Official Languages committee  Mr. Chairman, I believe I understand the question as to why the mechanism is being applied today, but not previously. I would say very seriously to you that it's not as though the agency wasn't paying attention to official languages. The complaints that come from the Commissioner

Official Languages committee  You mentioned Toronto. That's a place where we'll have to increase our capacity. We accept the mark, especially since, in some specific places, there is a combination of... Mr. Chairman, recruiting bilingual people in certain locations is a major challenge. In Windsor, for examp

Official Languages committee  Yes, job fairs were held in 2006, 2007 and 2008 specifically to recruit bilingual people. As regards exchanges with minority communities, that's an aspect that will have to be developed. I spoke with my colleague from Canadian Heritage to see how we could address that issue. Yes,

Official Languages committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That's a very legitimate question. And it's definitely central to our concerns with regard to service to the public. CBSA has 158 designated bilingual offices in Canada. Your example is a good one in that, in certain locations, all offices are designate

Official Languages committee  Absolutely, yes.

Official Languages committee  I can make a few comments, and Ms. Therriault-Power can add to them. The answer is yes. That's a job that's being done on a regular basis, but I must admit that, after the report was prepared, we reviewed the distribution of bilingual positions, especially at the senior executiv

Official Languages committee  Our action plan is almost complete. We had some exhaustive internal consultations. Over the next few weeks, we have to meet with the representatives of our unions. We intend to have a final meeting of our executive committee on December 23. The document should be finalized very e

Official Languages committee  I would say very early in 2011. We have the communications plan, which was previously developed, a much more detailed strategic communications plan based on regional needs. As you will admit, in the case of an agency such as ours, we must address issues strategically, but we must

Official Languages committee  Absolutely. I believe you're right about the criticism of our planning performance. That probably doesn't reflect the work done internally, and you're right: it doesn't reflect the rigour of the plan, especially with regard to control and supervision. We have quite a decentralize

Official Languages committee  Yes, absolutely.

Official Languages committee  You're right. Some of the complaints we receive are forwarded to the Commissioner of Official Languages, while others come directly to us internally. So we already have a complaint handling system. Most of the complaints are more related to more overall service. In January and F

Official Languages committee  Good morning. Mr. Chairman, committee members, first I would like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to appear today on behalf of the Canada Border Services Agency. My appointment to the position of President became effective on November 15. I'm honoured to accept this r