Title: Audit of Service to the Public in Both Official Languages
Subject: Canada Post Franchises March 2000
Author: .

Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat	March 2000
Audit of Service to the Public in Both Official Languages ‑ Canada Post Franchises

Audit of Service to the Public
in Both Official Languages

Canada Post Franchises

March 2000

Table of Contents
Page
1.	Introduction	1
2.	Audit Objectives	1
3.	Scope	1
4.	Approach	2
5.	Results	2
6.	Audit Conclusions	9
7.	Recommendations	10
Appendix A – List of Franchises	11
Appendix B – List of Associations	13
Appendix C – Tables	14

Audit Program
Canada Post Franchises
1.	Introduction

This study was prepared externally.

This audit is part of the audit activities set up by the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) to ensure that following government transformations, the public can communicate with and receive service from federal institutions in the official language of its choice, as stipulated in the Official Languages Act and the Official Languages Regulations - Service to the Public.
This section presents the audit objectives, scope, approach used, results, conclusions and recommendations.
2.	Audit Objectives
The audit objectives were established under Part IV of the Official Languages Act. That part deals with the obligations of federal institutions, and third parties acting on their behalf, concerning service to the public. The audit objective was to determine the extent to which franchisees are fulfilling their service to the public obligations in accordance with the Official Languages Act, the Official Languages Regulations - Service to the public, and government policy.
3.	Scope
In March 1999, Canada Post Corporation had 2,966 postal franchises operated by the private sector; 316 were designated as bilingual under the Official Languages Regulations. Our sample consisted of 46 franchises designated as bilingual (see Appendix A), or 15% of all franchises required to provide service in both official languages. It should be mentioned that the audit did not cover the Yukon, the Northwest Territories or Nunavut.
We conducted two types of audit: 
•	an in-person audit for 24 franchises, broken down as follows: nine in the National Capital Region (NCR), five in the West, one in Ontario, four in Quebec and five in the East. These franchises were visited in person, and also audited by telephone. 
•	a telephone audit only for 22 franchises, broken down as follows: 10 in Ontario, six in the NCR, two in the West, two in Quebec and two in the East.
A total of 46 franchises were audited; they were located in all provinces except Newfoundland, where no franchise is required to provide service in both official languages under the Official Languages Regulations. The franchises were selected by TBS representatives.
4.	Approach
The following steps were completed during the audit:
•	preliminary meeting with Canada Post representatives to discuss the audit parameters;
•	review of relevant documentation (Canada Post official languages policy, list of postal outlets, concession agreement, etc.);
•	development of an audit program, including audit questionnaires;
•	meetings with the associations (see Appendix B) representing the minority official language communities, to obtain the client’s viewpoint;
•	check telephone calls;
•	visits to the franchises;
•	collection of relevant information, analysis of results and drafting of the report;
•	submission of report to the Canada Post representatives for comment.
5.	Results
A)	Review of documentation
In his 1996 report, the Commissioner of Official Languages stated that most complaints about Canada Post counter service mainly concerned franchises. Following that report, Canada Post changed its official languages policy to stress the fact that postal outlets designated as bilingual were to have bilingual staff at all times, rather than counting on the employees of the host business.
The revised policy (June 1997) covers a number of aspects, including client service (availability at all times, bilingual greeting, sign indicating that service is provided in both official languages), inside and outside signs, advertising, printed material and forms.
Canada Post provided us with the form letters sent to franchisees owning franchises designated as bilingual; the franchisees are informed that they must provide service in both official languages. Canada Post considers bilingualism a condition that must be met before a postal concession can be granted, and that failing to meet that condition could lead to termination of the concession agreement.
The list of franchises designated as bilingual sent to us by Canada Post shows that some NCR franchises (Wellington Cleaners in Ottawa and Impulse Greetings in Kanata, for example) are not designated as bilingual, contrary to section 22 of the Official Languages Act.
B)	On-site audit
Telephone directory listing
Of the 24 franchises that were audited on-site, seven had their telephone numbers listed in the local telephone directory in both official languages. These numbers are published in the white pages under Canada Post or Canada Post Corporation. Canada Post does not require its franchisees to publish their telephone numbers under the Canada Post heading. It is up to the franchisee to decide, because the franchisee pays for the telephone directory listing. The result is that clients (visitors or residents unfamiliar with the area of the city) have difficulty locating postal outlets, including those designated as bilingual. It should also be mentioned that in the telephone directories, Canada Post does not list franchises providing bilingual service under one heading. However, the Canada Post Internet site identifies postal outlets designated as bilingual.
The telephone numbers for the other 17 franchises are listed in the telephone directories under the names of the businesses where they are located. Generally they do not mention the presence of a postal outlet, with a few exceptions: Shoppers Drug Mart (on Merivale Road in Ottawa and in Regina) and Rideau Pharmacy, Ottawa. However, those entries are in only one official language, even though the franchises provide bilingual service. 
Call Answer service
Canada Post Corporation’s official languages policy stipulates that information provided on the telephone must be available in both official languages. Outside operating hours, we found that only two of the 24 franchises were equipped with Call Answer systems: Shoppers Drug Mart on Merivale Road in Ottawa and Elmwood Hardware in Moncton. Only the Moncton franchise had a message in both official languages. 
Active offer on the telephone
Canada Post Corporation’s official languages policy states that the greeting must be bilingual, and that clients should not have to ask to be served in the official language of their choice. Two telephone calls were made to each of the 24 franchises during operating hours, to check whether they made an active offer. Out of the 48 calls we made, we received an active offer nine times, or 19% of the time. We found that there were only three franchises out of the 24, or 12%, that made an active offer on a regular basis. Three other franchises made an active offer on one of our two calls. The other 18 did not make an active offer in either of our two telephone calls.
Telephone answering in the official language chosen by the client
Canada Post Corporation’s official languages policy states that postal outlets must be staffed with bilingual, competent personnel, and that clients must be served in the official language of their choice at all times during operating hours.
Service was provided in the minority official language in 73% of cases (35/48). 
Sixteen franchises (67%) were always able to serve us in the language we used, in both our telephone calls. Some franchises were able to provide this service only intermittently; at three franchises, one of our two calls was answered in the client’s language. Five franchises (21%) were unable to serve us in the minority language in either of our telephone calls.
Quality of the language of staff answering the telephone

