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 National Film Board (NFB) of Canada has an accountability framework with regard to official languages (OL) that describes the roles and responsibilities of the Commissioner, the OL Champion, directors, middle managers and the OL Coordinator. Furthermore, it includes a section on handling complaints, whether submitted to the Office of the Commissioner or to the NFB. The framework describes the manner in which Parts IV, V, VI and VII of the Official Languages Act (the Act) are to be implemented. A section on accountability and coordination mechanisms specifies that the duties of the OL Champion and OL Coordinator are closely connected, that quarterly meetings with these two stakeholders are planned to discuss OL-related issues and that informal meetings are also scheduled as needed.

There is no formal action plan to ensure the full implementation of Parts IV, V and VI of the Act. However, the NFB does have a 2005–2008 action plan for the implementation of section 41 of the Act, which was approved by the Management Committee. Moreover, in accordance with the 2005–2008 action plan, the NFB follows the Government of Canada’s Horizontal Results-based Management and Accountability Framework on OL. It should be noted that, to improve its OL program, the NFB created an OL development plan for 2007–2008.

The Annual Review on the Implementation of Part VII, submitted to Canadian Heritage, allows senior management to fully grasp the OL situation with regard to Part VII. The NFB Commissioner includes OL objectives related to the strategic plan in the performance appraisals of the OL Champion and directors general of the English and French programs.

B

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

Promoting linguistic duality inside and outside the organization is part of the NFB's official mission, core values and objectives.

The NFB’s strategic plan indicates that special effort must be made to help filmmakers from minority language communities. The 2007–2008 Report on Plans and Priorities states that the NFB produces, in both OL, Canadian audiovisual content on social issues of concern to communities across Canada. The 2006–2007 Performance Report also indicates that the NFB produces, in both OL, Canadian audiovisual content on social issues of concern to communities across Canada. The NFB’s internal audit program provides for periodic OL audits. Following an internal audit, the NFB undertook a restructuring exercise that contributed to its efforts to comply with its obligations under Part VII. The merger of the Marketing Unit and the Communications and Network Development Unit reinforced the NFB’s ability to become better aware of the needs of official language minority communities (OLMCs).

The Management Committee discusses OL issues. For example, in April 2007, discussions were held regarding the E-cinema project.
 
The OL Champion is the Director, Strategic Planning and Government Relations, and sits on the Management Committee. The OL Champion meets regularly, both formally and informally, with the OL Coordinator, who also works at Strategic Planning and Government Relations. They also meet twice a year with the directors general of the English Program and the French Program to discuss the implementation of the action plan for Part VII and the Interdepartmental Partnership with the Official-Language Communities (IPOLC).

A

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

The mechanism for handling and resolving complaints is outlined in the accountability framework. To prevent conflicts of interest, when complaints are filed regarding Parts V and VI of the Act, the Human Resources Branch and the appropriate director deal with the complaint. A copy of responses and corrective measures is forwarded to the Strategic Planning and Government Relations Branch. When complaints are filed regarding Parts IV and VII of the Act, the Strategic Planning Branch addresses the complaints with the appropriate director.

The Office of the Commissioner has received very few complaints since 2001 about the NFB. 

A

Subtotal:

A

Service to the public—Part IV (25%)

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

The NFB advertises its bilingual points of service in Burolis. Bilingual services continue to be advertised to the public in the blue pages and on the NFB Web site. In addition, a 1-800 line, based in Montréal, is available to members of the public in their language of choice, particularly when they are purchasing films. The NFB Web site is bilingual and the layout is identical in both languages. The NFB has an online film library that offers films in English, French or both languages.

In total, 98% of employees in bilingual positions serving the public meet the language requirements of their position (Source: Official Languages Information System [OLIS II], January 2008).

A

(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 100% of cases, an active offer by staff was made in 13% of cases, and service in the language of the linguistic minority was adequate in 63% 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.

C

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

Fifty-one libraries across Canada have film lending partnership agreements with the NFB. These libraries are expected to display the NFB’s 1-800 number so callers can ask questions in the official language of their choice. However, since the libraries provide this service free of charge for the NFB, there is no guarantee that the NFB’s 1-800 number is always displayed.

