Official Languages Committee on March 25th, 2021

[Denis Vinette]

I can assure you that there is an ongoing commitment.

As a francophone and someone who has worked for the agency for 29 years, I certainly appreciate the importance of having all the necessary measures in place. Our president is also committed to ensuring bilingual services are delivered in accordance with the Official Languages Act.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, some 97 million travellers, on average, crossed the border, and we received 31 complaints about the services provided to the public. That is 31 too many, of course, but we are working hard to make sure the tens of millions of people crossing the border can be served in the language of their choice, and those efforts will continue.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

First, can you tell us how many officers CBSA employs? How many officers and supervisors speak French?

Second, I spoke to a lawyer who deals with CBSA frequently. He told me that, when he speaks to CBSA representatives in French, he almost always receives a response in English. How do you explain that?

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

Sorry, Mr. Beaulieu, but you're out of time. Your question was too long.

You'll have another turn, so you can ask Mr. Vinette your question then.

We now go to Mr. Boulerice for six minutes.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to the witnesses for being with us today and participating in this study, which is coming to a close soon.

My first question is for the CBSA officials.

The official languages commissioner identified shortcomings in the delivery of bilingual services to travellers by CBSA in the office's 2015 and 2019 reports. Can you tell us the measures that were put in place to reverse the trend?

Can you send the committee a list of all the recommendations made by the official languages commissioner that you have not been able to implement thus far?

[Denis Vinette]

Thank you for your question.

I will ask my colleague to comment in a moment.

That amounts to a review of the findings made by the commissioner, with whom we are in constant contact.

We introduced a three-year action plan encompassing a series of initiatives that are based on four themes. The themes were chosen to reflect the commissioner's findings and to make sure we have sufficient organizational capacity to provide bilingual service. By capacity, I mean the number of employees, as well as the tools our unilingual and bilingual officers need, and the technology to ensure we interact with travellers in the language of their choice at all times. That includes in-person interpretation in major centres and telephone-based interpretation in smaller centres.

My colleague can tell you a bit more about the action plan.

[Louise Youdale]

We were provided with eight recommendations, two of which we fully met. They related to engaging the official languages minority communities, as well as our efforts in the area of training. Those recommendations were fully satisfied.

Four were partially satisfied. One was with regard to our need to ensure that our superintendents were bilingual. I've addressed that we now have 99.1% of them meeting their linguistic profiles.

The other recommendation related to our need to increase efforts in designing targeted recruitment strategies. We have now developed the frontline officer recruitment program that was informed by our engagement of the official languages minority communities. That is in play. We are hoping that will assist us in achieving our goals.

The other recommendation had to do with a review....

Sorry, go ahead.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

As for the six outstanding recommendations—the ones that were not implemented or only partially implemented—I hope you'll be able to meet your obligations within the established time frame.

I have another question.

As you know, of course, Canada and the U.S. have a joint program for low-risk travellers called NEXUS. The main purpose of the program is to make it faster for citizens to cross the border than it would be if they were following the normal process.

Does CBSA ensure that bilingual employees are always posted at NEXUS points?

[Denis Vinette]

In regions designated as bilingual, where service must be provided in both languages, we have to make sure staff can provide the service at all times. In certain other areas where we have more than one lane, we also make sure to have a designated bilingual lane.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

The reason I ask is that, on two occasions, constituents in my riding were told to use the regular lane where a bilingual officer was available. Failings like that force francophones to choose between their rights under the NEXUS program and their language rights.

Can you give us assurance that it won't happen again?

[Denis Vinette]

I can assure you that we will continue striving to have individuals designated as bilingual at bilingual points of entry. We have put procedures in place. As a result, when a traveller looking for a French-speaking officer comes to a booth that is not designated as bilingual, we go and fetch an officer from another booth who can provide the service, so that the individual does not have to move to another lane. I can't speak to the specific case you mentioned, but I can assure you that we make certain bilingual officers are always posted at lanes designated as bilingual.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

How many front-line officers speak only French, how many speak only English, and how many are bilingual? Do you have those numbers broken down by province?

[Denis Vinette]

I would have to check with my colleague. We may have to get back to the committee with that information.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

If you could, it would be greatly appreciated.

[Denis Vinette]

We will do our best.

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

You have 30 seconds left, Mr. Boulerice.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Ms. Burke, I have a very simple question. Have you noticed a major difference in the bilingual or French-language service provided prior to the pandemic versus that provided during the pandemic? Has the number of complaints remained unchanged or risen significantly?

[Kelly Burke]

The number of complaints has been steady over the past year, hovering around the annual average, 300 to 325. However, during the pandemic, we've seen a marked increase in the number of complaints about pandemic-related communications, particularly health messaging. I mentioned press conferences and documentation overall, which is not necessarily translated. The complaints we received had a lot to do with those communications.

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

Thank you, Ms. Burke.

We will now begin our second round. The next two members will have five minutes each.

Mr. Dalton, you may go ahead.

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will be splitting my time with Mr. Godin.

Four airports have been designated for international passenger flight arrivals, two being out west, in Vancouver and Calgary. Canada's official languages commissioner has said that CBSA does not provide bilingual service related to COVID-19 at the international airports. We all recall the stories of French-speaking Canadian travellers who were repatriated last year; they had trouble obtaining French-language information on COVID-19 and quarantine measures.

Now, there are all kinds of problems related to the quarantine measures and hotels. Can you comment on the quarantine process when it comes to hotels?

[Denis Vinette]

Thank you for your question.

I can give you a partial answer. A significant number of travellers returned to the country between March and May 2020. When people were being repatriated from various places around the world, things were changing rapidly, and we were trying to keep up. We already had bilingual border officers we could send to border crossings at the four airports, so we reassigned people as needed.

The quarantine information we provide to people comes from the Public Health Agency of Canada, which puts together the information handouts and documentation. The Public Health Agency of Canada runs the quarantine program in hotels, so I can't comment on what goes on in hotels.

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Vinette.

We now go to Mr. Godin.

[The Chair, Liberal, Emmanuel Dubourg]

Go ahead, Mr. Godin.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have a ton of questions, but little time.

I want to revisit what Mr. Boulerice asked about the NEXUS program.

Your answer surprised me, Mr. Vinette. You said you assigned bilingual officers to regions or places where there is a demand for French speakers. I take it you don't assign bilingual officers to places other than those. I must say that wasn't what I was expecting of a federal government institution in a bilingual country.

I'm looking for some reassurance. If, I, as a francophone, go through the NEXUS lineup in a predominantly English-speaking region, will I be served in French?

[Denis Vinette]

Thank you for your question.

Wherever our programs are available, we provide them in both official languages. The active offer should always be made, but not necessarily by the officer in the booth at the time the traveller is crossing the border. Other procedures are in place to ensure the traveller is served in the language of their choice. That means travellers should be able to receive service in the language of their choice at all times, regardless of which point of entry they use.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Vinette.

I also have a question about the use of bilingual officers. It's quite straightforward. When senior employees at CBSA meet, which language do they hold the meeting in?