Lucienne Robillard

[Government Online Services, April 8th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I want to assure the House that we want to continue our strategy of government online. For the third year in a row Canada is first among 22 countries for its strategy of government online. It is because we place citizens and businesses at the core of our strategy and we consider that in a wider approach for transforming services across all departments and levels of government.

I would like pay tribute to the members for Stoney Creek and Winnipeg South for following that file closely and showing interest. This will deliver better services to all Canadians.

[Official Languages, April 3rd, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Quebecois member should know that Canada Post, as a crown corporation, is not subject to the same employer policies as the Treasury Board. I would think that he should be aware of this, given how long he has been a member of Parliament. Canada Post is required to have its own policies to fulfill its obligations, based on the Official Languages Act.

[Bilingualism, April 1st, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, will the Bloc Quebecois recognize that there is no extension? I said it once, twice, three times, and I am saying it again to the Bloc Quebecois: there is no extension. As of today, those who do not meet the requirements can no longer remain in their positions.

[Bilingualism, April 1st, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, there are two responsibilities here. We must provide services in the language chosen by the public in the regions that are designated as bilingual, but we must also allow public servants to work in their language in the workplace. There are the two responsibilities. Senior public officials must achieve a high degree of bilingualism to be truly able to fulfill both obligations.

Today, I announced that remarkable progress has been made over the past two years. Unfortunately, there are some people who did not achieve the required level of proficiency and they can no longer occupy the positions that they have occupied until now.

[Bilingualism, March 31st, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, the Official Languages Commissioner also said that, to implement such a policy, the government must be able to provide all public servants with access to fair, very open and very transparent language training, which is not currently the case.

So, a much more gradual approach will be considered. Our preference will be for public servants to be able to learn a second official language early in their career and for this to be included in their career plan, instead of deferring training until they are appointed to a bilingual position.

[Bilingualism, March 31st, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, there is no discrimination whatsoever at the present time.

The fact is that, within the Public Service of Canada, 38% of positions are considered bilingual. Another fact is that we provide access to language training for those wishing future promotions.

It is very clear that the government's priority is to have linguistic duality as a value integrated into the Public Service of Canada, so that it has the capacity to serve the public in both official languages. We will continue to implement our action plan.

[Bilingualism, March 31st, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I have said the deadline is today. First of all, I feel it is only right for me to have until the end of the day to produce the figures.

Second, I have been saying for some time, and it still holds true today, that for those who do not meet the bilingualism criteria we will have to contemplate a penalty relating to the performance bonus, or a horizontal transfer.

What is very clear is that we must allow all employees in bilingual regions of the country to be able to use the official language of their choice in—

[Bilingualism, March 31st, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, let me make one thing clear. The deadline has not been pushed back. The deadline is today, March 31. Therefore, as of tomorrow, measures will apply for those who have not met the standards required for bilingual positions in bilingual regions.

That said, we want Canada's public service to be accessible to all Canadians. That is why we are maintaining some flexibility to allow public employees to learn the second official language if needed.

[Bilingualism, March 31st, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, the member is referring to managers in bilingual positions in bilingual regions of the country. It is not all managers in the public service who have a deadline to reach a certain level of bilingualism. We should have the results soon.

For managers who do not meet the standards, we will have to consider with them training options, as well as horizontal transfers and transition measures to ensure that all public employees are able to work in the language of their choice.

[Bilingualism, March 27th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, once again, I would suggest that the hon. member listen to Canadians, who place a high value on linguistic duality.

This is why it is perfectly normal that the public service of Canada would promote this linguistic duality. I should point out that close to two thirds of all positions in the public service are unilingual.

The federal public service is open to all citizens of this country.