The NFB currently does not have any service contracts with third parties; therefore, it does not confirm that the services provided by third parties are in fact provided in both OL and are of appropriate quality.

B

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

As set out in the 2006–2007 Development Plan, the NFB is currently working on a communications policy that will include a language of service component. This policy will be finalized in the winter of 2007–2008 and will be available on the NFB’s intranet site. For the time being, the Human Resources Guide contains a section called “OL Policy” that includes employees’ language of service obligations. In effect since 2004, this policy also makes all personnel aware of the institution’s commitment to respect the equality of English and French.

Supervisors formally communicate with their employees serving the public through the employee performance appraisal process to remind them of how to offer and deliver services in both OL. Informal meetings are also held as necessary. 

Spot checks of public contact points (e.g., voice mail messages intended for the public) continue to be conducted on occasion to determine whether service is available in both OL. These practices should be formalized in the new communications policy.

C

Subtotal: 

C

Language of work—Part V (25%)

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

The NFB has its own language of work policy that covers employees’ rights and supervisors’ obligations with regard to supervision, training, work instruments and internal services.

The necessary supports are in place. For example, the NFB has a record of all employees’ official language of choice to ensure that their language preference is respected. Furthermore, the orientation guide for new employees contains a section on OL that outlines certain employee rights with regard to language of work. The Practical Guide to Performance Appraisal for managers includes a component on language of assessment to ensure that employee appraisals are conducted in the language of choice. There is a full-time internal revision service in place to ensure that internal documents are available and are of comparable quality in both OL. As well, the NFB’s online linguistic tool, ExpressPlus, is available to all NFB employees and freelancers. This tool assists both English and French speakers who draft, revise, proofread, translate or approve NFB documents such as memos, work orders, intranet articles, news releases and reports in either OL.

In total, 100% of supervisors in bilingual regions who must supervise employees in both OL are able to do so (Source: Position and Classification Information System [PCIS], March 31, 2007).

A

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

The NFB does not remind employees or managers of their language of work rights and obligations, since respect for OL is an integral part of the NFB’s organizational culture.
 
Given this culture of respect, Management Committee meetings and all other meetings are always held in both OL. Meeting minutes are drafted in the language used to present the items addressed during the meetings.

To monitor the application of the language of work policy, the NFB uses the performance appraisals of the persons responsible for OL. This year, the analysis of the results of the language of work survey conducted by the Office of the Commissioner will also provide an indication of the application of the language of work policy.

The survey conducted by Statistics Canada on behalf of the Office of the Commissioner showed that, in Quebec, 85% of Anglophone respondents "strongly agreed" or "mostly agreed" with the language of work regime.

C

Subtotal: 

B

Equitable participation—Part VI (10%)

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

Overall, the workforce is 64.5% Francophone (Source: PCIS, March 31, 2007).

B

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

In Quebec, the workforce is 23% Anglophone (Source: PCIS, March 31, 2007).

A

Subtotal: 

B

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

The 2005–2008 action plan on the implementation of section 41 of the Act and the status report submitted to Canadian Heritage serve as permanent mechanisms to ensure that strategic planning and policy and program development take into account the obligation to foster the development of OLMCs and to promote the advancement and use of English and French. Given that she is responsible for government relations and reviews all funding applications and submissions to Parliament, the OL Champion ensures that these submissions take this obligation into account. Also, the NFB’s program activity architecture was modified to integrate the cultural diversity components into films for which the expected result is to support the production of audiovisual works that are culturally, regionally and linguistically diverse.

The new legislative provisions of the Act, as well as the impact of these changes on the NFB’s activities, were presented to the Management Committee in September 2006. As agreed by the Management Committee, since the NFB is already very active in OLMC development, policies and programs will not be reviewed to identify those that have an impact on the advancement and use of English and French.

The OL Champion, the OL Coordinator, the directors general of the English Program and the French Program, and the Marketing and Communications Branch are responsible for the implementation of Part VII.

