ARCHIVED - Official Languages Audit - Service to the Public - Quebec - Number 22

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Number 22 - Official Languages Audit - Service to the Public - Quebec Region

1. Introduction

The purpose of this audit was to determine the extent to which the offices from five (5) metropolitan areas selected for this audit of service to the public are complying with the policies of the Treasury Board Secretariat and with the Official Languages Act, especially as regards service to the public.

2. Objectives

The objectives of the audit derive from Part IV of the Official Languages Act that sets out the obligations of federal institutions and the third parties they use to serve the public. The objectives of the on-site audit are as follows:

• to determine the extent to which the selected federal institutions in the targeted metropolitan areas are fulfilling their obligation to serve the public in the official language of its choice;

• to determine whether these federal offices have the work tools required to assist employees in meeting the service to the public objective;

• to determine the extent to which concessionaires (third parties) which provide services to the public on behalf of an institution provide or make that service to the public available in the official language of the public's choice;

• to determine the extent to which the linguistic minority is receiving service in the official language of its choice.

3. Scope

The audit covered 42 offices in five metropolitan areas of Quebec (see list, Annex A):

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• Québec City: nine (9) offices, from September 29 to October 10, 1997;
• Sherbrooke: nine (9) offices between November 3 and 14, 1997;
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• Montréal: eleven (11)offices from November 27 to December 12, 1997;
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• Trois-Rivières: six (6) offices between January 21 and 29, 1998; and
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• Chicoutimi-Jonquière: seven (7) offices between February 16 and 24, 1998;

4. Methodology

Before beginning the audit of each metropolitan area, we contacted the managers of the selected bilingual offices and arranged the dates on which we would be on-site to meet with them and conduct the audit. We also provided them with a list of documents that we wanted to examine during our visit. At the same time, we contacted the internal audit heads of the institutions whose offices were to be audited in order to inform them of the date of our visit to their institution or to coordinate audit efforts and avoid any possible duplication.

The methodology used included the following activities:

• review of the relevant documentation;
• interviews with managers and employees, where applicable;
• visits to sites to which the public generally has access;
• conducting tests and observation with respect to active offer by telephone and in person, availability of publications in both official languages, existence of the work tools needed to serve the public in the language of its choice, etc;
• confirmation of the audit findings (working file) by the manager responsible for each of the offices visited;
• analysis of the findings for each metropolitan area; and,
• preparation and drafting of the report.

5. Audit Findings and Conclusions

The findings from the offices visited have been grouped for each metropolitan area (Québec, Sherbrooke, Montréal, Trois-Rivières and Chicoutimi-Jonquière) under the following headings:

QUÉBEC METROPOLITAN AREA

Managers responsibilities

All of the managers of the institutions visited in the Québec metropolitan area were aware of their responsibilities in the area of official languages, and more specifically, of the fact that they were required to offer service in the official language of the client's choice. However, none of the nine offices visited had in place formal control mechanisms to ensure that service is always offered in both official languages. In general, managers tend to think that the lack of complaints is a good indication that service is always offered in the official language that the client chooses. At Canada Post, verification phone calls are apparently made from time to time, while at Canadian Heritage, the fact that all employees are bilingual, even if the position is not, is perceived as the best control and the best possible assurance that service is offered in the official language preferred by the client. Finally, for some people, the presence of bilingual telephone or automated systems represents a form of control guaranteeing service in both official languages.

In terms of evaluation mechanisms, Revenue Canada's Taxation and Customs Border Services, the Canada Human Resources Centre (CHRC) and Canada Post have mechanisms to determine the level of client satisfaction. The Jean Lesage International Airport uses suggestion boxes and pre-addressed postcards to seek comments from its clients. At Canada Post, we were told that the Customer Relations Service located in Montréal, which we did not contact, is responsible for this task. The other offices visited do not formally evaluate the language of service.

With the exception of Artillery Park, which has frequent contact with representatives of "Voices of English Québec", none of the offices meet with representatives of the linguistic minority in the Québec metropolitan area.

