Official Languages Committee on March 21st, 2024

[Holly Flowers Code, Vice President, Human Resources, Canada Border Services Agency]

Good morning, Mr. Chair and honourable members of the committee. Thank you for having me here today.

My name is Holly Flowers Code. I am the vice-president of human resources at the Canada Border Services Agency, CBSA, and the champion of official languages at the agency.

The CBSA is the frontline of our nation's borders, serving as the face of Canada for many newcomers and international travellers who arrive in the country, not to mention Canadians returning home.

However, we are not just the gatekeepers of our borders; we are also the custodians of our country's rich heritage and culture. Our two official languages, English and French, are a central piece of this heritage. They are at the heart of when it means to be Canadian. Along with indigenous languages, French and English are a powerful symbol of our country's diverse and inclusive society.

At the CBSA, we understand and recognize the significance of linguistic duality in defining our national identity, fostering social inclusion and ensuring effective communication with the public and the clients we serve.

As the federal agency with the mandate of protecting our borders and providing integrated border services, we strive to ensure that our services are of equal quality in both official languages at all our bilingual points of entry.

Travellers and clients are provided active offers of service to use one of our two official languages when interacting with our border services officers, and are able to receive documents in the official language of their choice.

Every year, the CBSA serves over 95 million people, and in a 2022 Ipsos poll, 98% of respondents indicated that they received services in the official language of their choice.

More recently, in the 2023‑24 fiscal year, the CBSA received 35 official language complaints to date, representing almost half of what was received in the prior year. Two-thirds of our complaints come from members of the public, and generally concern the lack of an active offer of service, or continuity of service in the traveller’s preferred official language.

As a large organization that has 135 bilingual points of service, we face challenges when it comes to recruiting and maintaining sufficient bilingual resources for all areas, particularly as some of our ports of entry are in remote areas. To address this, the CBSA has put in place a shift scheduling system with the ability to identify the linguistic profile of employees in order to prioritize the scheduling of bilingual border services officers at ports of entry when required.

We also offer fully bilingual services by telephone for those reaching out to the border information services line, at our primary inspection kiosks and on our social media channels, as well as on our external website.

Within the agency, we also work to ensure sufficient bilingual capacity across the organization so that employees can work in the official language of their choice in bilingual regions. In the 2020 public service employee survey, 92% of respondents from the CBSA indicated that they could communicate with their immediate supervisor in the official language of their choice.

Internally, we have a dedicated language training school and program, and each year we train 500 to 800 employees to increase our agency’s bilingual capacity.

Our commitment does not stop at training. We are continually striving to create a work environment that promotes the use of both English and French. We encourage our employees to use their preferred official language in their workplace and regularly share reminders and implement training requirements so that employees are aware of their official languages obligations.

In closing, I would like to assure the chair and the members of the committee that the CBSA remains dedicated to serving Canadians in the official language of their choice. We are fully committed to upholding the principles of linguistic duality, not only as a legal obligation but also as a vital part of our national identity.

I look forward to the discussion and insight today on ways that we can further enhance our commitment to promoting and preserving our nation's linguistic heritage.

Thank you. I’m happy to answer any questions you may have.

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Thank you, Ms. Flowers Code.

All the witnesses stayed within their allotted speaking time. They can therefore take as many questions as possible. We'll now start the first round of questions. Each political party will have six minutes for questions and answers. The Conservative Party will go first.

Mr. Godin, you have the floor for six minutes.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Ladies and gentlemen witnesses, first of all, I'd like to thank you for being with us this morning and for participating in this exercise. I think it's very important to mention that to you because, for us to be better, it's good to hear from the people who have to live day to day with the laws and regulations we pass.

Mr. Quell, what's changed about everyday life since the new Official Languages Act was passed regarding bilingualism and, above all, the commitment of employees who speak French?

[Carsten Quell]

Thank you.

I'd say that our commitment to official languages is ongoing, whether it be with respect to services to the public or—

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

Pardon me for interrupting you, Mr. Quell, but I don't want to know your commitment. I want to know what has changed meaningfully in your everyday life at the Treasury Board since Bill C‑13 received royal assent and is now law.

[Carsten Quell]

In our group, it's made significant changes, because we have new responsibilities. I'll speak to the main initiatives under way right now.

The first is the development of new regulations under Part VII of the act, which was mentioned in the previous appearance. To that end, we now have regular meetings with the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages and with stakeholders from official language minority communities. A second initiative we're working on right now is an accountability framework that we plan to release over the summer. I'd also like to mention a third initiative, the development of a new language training framework. That was a commitment made by the government in 2019, which sought such a framework to improve the language training offering for staff. Those three initiatives are my group's responsibility.

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

Thank you, Mr. Quell.

Earlier, in your opening remarks, you said that 95% of people meet the bilingualism requirements. How do you do that analysis and data collection?

[Carsten Quell]

It's through the central human resources systems. Every incumbent of a bilingual position must pass a test for the core public administration. It's a test administered by the Public Service Commission. Based on those results—

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

At what point is that assessment required?

[Carsten Quell]

It's at the time of application, so during the candidate assessment process for positions that are staffed on an imperative basis, which represents the largest number of cases.

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

Mr. Quell, the act states that deputy ministers and assistant deputy ministers must take training to become more bilingual, so to speak. How are they evaluated once they are hired?

[Carsten Quell]

Are you talking about deputy ministers and associate deputy ministers?

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

Yes.

[Carsten Quell]

That is the purview of the Privy Council Office.

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

Okay, thank you.

Mrs. Hamoui, I'll ask you the question then.

[Rima Hamoui]

Thank you for the question.

The vast majority of deputy ministers and associate deputy ministers were already public service executives and must therefore already meet the bilingualism requirements of the position they occupied before. Once in their position, their appointment conditions require that they personally respect and promote the use of both official languages in their organization.

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

I understand, Mrs. Hamoui, but I want to know how people who are hired as deputy ministers or assistant deputy ministers are subsequently evaluated. After they are hired, do you leave them in the system and that's it, there's no further reassessment?

[Rima Hamoui]

There's no central assessment, that's correct.

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

Do you believe that the assessment of bilingualism at the front end of hiring isn't strict enough or that it's too strict and too demanding? Do you think we should tighten the criteria for knowledge of French, since it's usually the most vulnerable language? Don't you think we should require more knowledge when people take up these positions?

[Rima Hamoui]

I can't give an opinion as to whether they should have more knowledge or not. However, I can say that when they take up their position and are already in the federal public service, they have the necessary level of bilingualism, which is quite advanced in terms of written expression, oral expression and comprehension.

That's the way it is when we appoint people to deputy minister and associate deputy minister positions. Once they are deputy ministers and associate deputy ministers, as a result of the changes to the act, they must take the necessary training to ensure that they understand and speak both official languages.

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

I understand, Mrs. Hamoui, except that—

[The Chair, Liberal, René Arseneault]

Mr. Godin, it's already been six minutes. I know it goes quickly.

Mr. Samson, you have the floor for six minutes.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to the witnesses for being here today to help us better understand where we are and where we're going, which is very important.

Mrs. Hamoui, I've heard that there have been fewer francophone appointments in recent years. Is that correct?

[Rima Hamoui]

That's exactly why the Privy Council Office collects the data, to see if there are trends.

As far as Governor in Council appointments are concerned, overall, I think the current data show that 23% of those appointed reported that French was their first official language.

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

I understand that's a decrease compared to two or three years ago.