Management

a) An accountability framework, an action plan and accountability mechanisms are in place (5%)

Note: The Corporation's primary responsibilities are the management of Canada's national museum of human history, the Canadian Museum of Civilization, Canada's national museum of military heritage, the Canadian War Museum and a virtual museum on the Web, the Museum of New France. The Canadian Museum of Civilization is recognized as one of the premier cultural facilities of the twentieth century, and is home to the Canadian Postal Museum, the Canadian Children's Museum, and an IMAX® theatre.

The Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation has an official languages (OL) policy and a staffing policy that serve as an OL accountability framework. The OL policy describes the roles and responsibilities of senior management, supervisors, and employees with regard to Parts IV, V and VI of the Official Languages Act. The employee accountability mechanism is included in the regular management structures. Employees and managers are held accountable through performance appraisals.

There is no OL action plan, but the human resources plan includes language identification of positions, classification, monitoring and language training, and was approved by senior management.

b) Visibility of official languages in the organization (5%)

The Guiding Principles of the Corporation (2003) state that collections, programs and exhibitions must reflect a Canadian perspective, but do not specify anything about linguistic duality. The corporate plan and annual reports mention a commitment to providing services in both official languages.

The audit background document includes elements related to OL.

The Annual Review of OL and the OL policy reviews are discussed in the management committee. The executive committee is regularly briefed on relevant OL issues. If needed, a follow-up is conducted by the champion and the human resources division. The champion sits on the executive committee and the management committee.

There is an informal coordination mechanism between the champion (Director, Human Resources), the person in charge of OL (Manager, Human Resources, Staffing, Programmes and Policies) and the person responsible for Part VII (Director General, Exhibitions and Programmes). They are in regular contact.

c) Complaints (5%)

The institution's OL policy sets out the internal complaint resolution procedure. Managers participate in complaint resolution. The executive committee discusses the complaints if necessary. Lessons learned are shared with the management committee as needed, if they apply to the Corporation as a whole.

The Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages (OCOL) has not identified any systemic problem.

Service to the public – Part IV

a) Bilingual services advertised to the public and sufficient bilingual staff (4%)

The Blue Pages entry is bilingual. The new Canadian War Museum has been updated in BUROLIS. Signs and information are bilingual.

96% of incumbents of bilingual positions serving the public meet the language requirements of their position. (Source: Corporation's Human Resources System, August 15, 2005)

b) Findings on active offer and service delivery (15%)

According to the observations of in-person service made by OCOL in the fall of 2005, active visual offer was present in 100% of cases, active offer by staff was made in 100% of cases, while service in the language of the linguistic minority was adequate in 100% of cases.

According to the observations of service on the telephone made by OCOL in the fall of 2005, active offer of service by staff or by an automated system was made in 100% of cases, while service in the language of the linguistic minority was adequate in 100% of cases.

c) The service agreements delivered by third parties or in partnership provide for the delivery of bilingual services (2%)

Section B1 of the Corporation's OL policy clearly sets out this responsibility. A language clause is also included in the contracts. Monitoring occurs when contracts are evaluated or complaints are filed.

For volunteer exhibit interpreters, the hours when the service is available in each language are posted. There seems to be a sufficient pool of volunteers for each official language.

d) Bilingual services quality monitoring (4%)

Job postings specify that bilingualism is required for a number of positions. New employees receive two weeks of training, one of which is in their second official language. There is an OL awareness component in this training.

During peak periods, annual client satisfaction surveys are conducted in both OL. However, these surveys do not contain questions about satisfaction with language of service. Visitor comments are collected throughout the year. If needed, the Manager, Client Services takes measures to make any necessary improvements.

The Corporation has implemented a periodic language proficiency assessment process (every five years) for all employees in bilingual positions; this contributes to ensuring the ongoing quality of services.