Organization

All of the offices visited in the Québec metropolitan area have a bilingual capacity and the work tools required to provide ongoing service of comparable quality to clients in the official language of their choice. However, we noted that some of the business cards at the Canada Human Resources Centre, including that of the Director, were not bilingual. There appeared to be a belief that incumbents of unilingual French positions are not required to have bilingual business cards.

Active Offer

While there is not always an active offer on the telephone (5 offices of 9 do not do so), all of the organizations visited are able to offer service in English. It should be noted that the Jean Lesage Airport (main number), the Revenue Canada District Office (which has an 800 number) and the Canadian Coast Guard always make an active offer on the telephone and VIA uses a telephone communication system that automatically routes all in-coming calls to Montréal where a bilingual service is offered.

The official languages symbol was prominently displayed in all of the offices visited and all publications were available in both official languages. At the Quebec Geoscience Centre, the official languages symbol was clearly displayed at the documentation centre but was not posted on the main floor. However, the Canada Post displayed its own official languages symbol which is different from the one used by other institutions.

In general, all of the offices have notices or signage in both official languages. However, the ticket office was identified in French only at the Québec station, and at the Québec Geoscience Centre, there was no sign outside indicating the presence of the centre in the building and the signage inside indicating the centre's location in the building is unilingual French.

The offices do not always make an active offer in person. It should be clarified, however, that some of the offices do not have space for a reception area. The offices that do not always make an active offer are nevertheless able to provide service immediately in the second official language.

Service to the Public

All of the offices audited provide service in the client's preferred official language. However, we were informed that a complaint had been filed with the Commissioner of Official Languages: while we were in Québec, Customs Border Services, St. Lawrence District, Port of Québec, was under investigation because a number of date stamps did not have the acute accent on the capital "E" in the word "QUEBEC".

We observed that all of the offices visited offered comparable service in the two official languages both in terms of quality and response time. At Artillery Park and the Canadian Coast Guard, for example, all of the guides and employees who have contact with the public are bilingual and generally have a higher proficiency than required for their position. At the Quebec Geoscience Centre, scientists generally have a high level of bilingualism.

Five of the offices audited use the services of a third party to serve their respective clientele and they offer comparable services in both official languages. The Jean Lesage Airport and Artillery Park have contracts and leases which contain a language clause, Border Services sometimes hires casual workers who must be bilingual, and the Coast Guard trains volunteers occasionally in English or in French depending on its needs. At VIA, however, security guards are not necessarily bilingual.

Only the Jean Lesage Airport and VIA use concessionaires. At the Airport, concessionaires' contracts include an official languages clause. All menus and signage are bilingual and there are always employees on duty who are able to provide bilingual service. In VIA's case, we did not see the lease contracts and we do not know if they contain a bilingualism clause. We did observe, however, that while menus were displayed in French only, several of the restaurant employees were able to respond in both official languages.

Conclusions

The audit findings reveal that, in general, the offices visited in the Québec metropolitan area all have a bilingual capacity and the work tools needed to always be able to provide service of equal quality immediately in both official languages. In spite of this, active offer is not always provided on the telephone or in person for a variety of reasons: it would take too long to answer in the two official languages which would be frustrating for clients and employees (CHRC); Management of the Québec Geoscience Centre decided, given the partnership with the Université du Québec and the fact that 99% of telephone communications are in French, not to make an active offer; or there is simply no reception area.

None of the offices visited meet with representatives of the official language minority on a regular or organized basis at the regional level with the exception of Artillery Park which is the only organization in the Québec metropolitan area that frequently meets with representatives of the linguistic minority (Voices of English Québec) to inform them of their programming and their activities.

We also found that there was some uncertainty about the need to use bilingual business cards for employees in unilingual positions.