We made a (subjective) judgment of the language skills of the persons answering our calls. The quality of the language used was evaluated according to the following criteria: “good” means that there was no communication problem and we understood each other; the person’s accent was not taken into account. “Acceptable” means that there was a slight communication problem: the employee had to search for words and use terms in his or her own language because he or she did not have all the vocabulary of the official language chosen by the client. “Incomprehensible” means that there was a serious communication problem: the employee understood little or none of what was said, or could not express himself or herself so as to be understood.

Out of the 35 calls in which service was offered in the minority official language, the language used by 27 respondents (77%) was assessed as “good”. The quality of the language used by the eight other respondents was considered “acceptable”.
Referral to another employee to provide telephone service
Most of the time, the person answering the telephone was able to reply to our questions directly, but in 9% of the calls (3/35), that person asked another employee to answer our questions. However, in two cases we readily realized that the second respondent was a bilingual person who did not work at the postal outlet. This person could not answer our questions directly, but translated our questions for the employee, and then retranslated the employee’s answers. This process is cumbersome, very slow and annoying for clients, and the service provided is not of the same quality in both official languages.
Active offer in person in visits to the outlets
Canada Post Corporation’s policy states that the greeting must be bilingual. However, in the 24 postal outlets we visited, we never received an active offer. Also, before approaching the counters, we waited for other clients to be served, to see whether an active offer was given. We never heard any employees speak to a client in both official languages. Often the client spoke first, and the employee answered in the official language used by the client. However, when we did our checks, we made certain that we were not the first to speak: we waited until the employees spoke to us first. We never received an active offer, but we found that the employees sometimes made an active offer on the telephone when taking calls while we were there.
Response in person in the official language chosen by the client
We were able to obtain counter service in the minority official language at 83% of the outlets; 20 of the 24 franchises were able to answer our questions properly. The franchises that were unable to offer service in the official language chosen by the client were Shoppers Drug Mart in Kelowna and Family Drugs in Saskatoon; we visited those counters twice, on two successive days, but could not obtain service on either visit, even though different employees were involved. The other two franchises (Hazeldean Pharmaplus in Ottawa and Ed’s Convenience in Toronto) made efforts to speak French, but the level of understanding and oral interaction was not high enough to provide proper service.
Quality of the language spoken by staff in the on-site visits
Among employees who were able to reply in the official language chosen by the client (20/24), the language ability varied from “good” (16/24) to “acceptable” (4/24). As mentioned earlier, the language spoken by staff at two franchises was judged “incomprehensible”, and two other franchises were unable to answer our questions in the minority official language. All told, five franchises out of six were able to provide service to the public in both official languages. 
Referral to another employee to provide service in the minority official language
Staff at the postal outlets generally did not need to ask a colleague for help in order to provide service in the minority official language: there were only four such requests, and in three cases the new person was able to serve us appropriately. In one case (Hazeldean Pharmaplus in Ottawa) the person who came to help had a great deal of difficulty understanding us, and despite the efforts made, did not speak well enough to be understood. 
In Kelowna, the employee at the postal outlet told us that the person who spoke French had just left, but it should be mentioned that this person was still not there when we returned the next day. In Saskatoon, we were told to speak English, and when we returned the next day, we were given the same response, by a different employee.
Visibility of the official languages symbol
Canada Post Corporation’s official languages policy states that the sign indicating that service is provided in both official languages must be displayed at all times. When we visited the outlets, almost half the franchises (11/24) were displaying the symbol indicating that services were offered in both official languages. However, it must be mentioned that, contrary to the TBS official languages policy, two of the signs were hard to see. The Prince Edward Island franchise we visited was displaying both the symbol and a 1-800 telephone number clients could dial to obtain service in French. 
Signs in both official languages
Canada Post Corporation’s official languages policy states that everything displayed that relates to the postal products and services (posters, notices, banners, etc.) must be bilingual. The policy also stipulates that both official languages are to be given the same importance. On the whole this policy is well followed: signs are bilingual, and both official languages are given the same importance and visibility. All franchises display their products in both official languages; these are always standardized displays that come from Canada Post, and they are clearly visible. The Gatineau franchise we visited had an English section missing from one of the displays, but all other displays were in both official languages.
