Official Languages committee  We are trying to find ways to offer the best possible service. We are working in compliance with the Official Languages Act whose provisions and regulations require us to do things like being properly equipped. However, in that context, we still want to organize our policies and our approaches so as to serve the people as well as we can, be they anglophones in Quebec or francophones in other regions.

Official Languages committee  Thank you for your question. I should have mentioned that. Currently, we are conducting a pilot project of exactly that type at 10 unilingual sites in Canada. It began in May 2010 and will continue until May 2011. The pilot project is to test interpretation by telephone. The system is called CanTalk.

Official Languages committee  If you come to a unilingual Service Canada outlet and you speak to the person behind the counter in French, let's call her Ms. Gaudreault, she will be ready, willing and able to speak to you in French. However, she will also make sure to tell you that you are in a unilingual service centre and to show you the place or the telephone number where you can access bilingual service.

Official Languages committee  The person has to tell you that to make sure that you are informed. If you simply go there to get a form or to ask a simple question, she will answer you in French. However, because you must be informed, she will also have to tell you that, as a person who wants to be served in the other official language, you can also have fully bilingual service.

Official Languages committee  As a matter of courtesy, the policy is to serve francophone clients in French, they should be helped in that language, but they should also be given information on the availability of completely bilingual services, equal in quality to all the bilingual services offered anywhere in Canada.

Official Languages committee  We are continuously consulting the unions regarding the designation of bilingual and unilingual positions, the staffing of these positions and every other employment-related question. Also, whenever there is a change, we consult them in advance.

Official Languages committee  We consult them, they have a position, but it often depends on the situation and the circumstances of the moment. Sometimes, the union can take a position, it might want to see some kind of change. But it depends on the circumstances. We deal with it on a case by case basis.

Official Languages committee  The purpose of the reorganization plan was not to save money. The purpose of the—

Official Languages committee  The purpose of the reorganization plan was to deliver more effective service and to do it in a more efficient way.

Official Languages committee  We've reduced the number of executive positions across the region, but the purpose of the reorganization was not to save money.

Official Languages committee  I can't tell you if there will be savings attributed to the reorganization. We've been undergoing a significant business transformation in Service Canada in how we deliver the services, like employment insurance, across a number of things to which we would not attribute any savings.

Official Languages committee  I'm not aware of a written document that would have established the costs.

Official Languages committee  We would have prepared documents on the administrative and service benefits, particularly on consolidating administrative functions.

Official Languages committee  We could look at the public accounts.

Official Languages committee  You can look at the departmental report.