SHERBROOKE METROPOLITAN AREA

Managers responsibilities

All of the managers of the institutions visited in the Sherbrooke metropolitan area were aware of their responsibilities in the area of official languages, and more specifically, of the fact that they were required to offer service in the official language of the client's choice.

Only one of the nine organizations audited used formal control mechanisms to ensure that service was always offered in both official languages: Veterans Affairs. All of the other organizations (8) felt that the lack of complaints constituted the best possible control. Of these organizations, the Estrie Area Parole Office is of the opinion that it does not have sufficient clients to set up such mechanisms, and the Canadian Human Resources Centre, despite three complaints (from the same complainant), stated that it offers services in both official languages.

Three of the nine organizations have evaluation mechanisms to assess client satisfaction that include specific official languages elements: Veterans Affairs, through a pilot project; Economic Development Canada, an ISO 9002 certified organization providing quality services; and Taxation Services which gives out a customer service evaluation form. The other organizations do not have any evaluation mechanism.

Most of the institutions visited in the Sherbrooke area meet occasionally and informally with representatives of the linguistic minority: the Townshippers Association, the Canadian Legion, schools, colleges and Bishop's University. The Canada Human Resources Centre has established a partnership with the Townshippers to better understand the needs of its Anglophone clientele. Canada Post and the Area Parole Office, on the other hand, have no contact with these groups at the regional level.

Organization

Except for the Area Parole Office, all of the offices audited have the bilingual capacity and the work tools required to provide ongoing service in the official language of the client's choice. The Area Parole Office does not have this capacity because only one in six employees holds a bilingual position. As an example, an Anglophone who wished to go to an English halfway house could not stay in Sherbrooke and would have no other choice than go to a Halfway in Montréal to receive service in English.

Active Offer

Active offer is not consistent on the telephone and even less in person. At National Defence and Canada Post, active offer is not always made on the telephone but the service is available on request. The Area Parole Office is not, however, always able to offer service in both official languages. As for active offer at reception, five organizations do not offer it although in most cases they have the capacity to do so, the exception being the Area Parole Office. One department (HRC) told us that a bilingual sign -- "Bonjour - Welcome" - that was prominently and properly displayed constituted the active offer. Trevenue Canada, Taxation Services informed us that they explicitly do not make an active offer so as not to shock their clients.

The official languages symbol was clearly displayed and publications were available in both official languages at the organizations that we visited, except perhaps in the case of the official languages symbol at the Canada Post franchise which was completing its relocation in a pharmacy, and at the Area Parole Office where the signage outside the building and some of the notices from support agencies were in French only.

Service to the Public

Except for the Area Parole Office, where service is not always available in the client's preferred official language and where service is not comparable in both official languages, all of the organizations are fulfilling their responsibilities in this area very well. The same applies to the services provided by third parties. Here again, the Area Parole Office does not take into consideration the language element when preparing contracts, which means that services are not offered in English.

Conclusions

In general, the institutions in the Sherbrooke area are fulfilling their official languages responsibilities. The public receives service in the official language of its choice. The Estrie Area Parole Office appears to be the exception. This office does not have the necessary bilingual capacity to ensure ongoing service in both official languages and does not feel that it has sufficient clientele to warrant putting in place formal control mechanisms. The signage outside the building housing the Area Parole Office and some of the signs in the office itself are in French only. Consequently, service is not always offered in the official language the client prefers and service is not comparable in both official languages.

Representatives of Taxation Services, like managers in a few of the other offices visited, told us that they did not make an active offer in order to avoid shocking their clients.

MONTREAL METROPOLITAN AREA

Managers responsibilities

All of the managers of the institutions visited in the Montréal metropolitan area were aware of their responsibilities concerning official languages, and more specifically, of the fact that they were required to offer service in the official language of the client's choice.