There were very few handwritten notices. This situation arose with only four franchises. Two of them had written their information in both official languages, but the other two had written it in only one official language.
Products for sale
Besides stamps, three quarters of the franchises sold other products (souvenirs, collections, etc.). On the whole, the bilingual character of the products for sale was reasonably well reflected in the available products. One quarter of the franchise had almost no products for sale at the time of our visit.
Forms
Canada Post Corporation’s official languages policy provides that forms relating to postal products and services, whether they are produced for use or for information, must be either provided in bilingual versions or made available to the public in both official languages. On the whole it can be said that the franchises are following Canada Post’s official languages policy. They were able to give us forms in the minority official language in 92% of cases (22/24). One had no more English or French forms, while another had them only in English. In both cases we were told that the requested forms were out of stock for the moment, and that they were expected shortly because they had recently been ordered.
Service of equal quality in both official languages
Overall, 63% of the franchises visited (15/24) provided service of equal quality in both official languages. All franchises in the Montreal area (4/4) and all those in Moncton (2/2) provided service of equal quality in both official languages. In the NCR, the service was of equal quality in 78% of cases (7/9); the other two franchises provided bilingual service, but on an irregular basis. 
Of the franchises in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, only one (1/3) offered service of equal quality; the other two did offer us bilingual service, but on an intermittent basis. West of Ottawa, with the exception of the Winnipeg franchise, all franchises (5/6) were unable to offer service of equal quality in both official languages. In Toronto and Saskatoon we were unable to obtain any service at all in the minority official language, either on the telephone or in person.
C)	Telephone checks
Telephone directory listings
We did not systematically verify the data on the 22 franchises that were subjected to telephone checks only, since we were not at the sites to determine whether they were listed in the local telephone directories. According to information provided by Canada Post, telephone numbers for 8 of them are listed in the local telephone directories, in both official languages. These telephone numbers are said to be published in the white pages under Canada Post or Canada Post Corporation.  It should be mentioned that Canada Post does not require its franchisees to publish their telephone numbers under the Canada Post heading in local telephone directories.
Call Answer systems
Outside operating hours, we found that none of the 22 franchises had a Call Answer system.
Active offer on the telephone
The 22 franchises were each called twice (44 calls) during operating hours to check whether they made active offers. We obtained an active offer in 23% of cases (10/44). Only three franchises out of 22, or 14%, made an active offer in both our telephone calls. All three are in the NCR: Minto Postal Outlet & Lotto, Japan Camera Centre and Jean Coutu. Also, four other franchises gave us an active offer on one of our two calls. The other 15 franchises never made an active offer.
Telephone answering in the official language chosen by the client
We were able to obtain telephone service in the minority official language in 82% of cases (36/44). 
Fifteen franchises were always able to serve us in the language we used, on both our telephone calls. Six franchises were able to offer this service on only one of the two calls. The 7-Eleven Store on Bank Street in Ottawa was never able to provide service in the official language chosen by the client. 
Quality of the language spoken by those answering the telephone
The quality of the language spoken at franchises that were able to provide service in the minority official language was generally “good”: 92 % of the calls (33/36) were so rated. Three other respondents spoke a language rated “acceptable”. Only one respondent spoke a language rated totally “incomprehensible”. In this latter case it cannot be considered that service was provided in the official language chosen by the client.
Referral to another employee to provide service in the minority official language
In most cases, the first person responding was able to answer our questions directly; however, on four occasions that person called on another employee to answer our questions. Each time, this second person was able to answer our questions within what we considered (subjectively) to be a reasonable time.
D)	Comments by the associations
The Fédération des francophones de la Colombie-Britannique considers that it is difficult to obtain service in French at postal outlets, and that government transformations have had a negative impact on service in French. In its directory, the association publishes a list of franchises providing bilingual service and a Canada Post 1-800 number for information on postal products and services.
