Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and honourable members of the committee.
My name is Eric Fortier and I'm the general manager of corporate affairs at the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, often referred to by its acronym, CATSA. Joining me today is my colleague, Marc‑André O'Rourke, senior legal counsel.
Thank you for inviting us to appear before the committee as part of your important study of the proposed official languages administrative monetary penalty regulations.
CATSA was the centrepiece of the Government of Canada's response to the events of September 11, 2001, and was formally established on April 1, 2002, to oversee and strengthen aviation security in Canada.
Our organization is a Crown corporation funded entirely by parliamentary appropriations. It reports to Parliament through the Minister of Transport and is regulated by Transport Canada.
Our mission is to protect air travellers by providing the highest level of aviation security screening while ensuring a positive experience. CATSA is specifically responsible for providing security screening services at 89 designated Canadian airports. This mandate is carried out through two Canadian service providers that employ approximately 9,000 officers across the country. Our responsibilities include pre-boarding screening, checked baggage screening, non-passenger screening and ID card management in restricted areas.
In 2024-25, CATSA alone screened nearly 70 million passengers. I’d like to emphasize that CATSA takes its official language obligations very seriously. We are committed to ensuring that passengers travelling through designated bilingual airports see an active offer and receive service in the official language of their choice.
This commitment is also embedded in our contractual arrangements with screening contractors and is supported by ongoing performance measurement related to active offer, service of demand and staffing levels. This is in addition to having specific procedures, action plans, training and ongoing awareness initiatives.
In addition, CATSA works closely with the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. For example, we've taken the initiative to set up monthly meetings with representatives from the office to discuss complaints and possible solutions to improve our operations.
Improving the customer experience is a key pillar of CATSA's strategic plan. This includes facilitating an inclusive screening experience for all passengers. To achieve this goal, CATSA has deployed more than 170 bilingual facilitators at screening checkpoints in the 16 busiest airports to assist passengers who may have questions or need additional help with the process. CATSA also regularly conducts passenger surveys on various service indicators, including service in the official language of their choice. In the third quarter of this fiscal year, nearly 96% of respondents indicated that they were served in their preferred language. This result demonstrates that our measures and initiatives are having a positive impact on strengthening services to travellers.
Thank you once again for allowing me to address you today. We look forward to answering any questions you may have.