Evidence of meeting #72 for Official Languages in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was languages.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Liberal
Paul Lefebvre Liberal Sudbury, ON
We are also studying the Official Languages Act as it pertains to Air Canada.
As an Individual
I am not sure how many complaints I have filed concerning Air Canada. It may be 20 or 25. I would have to check. With the years—
Liberal
Paul Lefebvre Liberal Sudbury, ON
All right.
I want to talk about the complaint process. When you do business with Air Canada and you observe that your language rights have been violated, what approach do you take?
As an Individual
I was enraged the first time the police were called.
Although I did not have an attack of air rage and stayed seated, I was nevertheless frustrated. And we tried to point that out to the judges.
I act differently today. I am still frustrated, but I show it less.
As an Individual
In fact, I may be more frustrated than previously because my language rights have been denied for 17 years. Today, I take notes to remind myself of the incident and the date of the incident, for example. I also take pictures. Then I file a complaint with the Commissioner of Official Languages. It takes months before my application is processed.
As an Individual
In recent months, I have called them when I received the report.
Liberal
As an Individual
That is what I did recently.
Here is another specific example concerning Air Canada Cargo. I took something to Ottawa airport and noticed that the signs in the parking lot were in English only. In addition, the exit doors inside the airport were marked “exit”. Since that bothered me, I filed a complaint. The Commissioner of Official Languages said I was right, and Air Canada said I was right. I do not usually complain for no reason. I would even go so far as to say that my complaints have been founded in 99% of cases.
As an Individual
Air Canada acknowledged that the signs should have been bilingual. I called Air Canada to see if there was a way to resolve the matter amicably, but I have not yet received an answer. I am waiting for Air Canada's call. That is what is happening for the moment.
Liberal
Paul Lefebvre Liberal Sudbury, ON
The committee has heard from Air Canada management representatives on two occasions. If memory serves me, they told us they had an internal official languages complaints process. So there is an internal complaints system at Air Canada.
Have you had—
As an Individual
Personally, I have always done business with the Commissioner of Official Languages.
As an Individual
I am very well served by highly competent people who know the files. According to the Official Languages Act, that is how you should act.
The legal trigger that enables me to appear before the Federal Court is the complaint I file with the Commissioner. Under the Official Languages Act, any person, any complainant who files a complaint may subsequently go before the courts. If I filed a complaint through another organization, I would probably not be entitled to do so.
I do not know whether you are aware of this, but the Commissioner of Official Languages has two ways of solving these problems. The first is an informal system. In other words, he tries to solve the problem with the person concerned. The second is the formal investigation system, through which he determines whether the complaint is founded.
Personally, I always opt for the formal process because I do not want to have to debate with a judge as to whether one of my rights has been violated. I ask the Commissioner for a note stating that my right has been violated. Then I can file suit. When I go to court, it is much easier than having to file evidence. Imagine the situation if I had to do that.