The Association canadienne française de l’Alberta considers that the number of post offices and franchises is dropping. It maintains that it is not really consulted by Canada Post on the choice of locations for franchises, and that they are sometimes granted randomly; it considers that service in French is up to the franchisees, and that the service does not necessarily remain the same when the franchise changes ownership or the employees are replaced with others.
The new representative of the Assemblée communautaire fransaskoise we met could not give us any specific information on the situation in Saskatchewan franchises, but he had the impression that service in French was very hard to obtain. 
The Société franco-manitobaine considers that it maintains very good relations with Canada Post and that franchises that have language obligations are providing the services properly. The telephone numbers for post offices and franchises are listed in the directory of services in French in Manitoba.
The representative of the Association canadienne-française de l’Ontario whom we met was under the impression that the situation in general was improving as regards the possibility of obtaining postal service in French. 
According to Alliance Quebec, a large number of complaints concerning Canada Post have been sent to the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. Alliance Quebec shares the views of the Commissioner of Official Languages, who indicated in his 1998 Annual Report that service to the public in both official languages is better in post offices than in franchises. We were told that some franchises do not serve Anglophones properly, because the employees on duty are not always bilingual, and some franchises even have difficulty serving the public in either official language. Alliance Quebec considers that the turnover rate among franchise employees and owners is a major problem for maintaining service in the minority official language.
The representative of the Société des Acadiens et des Acadiennes du Nouveau-Brunswick said that some complaints concerning Canada Post had been sent to the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages; he could not remember whether they were related to franchises. His general impression was that service is offered first in English everywhere except in Quebec, and that this does not take into account the population of some regions, where Francophones are in the majority.
The representative of the Fédération acadienne de la Nouvelle-Écosse (FANE) we met with talked to us mostly about the restructuring of FANE; he did not really know the situation concerning the service provided in the franchises. He knew that there was a complaint related to Canada Post in the municipality of Argyle, but he did not know whether it involved a post office or a franchise.
The representatives of the Société Saint-Thomas-d’Aquin (P.E.I.) and the Fédération des francophones de Terre-Neuve et du Labrador had no comments to make on Canada Post franchises; there are only three franchises with language obligations in these two provinces.
6.	Audit Conclusions
In June 1997, Canada Post published the revised version of its official languages policy. However, the audit results indicate that service to the public is not always available at franchises:
•	Few franchises are listed under Canada Post in the telephone directory for their locality. 
•	An active offer was received in 21% of the check telephone calls (19/92). 
•	The persons answering the telephone were able to reply in the minority official language in 77% of cases (71/92). 
•	An active offer was never made in the in-person visits (0/48).
•	Over half the franchises visited (13/24) did not indicate that they provide service in both official languages (no symbol or sign).
•	The services supplied by Canada Post (posters, products for sale, forms) are generally available in both official languages.
•	According to our in-person audit sample, service to the public is equal in quality in both official languages in 62.5% of cases.
•	A number of minority official language community representatives consider that service to the public is not equal in quality in both official languages.
7.	Recommendations
We recommend that Canada Post Corporation take the measures necessary to ensure that its franchisees fulfil their obligations to provide service in both official languages as prescribed in the Official Languages Act and the Official Languages Regulations - Service to the public.
•	It is up to Canada Post to take the action necessary to announce to its clients where its service points are. (It would be desirable for Canada Post to reconsider the fact that its franchisees are not listed in local telephone directories, and to review its mode of consultation of associations representing minority official language communities, particularly on the choice of locations for franchises.)
•	Canada Post must ensure that its franchises visibly and permanently display the official languages symbol or a poster clearly stating that service to the public is provided in both official languages.
•	For both telephone greeting and in-person greeting, Canada Post must follow its own official languages policy by taking action to ensure that its franchises at all times actively offer service in both official languages.
•	Canada Post must ensure that all NCR franchises offer service to the public in both official languages, as stipulated in the Official Languages Act.
•	Canada Post must also take the measures necessary to ensure that service to the public in both official languages is always available and is of equal quality in franchises designated as bilingual.

