Official Languages committee  Mr. Chair, members of the Standing Committee on Official Languages, thank you for inviting us to testify about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the government's ability to provide information in both official languages. My name is Alex Silas, and I am the Regional Executiv

Official Languages committee  In conclusion, if the Government of Canada really wants to preserve our bilingual identity and improve its ability to communicate and provide services to Canadians in both official languages, it will take work, investment and a concrete mandate. As part of this discussion on our

Official Languages committee  Thank you for your question. One negative impact of the pandemic has been the further decline in opportunities to communicate in French and break the ice, such as the chance to run into each other in the office or chat in a second language. Our members are also reporting that t

Official Languages committee  Yes, that's my mother all right.

Official Languages committee  Yes. Obviously, being a French-speaking public servant is a disadvantage. Often, in a hiring process, a unilingual English-speaking candidate is given a position and then trained to become bilingual. This does not work the other way around. Indeed, a unilingual French-speaking ca

Official Languages committee  Yes, absolutely. Our members tell us that the level of difficulty of the test isn't the same for francophone candidates as it is for anglophone candidates.

Official Languages committee  We work case by case. We advise our locals to file a complaint or grievance where appropriate. From a broader perspective, we propose increasing the bilingualism bonus so that it provides greater incentive for public servants to work in both languages. The bilingualism bonus is

Official Languages committee  I'm not prepared to suggest a figure. The National Joint Council of the Public Service of Canada is responsible for these negotiations. We would like to see the discussions move forward; every time we try to raise this issue, we're threatened outright with the abolition of the bo

Official Languages committee  It was very uneven and unstable in the early days of the pandemic. Some members didn't have all the tools they needed to do their jobs at home. This situation has stabilized somewhat over the past year, but it still differs from department to department. Some decisions are someti

Official Languages committee  Mr. Chair, members of the Standing Committee on Official Languages, I want to thank you for your invitation to appear on the subject of Bill C-13. My name is Alex Silas and I am regional executive vice-president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada for the National Capital R

Official Languages committee  Thank you for your question. It recognizes the work that employees do and the fact that they can speak both languages. It will also encourage more workers to take training, which must be more accessible, to improve their second language skills, and that will create a more biling

Official Languages committee  The fact that this training is made available will stop the decline of the French language in Canada because it will be an opportunity for federal public service employees to improve their second language and thus to feel more comfortable speaking it. Francophones will speak Fren

Official Languages committee  You could raise the bilingual bonus. Incentives should be offered to promote both official languages and make training more accessible, and to ensure it's given by the federal public service, not by contractors.

Official Languages committee  Documents must be sent in both official languages and managers must be able to communicate in both official languages Information disseminated within the federal public service and to the Canadian public must be effectively communicated in both official languages. Once again, I

Official Languages committee  I agree with it entirely. Linguistic insecurity exists within the federal public service. We often hear that the federal public service is anglophone or bilingual, but not anglophone and francophone. The pandemic has definitely exacerbated the situation. Francophones often feel