Official Languages Committee on Feb. 9th, 2017

[Marie Lemay]

Yes.

[François Choquette, NDP, Drummond, QC]

But jobs were lost nevertheless.

[Marie Lemay]

Yes, but this year...

[François Choquette, NDP, Drummond, QC]

Basically, this is what I want to know. For 2015-2016, we understand that the new government needed time to settle in and to understand what was going on. However, what is the status for 2016-2017? At the end of the fiscal year, will we have more FTEs or fewer than we had in the beginning?

[Marie Lemay]

We can provide you with figures. We expected to lose about 40 this year, and we have hired at least 19.

[François Choquette, NDP, Drummond, QC]

So, there is still a negative balance of 21 positions.

[Marie Lemay]

I am not certain. I will send you the figures. I think there are other positions that are not language industry positions, but we will send you an answer.

[François Choquette, NDP, Drummond, QC]

Very well.

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Thank you, Mr. Choquette.

It is Mr. Lefebvre's turn.

[Paul Lefebvre, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

Thank you very much.

You said that there has been a change of course or of direction at the Translation Bureau. You are of course going to staff the CEO position, and also recruit a chief quality officer.

However, what I would like to know is where is the starting point? Did you have an action plan in the past, were you able to measure data? Every department has one.

I also sit on the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, where deputy ministers are also asked to account for their action plan. They are always asked about their action plan, what measures they have put in place to assess the data they collected, and what decisions were made.

So, what was your point of departure? What existed before? And now, in what direction are you headed? What is your new plan? How are you going to measure the hiring rate? What is being done on that? How can you measure quality?

[Marie Lemay]

We had a very clear plan. We are in the fourth year of that plan, which contains very specific data on the number of people, the cost per word, and expenditures. However, it is difficult to tell you what it will look like in the future. We have to start over and rework this plan in light of the new directives we have been given, while taking into account the additional volume in the previous year. In fact, the demand for translation and interpretation has increased enormously.

All things considered, the arrival of new leaders means that this is a good time to review the plan and the specific measures to be put in place over the next years. The plan we have right now is a five-year plan. We are in the fourth year of that plan. We are going to start over with a new plan.

[Paul Lefebvre, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

What is behind this sudden increase in volume?

[Marie Lemay]

There are many more public parliamentary committee hearings. This has a big effect on the volume of interpretation. Also, parliamentary translation went from 28 million words in 2015-2016 to 60 million words in 2016-2017. So there has been a considerable increase.

[Darrell Samson, Liberal, Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS]

That is clear and transparent.

[Marie Lemay]

With regard to parliamentary interpretation, we have seen an increase of close to 40%. So that is a big increase, which is a good thing.

At this time, it is very inspiring and exciting to be at the Translation Bureau. We are going to be able to do all kinds of interesting things in the years to come.

[Paul Lefebvre, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

As I said, I also sit on the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, where we often hear representatives from the various departments. We always hammer home the same thing, and that is the importance of having an action plan with measurable data. You must measure and verify your data. If the Auditor General goes to see you, that is precisely what he will ask of you. You have to be accountable and you're going to have to appear. In fact, that is how all parliamentary committees work.

Today, you have just told us that you will be putting recommendations in place, but you are going to leave and we will hear nothing further from you. You tell us not to worry and that the work will be done, but how can you ensure that that will be the case?

When we sit on the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, we sometimes see afterwards that things aren't working, that there are gaps or deficiencies, or we see that things go well. In many departments and agencies, things are going very well.

I simply wanted to say that if the Auditor General meets with you, it will be important for you to have a good action plan with measurable data.

[Marie Lemay]

I apologize if I was not clear, but I simply want to reassure you. There really is a plan, and measurements, whether it is in the Report on Plans and Priorities, or other ones. We have all of that. The only nuance I would like to make is that the plan we had begun will change directions, and we are going to start over with new measures and new projections.

[Paul Lefebvre, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Thank you, Mr. Lefebvre.

Mr. Samson, you have the floor.

[Darrell Samson, Liberal, Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

I thank the witnesses for being here today.

I must say that this is good news. This is a new beginning, in fact. Your five-year plan is in its fourth year, but since the vision has changed, you have to go back to the drawing board to build a new plan. The new hires and the new leadership will be a part of this new vision.

Personally, I am very confident. Mr. Choquette is worried about figures. However, he must understand that with an 18-wheeler truck, you can't turn on a dime as you can with a Corvette. You have to be patient. The vision has changed and you must go back to the drawing board to build a new action plan. I am very pleased about that.

That said, have you done or do you intend to conduct comparative studies with other bilingual countries, or countries that have three or four languages and offer translation services? Can you share comparative information or data with us, information that could perhaps provide potential solutions to the new leader?

[Marie Lemay]

There are several. I will let Mr. Gibson provide details. There really are some good opportunities.

[Adam Gibson]

I'd say there are a few examples. There are no countries to which we can compare ourselves exactly, but Europe remains one the best points of comparison for Canada. We can compare ourselves on some points with the United States, but they do not have many internal services. They use contracts with the private sector almost exclusively.

Another good comparison is the New Brunswick Translation Bureau. That province has its own bureau.

Whatever the comparison, whether we look at other countries or even Canadian provinces, the same question remains: we have to find a good balance between persons and expertise we keep in-house, that is to say our own employees, and the work we give to the private sector.

The challenges are the same with regard to technology and quality. Based on our discussions with stakeholders, the challenges are similar. I remember my last conversation with a United Nations or European representative. The challenges we talked about were almost exactly the same in our respective organizations.

And so there are good examples and good practices the new chief executive officer will be able to look to for inspiration.

[Darrell Samson, Liberal, Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS]

Very well. In fact, the moment is propitious. The vision is different and a new action plan is being put in place. Let's hope we do not have to wait for the fifth year to see the results. That said, we need the time it takes in the case of a five-year plan.

Madam, you are the deputy minister, correct?

[Marie Lemay]

Yes.

[Darrell Samson, Liberal, Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS]

How long have you been in that position?