Appendix A – List of Franchises
Addresses of franchises audited on site
NCR
Rideau Pharmacy, 390 Rideau St., Ottawa, K1N 5W0, (613) 789-1796
Suzanne Ouimet Postal Outlet, 2339 Ogilvie Rd, Ottawa, K1J 8M0, (613) 749-4641
Hazeldean Pharmaplus, 300 Eagleson Rd., K2M 1C0, (613) 592-8987
Shoppers Drug Mart, 1642 Merivale Rd., K2G 4A0, (613) 226-4068
Scatterbrain Gifts, 2653 Alta Vista Dr., K1V 7T0, (613) 737-3487
Pharmaplus, 240 Sparks St., Ottawa, K1P 6Z0, (613) 238-1013
Papeterie Thibo, 161 Principale, Aylmer, J9H 6W0, (819) 684-8284
Denis Mini Marché, 476 Graveline, Gatineau, J8P 1A0, (819) 643-2191
Librairie Réflexion, 320 St-Joseph Blvd., Hull, J8Y 3Y0, (819) 776-4919
East
Boucher’s Valu-Mart, Slemon Park Dr., Slemon Park, P.E.I., C0B 2A0, (902) 436‑6807
IGA Tacoma, 20 Tacoma Dr., Dartmouth, N.S., B2W 2E0, (902) 434-8208
Robichaud Foods Ltd., Little Brook, B0W 1Z0, (902)769-2514
Elmwood Hardware, 257 Elmwood Dr., Moncton, E1A 1X0, (506) 858-8100
Shoppers Drugmart, 1100 Main St., Moncton, E1C 1G0, (506) 853-8710
Quebec
Jean Coutu, 1221 Fleury E., Montreal,  H2C 1P0, (514) 384-4107 
Pharmaprix, 2880 Remembrance St., Lachine (FA),  H8S 1X0, 514) 637-3578
Dépanneur BoniSoir, 15,400 Pierrefonds Blvd., Roxboro, H9H 4J0, (514) 620-5002
Tabagie Rockland, 2305 Rockland Rd., Mont-Royal, H3P 1Z0, (514) 341-1565
Ontario
Ed’s Convenience, 3332 Yonge St., Toronto, M4N 2L0, (416) 483-7878
West
Shoppers Drug Mart, 2271 Harvey Ave., Kelowna, V1Y 6H0, (250) 860-3764
Cascade Plaza Drugs, 317 Banff Ave., Banff, T0L 2P0, (403) 762-2245
Family Drugs, 160 2^nd Ave. N., Saskatoon, S7K 2B0, (306) 975-1570
Shoppers Drug Mart, 2102, 11^th Ave., Regina, S4P 0G0, (306) 777-8192
Pharmaplus, 123 Marion Street, Winnipeg, R2H 0S0, (204) 231-2427 

