Official Languages Program Management (15%)

Rating

The Parks Canada Agency’s 2007–2010 official languages action plan sets out the initiatives required to achieve the goals of Parts IV, V, VI and VII of the Official Languages Act. It defines the expected outcomes, identifies those responsible and sets timelines. It is based on the priorities set by the Agency, and defines the expectations of the responsibility centres.

The Agency monitors the implementation of its action plan. However, it does not prepare progress reports and no targeted measures were added to the plan in response to the shortcoming of low representation of Anglophones in Quebec among its workforce, which was identified in its 2007–2008 report card by the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. The Agency plans a review at the end of the three-year cycle.

Senior managers at the national office, field units and service centres report annually on their achievements, monitoring activities and efforts to improve results or correct shortcomings in the area of official languages.

The Agency should increase its efforts and monitoring activities with regard to language of service, and review its action plan accordingly.

The Agency’s action plan for Part VII of the Act and the status report on the implementation of section 41 for 2007–2008, which was submitted to Canadian Heritage, are ongoing mechanisms to ensure that strategic planning and policy and program development take into account the obligation to foster the development of official language minority communities (OLMCs) and promote the equal status and use of English and French in Canadian society.

Parks Canada fully and actively participates in handling complaints received by the Office of the Commissioner.

B

Service to the Public – Part IV of the Official Languages Act (30%)

According to observations of service in person made by the Office of the Commissioner between June and December 2008, an active visual offer was present in 92.9% of cases, an active offer by staff was made in 39% of cases, while service in the language of the linguistic minority was available in 88.9% of cases.

According to observations of service on the telephone made by the Office of the Commissioner between June and December 2008, an active offer by staff or by an automated system was made in 81.8% of cases, while service in the language of the linguistic minority was available in 80.3% of cases.

According to observations of service by e-mail made by the Office of the Commissioner between September and December 2008, the availability of service is comparable for both linguistic groups 90% of the time, and benefits Francophones 10% of the time. However, the response time is, on average, 40.46 hours longer in French than in English.

C

Language of Work – Part V of the Official Languages Act (25%)

The survey conducted by Statistics Canada on behalf of the Office of the Commissioner showed that, overall, 74.7% of Francophone respondents in the National Capital Region (NCR), New Brunswick and the bilingual regions of Ontario "strongly agreed" or "mostly agreed" with the language of work regime. In Quebec, the number of Anglophone respondents was not sufficient to guarantee the confidentiality of the results.

For Francophone respondents, the satisfaction rate by question is presented below.

C

Participation of English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians – Part VI of the Official Languages Act (10%)

Overall, the workforce is 24.7% Francophone.

In Quebec, excluding the NCR, the workforce is 2.7% Anglophone.

(Source: Parks Canada Agency, February 17, 2009)

C

Development of Official Language Minority Communities and Promotion of Linguistic Duality – Part VII of the Official Languages Act (20%)

In 2008, the Agency undertook a review of all its policies and programs to identify those that have an impact on the vitality of OLMCs.

The Agency held a national consultation with the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada by inviting them to comment on its implementation of section 41 of the Act and future direction. This measure should be complemented by additional efforts to ensure the Agency plays a more significant role in the development of OLMCs and the advancement of English and French.

The Agency distributes Bulletin 41-42 to regional coordinators and managers. It also has a section on Part VII of the Act on its intranet site.

A network of official languages coordinators was created at Parks Canada, thereby increasing the visibility of official languages in the various work units and the sharing of best practices.

The Agency is continuing its regional liaison with OLMCs and its participation on federal councils.

The Agency regularly invites OLMC members to participate in consultations on regional steering plans. For example, the Manitoba and Gaspé field units have advisory committees that include OLMC representatives.

Another ongoing initiative is the Agency’s partnership with representatives of Anglophone and Francophone school boards, including OLMCs, for English- and French-language teaching.

The Agency distributes its tool kit on service to the public in both official languages to commercial leaseholders that deal with the public. The kit includes advice and key sentences in English and French, and refers to the agreement’s language clause.

Parks Canada employees across the country actively participate in the activities of the Rendez-vous de la Francophonie.

The two agreements that were signed last year as part of the Interdepartmental Partnership with the Official-Language Communities were renewed: i) the project for English-speaking fishermen and mariners on the Magdalen Islands, and ii) the Dobel-Roberts House in Forillon National Park.

In August 2009, during the Congrès mondial acadien in Caraquet, New Brunswick, the Agency will have an information booth promoting Acadian national historic sites, and will participate in one or more interactive activities on Acadian history.

The Agency is planning a number of initiatives for the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, including ensuring the Olympic torch relay route passes through national historic sites. Promotion of linguistic duality is included in the planning of these events.

A

Overall Rating

C