Management

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

Official Languages responsibilities are described in Passport Canada's framework document. The accountability agreement between the CEO and the DM of External Affairs includes OL. Responsibility for OL rests with the people in charge of the four demographic regions that make up the 33 offices throughout Canada.

Passport Canada has no OL action plan. However, the general description of the actions it intends to take is mentioned in the OL annual report and in the HR strategic plan.

Each director is accountable for OL and this is reflected in his or her performance agreements. The champion is responsible for reviewing each director's objectives.

b) Visibility of official languages in the organization

Passport Canada's 2004-2007 corporate and business plan aims to provide reliable, practical service, which includes, but does not specifically mention, official languages. To this day, there has been no internal audit dealing specifically with OL activities. OL are discussed at the Executive Committee. The Report on Plans and Priorities and the Performance Report were submitted by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade; the parts of those reports dealing with Passport Canada are short and make no reference to official languages.

The champion, who is also Director of Official Languages, is a senior manager (EX group). She is a member of the Executive Committee.

The champion and the Part VII co-ordinator work in close cooperation.

c) Complaints

There is a system in place to review and resolve complaints. Each region has someone with responsibility in this area. The champion invites managers to agree upon more adequate procedures to prevent repetition of the same complaints. The institution does not appear to have a mechanism to share lessons learned.

Service to the public - Part IV

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

Bilingual service points are identified in government directories and on government sites, and in Burolis and the Blue Pages of telephone books. There is also the 1-800 line. Every service point in Canada has signs indicating that service is available in both official languages.

As of 31 March 2004, the Position and Classification Information System (PCIS) indicated that 93.4% of incumbents of bilingual positions serving the public met the linguistic requirements of their position.

b) Findings on active offer and service delivery

According to observations on in-person service made by the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages in the fall of 2004, active visual offer was present in 100% of the cases; active offer by attendants was made in 10.0% of the cases, while service in the language of the minority was adequate in 80.0% of cases.

The results of the telephone service audit conducted by the Public Service Human Resources Management Agency showed that active offer was made by attendants 83.3% of the time and on telephone answering systems 58.8% of the time, while the service was actually provided in both OL in 100% of cases.

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

The service agreements contain a clause on the provision of services in both OL. This is the case, for example, in the agreements with PWGSC for commissionaire services in Passport Canada offices and with Canada Post for the services of passport intake officers in places where Passport Canada does not have an office. There are client satisfaction surveys to confirm that the service is adequate.

d) Bilingual services quality monitoring

The orientation sessions for new employees include OL responsibilities as well as service to the public requirements. There are regular reminders to employees concerning OL and service to the public. The "PPT NET," an intranet that is available 24 hours a day to all staff, also contains information on their official languages rights and obligations as well as on service to the public.

Monitoring is done through client surveys to verify the quality of services. The very low number of complaints about service to the public is also an indication of the quality of services provided.

Language of work - Part V

a) Adequate bilingual supervision and language of work policy

As of 31 March 2004, the Position and Classification Information System (PCIS) indicated that 60.0% of executives and 74.1% of supervisors in bilingual positions in bilingual regions meet the language requirements of their position.

Passport Canada has a draft OL policy that addresses language of work, and support measures exist.

b) Use of each language in the workplace

Managers and employees are informed and encouraged to use their first official language through various documents and through the Intranet. There are regular reminders. Also, the language of work requirements are explained to employees who wish to become examiners in their training course.

The members of the Management Committee, including the four regional directors, are frequently asked by the champion to remind their employees to use the language of their choice in the workplace.

Meetings of the Executive Committee (six members) are conducted primarily in English, but the minutes are in both official languages. Meetings of the Management Committee (ten members) are conducted in either official language, depending on the participants' preference; the minutes are bilingual.

The Public Service-wide Employee Survey showed that 76.4% of Francophone respondents from all the bilingual regions of New Brunswick, Ontario and the NCR did "strongly agree" or "mostly agree" with the language of work regime. In Quebec, 95.8% of Anglophone respondents did "strongly agree" or "mostly agree" with the language of work regime.

Equitable participation - Part VI

a) Percentage of Francophone participation throughout Canada

As of 31 March 2004, the Position and Classification Information System (PCIS) indicated that 38.0% of employees in Canada are Francophones.

b) Percentage of Anglophone participation in Quebec

As of 31 March 2004, the Position and Classification Information System (PCIS) indicated that 28.0% of employees in Quebec are Anglophones.

Development of minority language 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

Passport Canada has no formal mechanism to ensure that strategic planning and the development of policies and programs take into account the development of minority language communities. However, its objective is to ensure that services are available in the clients' official language of choice, thus not impeding the development of minority language communities. When changes to the services Passport Canada provides are anticipated and consultations are required, Passport Canada will consult all of its clients and this will include minority language communities.

Employees are informed of the requirement to provide services in the clients' preferred official language, which includes minority language communities.

All advertising pertaining to Passport Canada is done in both official languages using minority language newspapers in Toronto, Vancouver, etc. However, it is possible that those newspapers are not always published on dates that make it possible to reach the public at the right time. In those circumstances, other means to reach the minority language communities are used.

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

Passport Canada considers that linguistic duality is implicit in all its activities and ensures that clerks, examiners and officers processing passport requests reflect the bilingual character of the institution, especially through their active offer of bilingual services.

No other example of initiatives to promote linguistic duality was provided.

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