Addresses of franchises audited by telephone
NCR
Shoppers Drug Mart, 6491 Jeanne d’Arc Blvd.,  K1C 2S0, (613) 837-1018
7-Eleven Store, 1168 Bank St., K1S 3X0, (613) 730-3022
Minto Postal Outlet & Lotto, 355 Slater St., K1R 7Z0, (613)782-2260
Japan Camera Centre, 50 Rideau St., K1N 9J0, (613) 230-8552
7-Eleven, 1388 Richmond Rd., K2B 8B0, (613) 820-5725
Jean Coutu, 262 Montreal Rd., K1L 6C0, (613) 749-5664
West
Queens Stationery, 3034 Edgemont Blvd., North Vancouver, V7R 2N0, (604) 987‑0422
Centre Value Drug Mart, 6503 51^st St., Grand Centre, Alberta, T9M 1P0, (780) 594‑5444
Ontario
Shoppers Drug Mart, 975 Brookdale Ave., Cornwall, K6J 4P0, (613) 938-3010
Shoppers Drug Mart, 151 Ontario Ave., Elliot Lake,  P5A 2T0, (705) 848-7125
B&M Esso, 232 Cambridge Ave., Iroquois Falls (FB), P0K 1E0, (705) 258-3489
Guardian Drugs,1950 Algonquin Ave., North Bay (FA),B1B 4Z0, (705) 474-6449
Luckwin’s Service Centre, 1500 Fisher St., North Bay, P1B 2H0, (705) 495-6113
Pharmaplus, 419 King St. West, Oshawa, L1J 1K0, (905) 571-4105
Rockland Variety, 2248 Laurier St., Rockland, 4K4 1L0 (613) 446-4449
Stittsville Drug Mart IDA, 1250 Main St., Stittsville (FB), K2S 1S0, (613) 836-3891
Pharmaplus, 1349 Lasalle Blvd., Sudbury (FA) : P3A 1Z0, (705) 566-0472
Rita McMahon, 525 Notre-Dame Ave., Sudbury, P3C 5L0, (705) 675-5693
East
L’Extra No 1, 7651 St-Paul St. (FB), Bas Caraquet, E1W 1E0, (506) 727-9194
Les Alimentations Clair, 273 Principale St., Clair (FB), E0L 1B0, (506) 992-2150
Quebec
Brunet, 175 Principale St., Cowansville, J2K 3L0, (450) 263-6066
Dépanneur Nicole et Richard, Maniwaki, J9E 2B0, (819) 449-2953

