measures?

[Carl Trottier]

There are 220 departments and organizations, and they are all different.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

The country is 150 years old, and the Official Languages Act is 60 years old, if I'm not mistaken. How is it that, after 60 years, we still don't have any measures in the departments to determine whether their official languages performance is adequate or not?

[Carl Trottier]

As you, yourself, said, it's important not to compare apples and oranges. The realities of some departments are quite different.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

That fact is not lost on any of us.

[Carl Trottier]

There are 220 institutions, and they are all different.

I would like nothing more than to have a measure that would apply to all of them, making it possible for me to compare apples and apples and to rank them so I could see exactly who was doing well and who wasn't. Unfortunately, though, I don't have such a measure.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

So there we have a problem.

[Carl Trottier]

It is possible, however, to establish a horizontal—

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, John Nater]

We have to stop. We have to go on.

Before I go to Mr. Vandal, you mentioned that you have to work within the framework you're given. Would you be able to provide us with that framework?

[Carl Trottier]

We'll put it together and we'll give it to you, yes.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, John Nater]

Okay.

Monsieur Vandal.

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'd like to pick up on my colleague Mr. Arseneault's question. Can you give me an idea of how many public servants in the Treasury Board Secretariat work on official languages? You cited a figure earlier. What was it?

[Carl Trottier]

I wasn't talking about the Treasury Board Secretariat. That said, 20 or so employees work on official languages there, primarily on support and evaluation activities. You could also include all the champions across the public service, who work on official languages as well.

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB]

Of your three main activity themes—policy, support, and evaluation—which receives the bulk of your resources and time?

[Carl Trottier]

It's a continuum. An official languages policy exists, so what we actually do is provide guidance and advice to the departments on how to comply with the policy. We gather data, and we support the departments. That is part of our responsibilities.

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB]

You mentioned a continuum. Does that mean things are always changing?

[Carl Trottier]

No. It's a cycle. We have a policy, we collect data, we carry out an evaluation, and we provide support to the departments in an effort to help them improve their performance. The following year, we gather data and so forth. The improvement is ongoing from year to year.

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB]

I don't want to repeat what everyone has already said, but I just want to make sure that you understand our position.

According to our briefing note, Environment and Climate Change Canada makes no mention of official languages or official language minority communities in its reports on plans and priorities. That applies to both the 2015-16 and 2016-17 reports.

How is that possible? Do you have the tools to figure that out? How can that be true this year?

That is our view, and I just want to make sure you understand where we are coming from.

[Carl Trottier]

I understand. I am now aware of it. Thank you.

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB]

How is it possible for a department like Environment and Climate Change Canada to make no mention of official languages in its 2017 report on plans and priorities?

[Carsten Quell]

I don't have the report in front of me, so I'm not prepared to comment on that.

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB]

Very well.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, John Nater]

We have just three minutes left. Would anyone else care to take the floor?

[Paul Lefebvre, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

I have a question.

You said that you had about 22 employees reporting to you. Was that always the case? Was the staff larger or smaller in the past? Do you have enough people to do the job?