Factors and Criteria

Summary of Substantiating Data

Rating

Management (15%)

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

The Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation (CMCC) 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 regards to Parts IV, V and VI of the Official Languages Act (the Act). The OL policy has been in force since March 2000.

The CMCC does not have an OL action plan, but the Human Resources Plan, which includes the language identification of positions, classification, validation and language training, was approved by senior management.

The CMCC uses manager and employee performance evaluations to determine whether the objectives of the Human Resources Plan have been achieved and whether the OL policy is being complied with.

C

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

The Guiding Principles of the Corporation (2003) state that collections, exhibitions and programs must reflect a Canadian perspective, but do not mention linguistic duality.

The Corporate Plan (2007–2008 to 2010–2011) mentions OL a few times. The CMCC’s mandate states, among other things, that it provides a service in both OL that is essential to Canadian culture and available to all. It also states that the CMCC forms many partnerships with communities and institutions in all regions of the country and that it participates in a number of community outreach activities.

The 2006–2007 Annual Report includes a section on OL in which it is mentioned that the CMCC continues to be determined to actively promote the CMCC’s OL policy. The audit background document includes elements related to OL.

The Annual Review on OL and the review of the OL policy are discussed by the Management Committee. The Executive Committee is regularly brought up to date on relevant OL issues, and if needed, a follow-up is carried out by the OL Champion and the Human Resources Division. The Champion is a member of the Executive Committee and the Management Committee. Furthermore, new exhibitions are always verified by the members of the Executive Committee, who pay special attention to the quality of communications in both OL.

An informal coordination mechanism has been established between the OL Champion (Vice-President, Human Resources), the person responsible for OL (Manager, HR Staffing, Programs and Policies) and the person responsible for Part VII (Director General, Exhibitions and Programs), and they are in regular contact.

A

(c) Complaints and follow-up (5%)

The institution’s OL policy sets out the internal complaint resolution procedure. The appropriate managers participate in the complaint resolution process. The Executive Committee is kept informed of the complaints and discusses them if necessary. Every month, a human resources report, which contains information on complaints, is presented to the Chief Operating Officer. The lessons that are learned and the corrective measures are communicated, as needed, to the Management Committee if they apply to the entire Corporation.

A

Subtotal:

B

Service to the public—Part IV (25%)

(a) Bilingual services advertised to the public and sufficient bilingual staff (3%)

The CMCC’ entry in the blue pages is bilingual and the information in Burolis is up to date.

In total, 96% of employees in bilingual positions serving the public meet the language requirements of their position (Source: information provided by the CMCC, December 31, 2007).

B

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

According to observations of service in person made by the Office of the Commissioner between mid-June and mid-July 2007, an active visual offer was present in 91% of cases, an active offer by staff was made in 58% of cases, and service in the language of the linguistic minority was adequate in 91% of cases.

According to observations of service on the telephone made by the Office of the Commissioner between mid-June and mid-July 2007, an active offer 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.

B

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

Section B1 of the CMCC’s OL policy clearly states that agreements for services provided by third parties or in partnership must provide for the delivery of bilingual services. A language clause is also included in contracts. Since the spring of 2006, a document on the terms and conditions of contracts is available on the CMCC Web site and sets out the language obligations of contractors.

Monitoring is carried out when contracts are evaluated or complaints are filed. Managers also conduct spot checks on services offered by some third parties (e.g., cleaning services, cafeteria).

For volunteer exhibition 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.

A

(d) Policy on service to the public and bilingual services quality monitoring
(5%)

The CMCC has an OL policy that includes guidelines on service to the public. This policy also raises awareness among all employees of the institution’s commitment to respecting the equality of English and French. It is posted on the human resources portal of the CMCC’s intranet site.

New employees who provide service to the public receive two weeks’ training, including one week in their second official language. OL awareness is also included in this training. During the daily morning meetings between supervisors and their teams, supervisors remind employees of ways they can offer services in both OL.

A survey is conducted twice a year in both OL to measure client satisfaction. This year, five questions on OL were added to the survey. The survey results are reported annually. Visitors’ comments are collected throughout the year. The Manager, Client Services, takes measures as needed to make any necessary improvements.

The CMCC has had a special periodic language skills validation process (which is carried out every five years) in place for several years for all employees in bilingual positions, which contributes to ensuring the ongoing quality of services and ensuring that the employees’ language level is maintained.

A

Subtotal:

B

Language of work—Part V (25%)

(a) Language of work policy and adequate bilingual supervision (12.5%)

The OL policy also covers language of work. This policy is posted on the human resources portal of the CMCC’s intranet site. It states employees’ language of work rights and managers’ obligation to create an environment conducive to the use of both OL. Managers must increase employees’ awareness about language of work.

The OL policy addresses the following: supervision, central and personal services, work tools, professional training, computer systems, the language of meetings and internal communications.

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 can work in pairs to help each other in their second language. Lunch-time discussion groups, during which participants switch from one language to the other, cover a variety of topics and also give employees the chance to practice their second language. There is a record of employees' preferred language.

In total, 96% of supervisors in bilingual regions who must supervise employees in both OL are able to do so (Source: information provided by the CMCC, December 31, 2007).

B

(b) Use of each official language in the workplace (12.5%)

Managers are reminded of their language of work obligations during monthly management committee meetings.