Two of the eleven offices visited (Veterans Affairs, whose headquarters regularly monitors active offer on the telephone and Citizenship and Immigration, Public Affairs, which monitors telephone calls) had specific official languages control mechanisms to ensure that service is always offered in both official languages. At Revenue Canada's Taxation Services, headquarters and consultants check from time to time. As for the other offices visited, they did not have specific mechanisms. They appear to rely on the fact that there are no complaints and consider this a good indication that service is being provided in the official language of the client's choice. Lastly, some of the offices consider bilingual telephone or automated systems to be a form of control in terms of ensuring that service is provided in both official languages. Five offices have formal client satisfaction evaluation mechanisms.

The Business Development Bank and the RCMP are the only organizations among those visited that have regular contact with representatives of Alliance Québec. Several departments meet with specific linguistic groups or associations (Haitians, Italians, schools, legions, etc.), especially the Regional Office of Citizenship and Immigration, which is part of a regional round table which brings together representatives from 96 non-government social organizations (NGO) on a regular basis.

Organization

All of the offices visited had the bilingual capacity and work tools needed to provide ongoing service of comparable quality in both official languages. However, at the Brossard Human Resources Development office, we noted that some of the business cards and even a number of the voice mailboxes were in French only. The employees at this office also mentioned that the French version of the internal computer system (Officer Support System - OSS) contained viruses that slowed work and interfered with the achievement of operational objectives.

Active Offer

Three organizations do not always make an active offer on the telephone. They say however that they can provide the service on request. The Business Development Bank of Canada, which does make an active offer, has a telephone message that is in English first when French must be the first language used in Quebec.

As for the active offer in person, seven of the organizations do not provide it. At Canada Post and the Business Development Bank, the practice is to wait for the client to speak first; in the other organizations (Veterans Affairs, Revenue Canada, Regional Office of Citizenship and Immigration, RCMP and Brossard HRD), service is apparently available on request and it was pointed out that the official languages symbol is always displayed in the reception area, which in their opinion represents an active offer.

With one exception, we found the official languages symbol prominently displayed, the institutions' publications available and distributed in both official languages and signage and notices in both official languages at all of the offices visited. However, there was no evidence of the official languages symbol at the Immigration Centre in the Dorval International Airport and indeed, the person responsible for the facilities was not aware of the symbol's existence. He indicated that he would acquire it as quickly as possible.

Service to the Public

All of the offices audited in the Montréal area always provide service in the official language of the client's choice and offer comparable service in both official languages both in terms of quality and response time. All of the organizations using third party services (8 of 11) always offer service of comparable quality in both official languages because they ensure that the third parties are able to provide such service (contractual clause, bilingual casual employees).

Conclusions

The audit findings reveal that the federal institutions visited are very much aware of their roles and responsibilities with respect to official languages and especially in terms of service to the public. However, managers do not always have formal control mechanisms and often rely on the fact that there are no official languages complaints in their respective areas as the basis for saying that service is always offered in the official language of the client's choice.

We also noted that managers were uncertain about the rules governing the use of unilingual business cards and voice mailboxes when the employees concerned hold unilingual positions or do not deal directly with the public. It might be worthwhile to clarify these rules.

Lastly, with respect to active offer in person, some organizations believe that having the official languages symbol prominently displayed in the reception area, as well as sometimes having other signs inviting the public to use the language of its choice, could be considered adequate for the purposes of ensuring active offer without actually doing so verbally. In some cases, it was pointed out that using both official languages orally at the counter or at the reception desk might irritate some clients.

TROIS-RIVIÈRES METROPOLITAN AREA

Managers responsibilities

All of the managers of the institutions visited in the Trois-Rivières metropolitan area were aware of their responsibilities in the area of official languages, and more specifically, of the fact that they were required to offer service in both official languages.

None of the offices visited in the Trois-Rivières area had formal control mechanisms in place to ensure that services were provided in both official languages. All of the managers interviewed had concluded that the lack of complaints was assurance they were offering bilingual service. It was also mentioned that the small number of Anglophones in the Trois-Rivières area did not justify the establishment of formal controls.

Representatives from all of the offices visited explained to us that there were no representatives of the official language minority in the Trois-Rivières area.