Appendix B – List of Associations
List of associations consulted in the audit
•	Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada
450 Rideau St., Ottawa, Ont.
•	Fédération des francophones de Terre-Neuve et du Labrador 
265 Duckworth St., St. John’s
•	Société Saint-Thomas d’Aquin 
340 Court St., Summerside, P.E.I.
•	Fédération acadienne de la Nouvelle-Écosse
73 Tacoma Drive, Suite #203, Dartmouth, N.S., B2W 3Y6
•	Société des acadiens et des acadiennes du Nouveau-Brunswick 
Petit Rocher, New Brunswick
•	Alliance Québec
630 René Lévesque Blvd. West, Suite 2950, Montreal, Quebec
•	Association canadienne-française de l’Ontario
2 Carlton St., Suite 1711, Toronto, Ont.
•	Fédération des francophones de la Colombie-britannique
1575-7^th Ave. West, Vancouver, B.C.
•	Association canadienne française de l’Alberta
8527 Marie-Anne Gaboury St. (91^st St.), Room 303, Edmonton, Alberta
•	Association culturelle franco-canadienne de la Saskatchewan,
2132 Broad St., Regina, Saskatchewan
•	Société Franco-manitobaine, Suite 212
383 Provencher Blvd., St-Boniface, Manitoba

Appendix C – Tables
CANADA POST FRANCHISES
TELEPHONE AND IN-PERSON AUDIT PROGRAM
LIST OF FRANCHISES AUDITED IN PERSON | RESULTS OF TELEPHONE AUDIT
| FIRST TELEPHONE AUDIT (A1)
| SECOND TELEPHONE AUDIT (A2)
| Active offer | Reply in the client’s language | Quality of language G= Good A= Acceptable | Referral to another employee to provide the service | Service available in the language of the client
| A1 | A2 | A1 | A2 | A1 | A2 | A1 | A2 | A1 | A2
Rideau Pharmacy | No | no | yes | yes | G | G | NA | NA | yes | yes
Suzanne Ouimet Postal Outlet | Yes | yes | yes | yes | G | G | NA | NA | yes | yes
Hazeldean (Pharma Plus) | Yes | no | yes | yes | A | G | NA | NA | yes | yes
Shoppers Drug Mart, Merivale, Ottawa *1 | No | no | no | yes | NA | G | no | yes*2 | no | yes
Scatterbrain Gifts | No | no | yes | yes | G | G | yes | NA | yes | yes
Pharmaplus, Sparks Street, Ottawa | No | no | yes | yes | G | G | NA | NA | yes | yes
Papeterie Thibo | No | no | yes | yes | G | G | NA | NA | yes | yes
Denis Mini-marché | No | no | yes | yes | G | A | NA | NA | yes | yes
LibrairieRéflexion | No | no | yes | yes | A | A | NA | NA | yes | yes
Boucher’s Value | No | no | no | yes | NA | G | no | NA | no | yes
IGA | No | no | no | no | NA | NA | no | no | no | no
Robichaud Food | Yes | no | yes | yes | G | G | NA | NA | yes | yes
Elmwood Hardware*3 | No | yes | yes | yes | G | G | NA | NA | yes | yes
Shoppers Drug Mart, Main Street, Moncton | Yes | yes | yes | yes | G | G | NA | NA | yes | yes
Jean Coutu, Fleury Street, Montreal | No | no | yes | yes | A | A | NA | NA | yes | yes
Pharmaprix, Remem-brance Street, Lachine | No | no | yes | yes | A | A | NA | NA | yes | yes
BoniSoir, Roxboro | No | no | yes | yes | G | G | NA | NA | yes | yes
Tabagie Rockland, Mont-Royal | No | no | yes | yes | G | G | NA | NA | yes | yes
Ed’s Convenience | No | no | no | no | NA | NA | no | no | no | no
Shoppers Drug Mart, Kelowna | No | no | no | yes | NA | G | no | yes*2 | no | yes
Cascade Plaza | No | no | no | no | NA | NA | no | no | no | no
Family Drugs | No | no | no | no | NA | NA | no | no | no | no
Shoppers Drug Mart, Regina | No | no | no | no | NA | NA | no | no | no | no
Pharmaplus Winnipeg | Yes | yes | yes | yes | G | G | NA | NA | yes | yes
*1 = unilingual Call Answer system
*2 = the second person understood French but did not know how the postal system operated; he acted as a translator only
*3 = bilingual Call Answer system