Supervisors are responsible for reminding employees of their language of work rights. This information is also found on the intranet site.

In the fall of 2007, the Canadian Museum of Civilization hosted an awareness campaign on OL organized by the Canada Public Service Agency and eight other institutions. The CMCC took this opportunity to send a memo to all its managers and employees, inviting them to participate in the campaign and emphasizing that “by working together in the official language of one’s choice, everyone wins.”

Executive committee and management committee meetings are held in both OL, according to attendees’ preferences and the topics covered. Each year, two employee meetings are held, during which 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.

Performance appraisals allow for a certain amount of monitoring to take place regarding the application of the OL policy, mainly by systematically checking whether the employee’s choice of official language is being respected. Employees’ comments on the language of work are also followed up on by Human Resources.

The survey conducted by Statistics Canada on behalf of the Office of the Commissioner showed that, overall, 82% of Francophone respondents in the National Capital Region "strongly agreed" or "mostly agreed" with the language of work regime.

B

Subtotal:

B

Equitable participation—Part VI (10%)

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

Overall, the workforce is 54.3% Francophone (Source: Official Languages Information System II, March 31, 2007).

B

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

Apart from the National Capital Region, the CMCC has no offices in Quebec.

N/A

Subtotal: 

B

Development of official language minority communities and promotion of linguistic duality—Part VII (25%)

Elements Common to Both Criteria

The Board of Trustees promotes and encourages partnerships with official language minority communities (OLMCs). The composition of the Board of Trustees itself includes OLMCs. The 2007–2008 to 2010–2011 Corporate Business Plan states the CMCC’s mandate, which, among other things, plays a fundamental role in the conservation and promotion of Canada’s heritage and all its peoples, across the country and abroad. These commitments ensure that strategic planning, policy development and program development take into account the development of OLMCs and the obligation to promote the equal status and use of English and French.

Since the OL Champion and the person responsible for OL at the CMCC gave a presentation to the Management Committee and the Executive Committee in April 2006 to make senior management aware of the obligations resulting from amendments to the Act and the obligation to take positive measures, they have been reminding CMCC managers on an ongoing basis of their obligations and responsibilities in this regard. Following these discussions, the CMCC decided to expand its travelling exhibitions to reach OLMCs more effectively.

The Director General, Exhibitions and Programs, is responsible for implementing Part VII. Her employees liaise with community organizations. The Manager, Travelling Exhibitions Program, informs OLMCs and the associations that represent them of new exhibitions. She also verifies whether OLMCs are interested in the travelling exhibitions and sounds out their interests.

In order to better fulfill its responsibilities, the CMCC created the position of community liaison officer to communicate with the community and the media. Employees who participate in the preparation of travelling exhibitions have been made aware of the obligation to take positive measures since they work with community organizations.

The CMCC has taken several positive measures to enhance OLMC development and promote linguistic duality. For example, it reaches out to isolated or remote OLMCs by offering travelling exhibitions. The municipalities of Red Deer and Port Alberni were therefore able to present the “’Rocket’ Richard – The Legend, The Legacy” exhibition. The exhibition “Nuvisavik, ’The Place Where We Weave:’ Inuit Tapestries from Arctic Canada” was presented in Montréal at the McCord Museum.

The CMCC has taken several positive measures to promote the equal status and use of English and French both internally and in Canadian society. All travelling exhibitions, including those shown outside Canada, are offered in both OL and contribute to the promotion of the country's linguistic duality. In addition, advertising and promotion for all other exhibitions and programs highlight, among other things, the contribution of both language groups to Canadian culture, thus emphasizing Canada's linguistic duality. The CMCC has made its Web site a preferred tool for promoting Canadian duality and reaching people across the country. The Museum’s site makes virtual exhibitions, digital collections, educational and teaching resources, research and scholarly articles available online.

Moreover, the CMCC works closely with English- and French-language school boards, including OLMC boards, to develop school programs that meet their needs. As a result, the CMCC offers a large array of school programs that provide interactive educational experiences.

The CMCC is working closely and forming partnerships with Canadian Heritage and the museum community. As a result of these partnerships, the CMCC was able to put together the exhibition "Face to Face," which showcases Canadian personalities.

(a) Development of official language minority communities (12.5%)

Senior management is discussing how the needs of OLMCs can be taken into account when changes are planned. The CMCC demonstrates its commitment to OLMCs through its corporate Web site, OLMC access to bilingual information and to travelling exhibitions provided under its extramural program as well as through direct links that the CMCC has created over the last year with the OLMCs.

The CMCC has not initiated any formal process for the creation of an action plan that fosters the development of OLMCs in the regions or that fosters the promotion of linguistic duality, since it states that this task is an integral part of the work processes of the entire organization. The CMCC has, however, established a network in order to better communicate with and consult OLMCs and many other Canadian communities. It is also an important strategy that the CMCC has defined in its strategic plan for the coming years.

B

(b) Promotion of linguistic duality (12.5%)

The CMCC has not begun developing a formal action plan to promote linguistic duality, since it states that this task is already an integral part of the organization’s work processes. The CMCC promotes Canada’s linguistic duality through its corporate Web site, the Virtual Museum of New France, the travelling exhibitions and its extramural programs.

B

Subtotal: 

B

OVERALL RATING

B