Half of the offices visited have introduced client satisfaction evaluation mechanisms. Economic Development Canada with the ISO 9002 Certification, Revenue Canada's Taxation Services and Canadian Heritage's Forges du Saint-Maurice evaluate their services by handing out cards or questionnaires to their clients and at least one item on their forms relates to official languages. Canada Post relies on its customer service (1-800) which customers can call and make whatever comments they wish.

Organization

All of the offices visited have sufficient bilingual capacity to offer ongoing service and have the work tools needed to serve their clients effectively and immediately in the official language of their choice.

Active Offer

All of the offices, except Canada Post and the National Defence Recruiting Centre, make an active offer at all times on the telephone. In the case of DND, the office uses an answering system that offers callers the option of being served in either official language. However, when callers push the buttons that should switch them to the English menu, the instructions are given in French only.

Signage and notices in all of the offices visited were in both official languages. All publications were also available and distributed in both official languages.

None of the sites visited provides active offer all the time in person (the Forges du Saint-Maurice site was closed to tourists at the time of our visit). Representatives of the offices told us that there was not sufficient demand to justify active offer at all times and that there was always someone available to provide bilingual service on request.

Service to the Public

Comparable quality service, without any delay, was offered in both official languages at all of the offices audited.

The only organization that uses third party services (Forges du Saint-Maurice) always offers service of comparable quality in both official languages because it ensures that the people hired at the ticket counter can provide bilingual service. Canada Post is the only institution using concessionaires. The contract with the Trois-Rivières bilingual postal counter stipulates that operators must provide service in both official languages.

Conclusions

The audit revealed that none of the offices audited had formal control mechanisms to ensure that service is offered in both official languages, but that half of them had established evaluation mechanisms. All of these offices have sufficient bilingual capacity to offer services of comparable quality at all times in both official languages depending on the needs of their clients.

Virtually all of the offices make an active offer on the telephone. However, DND was having difficulties with its telephone system at the time of our visit and consequently service was not always adequately provided in both official languages.

Lastly, none of the sites visited provide an active offer in person all the time (it should be noted that the Forges du Saint-Maurice site was closed at the time of our visit). Managers of audited offices mentioned to us that the number of English-speaking clients in the region did not justify making an active offer all the time. However, managers assured us that there was always at least one bilingual employee ready to provide service immediately in the language of the client's choice.

CHICOUTIMI-JONQUIÈRE Metropolitan Area

Managers responsibilities

All of the managers of the institutions visited in the Chicoutimi-Jonquière metropolitan area were aware of their responsibilities in the area of official languages, and more specifically, of the fact that they were required to offer service in the official language of the client's choice. However, none of the offices visited had in place formal control mechanisms relating to official languages. Managers mentioned that the lack of complaints, the small number of transactions in the second official language and the supervision provided were adequate mechanisms to ensure that service is offered in both official languages. Four offices (Customs, RCMP, Canada Post and the Jonquière HRC) do not have evaluation mechanisms.

None of the departments visited meet with representatives of the linguistic minority in the Saguenay region because there are none.

Organization

All of the organizations visited had sufficient bilingual capacity to provide ongoing service, as well as the work tools needed to serve clients in the official language of their choice. It should be noted, however, that the RCMP does not have any positions designated as bilingual. At present bilingual employees in unilingual French positions provide service in English when required. However, this situation poses an organizational problem.

Active Offer

The signage, notices and distribution of publications were in both official languages at all offices visited.

In general, a majority of the offices actively offered service in both languages on the telephone at all times. However, three organizations -- Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the RCMP and Canada Post -- did not provide an active offer but indicated that they were able to provide service on request immediately. None of the offices visited made an active offer at the reception desk. We were told that the official languages symbol was prominently displayed, that the service could be provided on request immediately and that, in the case of Canada Post, employees knew the English-speaking clientele in the area very well and always spoke to them in English.