Language of work – Part V

a) Adequate bilingual supervision and language of work policy (12.5%)

97% of supervisors in bilingual regions who are required to supervise their employees in both official languages are able to do so. (Source: Corporation's Human Resources System, August 15, 2005)

The OL policy also covers language of work. This policy is available on the internal portal. It sets out employees' language of work rights and managers' obligations to create an environment conducive to the use of both OL. The managers are responsible for raising their employees' awareness of language of work.

Language training is offered to employees to help them improve their language skills. Tools are also available to help employees prepare for second language evaluations. Employees are encouraged to produce bilingual documents. If needed, employees are paired up to help each other in their second language. There is a registry of employees' preferred language.

b) Establishment of an environment conducive to both official languages (12.5%)

The champion reminds managers of their OL obligations at monthly management committee meetings. Supervisors are responsible for reminding employees of their language of work rights. The information can also be found on the portal.

Executive committee and management committee meetings are held in both official languages, based on attendees' preferences and the topics being discussed.

Each year, there are two employee meetings where presentations are made in both OL, and employees are encouraged to use their language of choice. Supervisors hold information sessions every morning in both OL, which contributes to creating an environment conducive to the use of both OL.

The application of the policy is monitored through the performance appraisal process, mainly by systematically confirming that each employee's language choice is respected. Employee comments on language of work are also followed up on by Human Resources.

Corporation representatives have stated that an environment conducive to the use of each employee's official language of choice was one of the cultural values of the organizations, which was confirmed by the positive results of the 2003-2004 employee satisfaction survey. However, no new surveys have been done since then.

Equitable participation – Part VI

a) Percentage of Francophone participation throughout Canada (5%)

Francophones account for 54% of the Corporation's workforce as a whole. (Source: Corporation's Human Resources System, August 15, 2005)

b) Percentage of Anglophone participation in Quebec (5%)

It should be noted that both museums are located in the National Capital Region.

N/A

Development of official language minority communities and promotion of linguistic duality –Part VII

a) Strategic planning and the development of policies and programs take into account the development of minority language communities (12.5%)

In 2001, the Corporation adopted a client-based approach. It conducts qualitative research on people who do not visit the two museums in order to develop activities that would attract new visitors, including members of OL minority communities. The Corporation will continue to assess its programs in order to determine visitors' needs, define program parameters, monitor quality and performance, and evaluate results. The corporate strategic planning process is based on the Corporation's mandate to preserve and promote the heritage of Canada and contribute to the collective memory and sense of identity of all Canadians. The Corporation's Corporate Plan does not specifically mention enhancing the vitality of OL minority communities and supporting their development. However, the inclusion of OL minority communities' heritage and culture in various exhibitions does contribute to the preservation of this cultural heritage and thus to the development of minority language communities.

Use of official language minority media is covered in the OL policy.

The Corporation works very closely with English and French school boards, including minority language boards, to develop academic and extracurricular programs, which enables the Corporation to better understand their needs and present products that are targeted to extracurricular and other programs. It also works closely with the museum community. Communities, especially remote or isolated minority communities, benefit from travelling exhibitions and the Web site. While consultations are conducted only periodically, official language minority communities are included in discussion groups when needed. For the Once in French America exhibit, artifacts from minority environments were solicited. In preparation for the Nettie Covey Sharpe exhibit, they plan to do the same thing.

b) Strategic planning and the development of policies and programs take into account the promotion of linguistic duality (12.5%)

While nothing specific was mentioned to this effect, the Corporation's Corporate Plan (2005-2006 to 2009-2010) shows that the organization's general strategic planning takes linguistic duality into account when choosing programs and exhibits.

All the travelling exhibits, including those presented outside Canada, are offered in both OL and contribute to promoting the country's linguistic duality. Advertising and publicity for all the other exhibits and programs also highlight the contribution of both language groups to Canadian culture, thus enhancing Canada's linguistic duality.

The Corporation has hosted Les Rendez-vous de la francophonie several times. This event raised awareness of linguistic duality both internally and externally, and enhanced visibility as a result of the location and scope of the activity.

OVERALL RATING