With respect to the English Program, the Executive Producer of the Quebec Centre is in constant contact with OLMCs and advocacy associations, such as the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN). In the French Program, the executive producers for the Ontario and West, Acadia and Quebec studios, excluding Montréal, are in constant contact with OLMCs and advocacy associations, such as the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada (FCFA). OLMCs and OLMC associations are in contact with the executive producers for their regions and discuss their needs.

The appropriate executive producers from the English Program and the French Program participate in meetings arranged by Canadian Heritage, and are thus better aware of the needs of OLMCs. In turn, executive producers communicate the needs of OLMCs to employees working on their teams at meetings. They are aware of the obligation to take positive measures to promote linguistic duality because of the nature of their work. The resulting outputs of their work reflect the culture of both language groups and are distributed all across Canada and around the world, thereby contributing to the promotion of linguistic duality.

The NFB gathers information on OLMC needs through consultations with OLMCs conducted by executive producers. Awareness is also raised through meetings arranged by Canadian Heritage and through the FCFA and QCGN.

The 2005–2008 action plan on the implementation of section 41 of the Act already takes the changes to the Act into account. The Action Plan includes performance indicators, and the annual review presented to Canadian Heritage is used as a results assessment mechanism. It was developed in conjunction with the executive producers who had contacted OLMCs and were thus able to highlight the needs of the various communities.

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

The NFB held consultations with OLMCs in January 2007, and in April, meetings were held with the Fédération culturelle canadienne-française (FCCF). These meeting gave OLMCs the opportunity to better understand the reorganization of the NFB and to discuss the NFB’s new action plan.
 
The Executive Producer of the Quebec Centre as well as the Assistant Director General, English Program, met with the Documentary Organization of Canada’s Quebec chapter to discuss future opportunities for collaboration, and brainstormed on ideas such as master classes or film screenings. It was agreed that monthly discussions would take place to explore potential opportunities for collaboration.

There is no formal feedback mechanism to inform individuals and the organizations that are consulted of the results of the consultations. However, the NFB forwards the minutes of the consultation meetings to the OLMCs involved. The annual review of the implementation of section 41 is also discussed with the FCCF during bilateral meetings of the signatories of the arts and culture cooperation agreement.

The E-cinema pilot project was launched in Acadia on September 25, 2007. This three-year project, which reaches out to the entire community, has received support under Canadian Heritage’s IPOLC. It will be implemented by the end of the year in five Acadian towns: Moncton, Kedgwick, Bouctouche, Caraquet and Edmundston. For Acadian audiences far from large cities, the project provides access to a rich and varied Francophone culture. In addition, the Tremplin contest provides directors with the opportunity to make short films in French. The 2007 edition was launched in conjunction with the Ontario and West Studio and in partnership with Société Radio-Canada.

In recent years, a key priority of the NFB has been to take advantage of advanced technologies to provide access to its vast film collection in French and in English. In 2004, CineRoute, the NFB’s online film library, was launched as a pilot project with over 250 films. In 2006–2007, 70 films were added, bringing the total number of films available to 670.

A

The 2005–2008 action plan includes the promotion of linguistic duality, as well as positive measures to foster linguistic duality. The action plan includes performance indicators, and the annual review submitted to Canadian Heritage is used as a results assessment mechanism. The action plan was further developed as a result of meetings organized by Canadian Heritage and consultations with officials from the English Program and French Program, who have established relationships with various OLMCs.

The executive producers and their employees are aware of the obligation to take positive measures to promote linguistic duality because of the nature of their work. The resulting outputs of their work reflect the culture of both language groups and are distributed all across Canada and around the world, thereby contributing to the promotion of linguistic duality.

As a public producer and distributor of documentaries and animated films, the NFB fosters cultural diversity, encourages Aboriginal communities, promotes OL and advances citizen participation. With seven production centres across the country, the NFB reflects Canada’s diversity and succeeds in reaching Canadians in all provinces and territories as well as people around the world.

The NFB has taken several positive measures to advance English and French internally and in Canadian society. For example, the NFB participates in the Rendez-vous de la Francophonie.

A

Subtotal: 

A

OVERALL RATING

B