Except at Canada Post and the Human Resources Centre, the official languages symbol was prominently displayed.

Service to the Public

In all except one case, service is always offered in the official language of the client's choice and the service (quality and response time) is comparable in both official languages. The CMHC informed us that service to the public was not always comparable in its case and that on rare occasions there could be some delays.

The only two organizations using the services of third parties continued to provide comparable, ongoing bilingual service although Human Resources Development did not have any linguistic clause in the contract.

Conclusions

The audit findings revealed that none of the offices visited have formal control mechanisms in place to ensure that service is offered in both official languages. However, it appears that clients are served in both languages, except perhaps at CMHC where we were told that service to the public is not always comparable and that there could be occasional delays in providing service in English.

As for the active offer in person, none of the offices visited made such an offer. Finally, the official languages symbol is prominently displayed in all of the offices audited, except for Canada Post and the Human Resources Centre.

6. Recommendations

That the institutions audited take the necessary measures, with the assistance of the TBS where applicable, to correct in each office all of the shortcomings identified in the area of service to the public, especially with respect to the following points:

• ensure an active offer of service in both official languages at all times both on the telephone and in person;

• take the necessary action to ensure that offices designated as bilingual have adequate bilingual capacity, both in terms of numbers and proficiency (level of bilingualism), to offer service in both official languages;

• meet regularly (at the local, regional or national levels) with representatives of the official language minority community, when they are present in the metropolitan area, in order to determine their needs and concerns and to jointly find solutions to any problems;

• ensure that control measures for the continuity of service in both official languages and measures to evaluate client satisfaction are established, so as to be able to take the necessary corrective action;

• take the necessary action to ensure the availability of comparable services in both official languages at all times.

Annex A - Lists of Institutions visited by Metropolitan Area

QUÉBEC

Transport Canada, Jean Lesage International Airport
Revenue Canada, Tax Services, District Office
Revenue Canada, Customs Border Services, Port of Québec
Human Resources Development Canada, Human Resource Centre
Via Rail Canada, Québec Station
Canada Post, Buade Street Post Office
Canadian Heritage, Artillery Park
Fisheries and Oceans, Canadian Coast Guard
Natural Resources Canada, Quebec Geoscientific Centre

SHERBROOKE

National Defence, Recruiting Centre Detachment
Veterans Affairs, District Office
Economic Development Canada
Citizenship and Immigration, Immigration Centre
Revenue Canada, Tax Services, District Office
Agriculture and Agri-Food, Dairy and Swine Research and Development Centre
Correctional Service Canada, Area Parole Office
Human resources Development Canada, Human Resources Centre
Canada Post, Rock Forest Franchise

MONTRÉAL

Canadian Heritage, Chambly Park (Locks 1 and 9) District
Business Development Bank of Canada, Ville Saint-Laurent Branch
Veterans Affairs, Quebec Regional Office and Montréal District
Revenue Canada, Taxation Services, District Office
Canada Post, Post Office
Via Rail, Concessionaire at the Montreal Station
Citizenship and Immigration, Regional Office, Public Affairs
Citizenship and Immigration, Dorval International Airport
Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Headquarters, Division C
Human Resources Development Canada, HR Centre, Brossard
Human Resources Development Canada, HR Centre, Pointe-Claire

TROIS-RIVIÈRES

National Defence, Recruiting Centre
Economic Development Canada
Revenue Canada, Tax Services, District Office
Canadian Heritage, Forges du Saint-Maurice National Historic Site
Human Resources Development Canada, Human Resources Centre
Canada Post, Notre-Dame Post Office

CHICOUTIMI-JONQUIÈRE

Canada Mortgage and Housing, Chicoutimi
Industry Canada, Spectre, Chicoutimi
Revenue Canada, Customs Border Services, Chicoutimi
Revenue Canada, Tax Services, Chicoutimi
Revenue Canada, Tax Services, Jonquière
Human Resources Development Canada, HRC, Chicoutimi
Canada Post, Kénogami

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