CANADA POST FRANCHISES
TELEPHONE AND IN-PERSON AUDIT PROGRAM

LIST OF
FRANCHISES
AUDITED IN
PERSON

RESULTS OF IN-PERSON VISIT

| Active offer | Answer in the client’s language | Quality of language G=Good A=Acceptable I=Incompre- hensible | Referal to another employee to provide the service | Visibility of symbol in both official languages | Sign indicating that the service is bilingual
Rideau Pharmacy | no | yes | G | NA | no | yes
Suzanne Ouimet Postal Outlet | no | yes | G | NA | no | no
Hazeldean (Pharma Plus) | no | no | I | yes *1 | no | no
Shoppers Drug Mart, Merivale Rd, Ottawa | no | yes | G | yes | yes | no
Scatterbrain Gifts | no | yes | G | NA | yes | no
PharmaPlus, Sparks St., Ottawa | no | yes | G | NA | no | yes *2
Papeterie Thibo | no | yes | G | NA | no | yes *2
Denis Mini-marché | no | yes | A | NA | no | no
LibrairieRéflexion | no | yes | A | NA | no | no
Boucher’s Value | no | yes | G | NA | no | yes *4
IGA | no | yes | G | yes | yes | NA
Robichaud Food *7 | no | yes | G | NA | no | no
Elmwood Hardware | no | yes | G | NA | yes | NA

Shoppers Drug Mart
Main St., Moncton

no

yes

G

NA

no

no

Jean Coutu, Fleury St., Montréal | no | yes | G | NA | no | no
Pharmaprix, Lachine | no | yes | A | NA | no | no
Bonisoir, Roxboro | no | yes | G | NA | no | no
Tabagie Rockland, Mont-Royal | no | yes | G | NA | no | no
Ed’s Convenience | no | yes | I | no | no | no
Shoppers Drug Mart, Kelowna | no | no | NA | no | yes | NA
Cascade Plaza | no | yes | A | yes | no | no
Family Drugs | no | no | NA | no | no | no
Shoppers Drug Mart, Regina | no | yes | G | NA | yes | NA
Pharmaplus, Winnipeg | no | yes | G | NA | no | yes
*1  = result unsatisfactory (language incomprehensible) 
*2  = not very visible
*3  = only some in French
*4  = also gives a 1-800 number where service in French can be obtained
*5  = some advertisements in English only
*6  = some forms available in English only
*7  = no pictogram indicating the presence of a postal outlet

CANADA POST FRANCHISES
TELEPHONE AND IN-PERSON AUDIT PROGRAM (Cont’d)

LIST OF
FRANCHISES
AUDITED IN
PERSON

RESULTS OF IN-PERSON VISIT

| Posters bilingual or in both official languages | Hand-written notices | Products for sale in both official languages | Forms available in both official languages | Telephone number published under Canada Post in both official languages | Service of equal quality in both official languages
Rideau Pharmacy | yes | NA | yes | yes | no | yes
Suzanne Ouimet Postal Outlet | yes | NA | yes | yes | yes | yes
Hazeldean (PharmaPlus) | yes | NA | yes | yes | yes | no
Shoppers Drug Mart, Merivale Rd, Ottawa | yes | NA | yes | yes | no | no
Scatterbrain Gifts | yes | NA | yes | yes | yes | yes
PharmaPlus, Sparks St., Ottawa | yes | NA | yes | yes | yes | yes
Papeterie Thibo | yes | NA | yes | yes | no | yes
Denis Mini-marché | yes *3 | NA | yes | yes | no | yes
LibrairieRéflexion | yes | NA | yes | yes | no | yes
Boucher’s Value | yes | no*5 | yes | yes | yes | no
IGA | yes | no *5 | NA | yes*6 | no | no
Robichaud Food *7 | yes | NA | NA | yes | no | yes
Elmwood Hardware | yes | NA | yes | yes | yes | yes

Shoppers Drug Mart
Main St., Moncton

yes

NA

yes

yes

no

yes

Jean Coutu, Fleury St., Montréal | yes | NA | yes | yes | no | yes
Pharmaprix, Lachine | yes | yes | NA | yes | no | yes
Bonisoir, Roxboro | yes | yes | NA | yes | no | yes
Tabagie Rockland, Mont-Royal | yes | NA | yes | yes | no | yes
Ed’s Convenience | yes | NA | yes | yes | no | no
Shoppers Drug Mart, Kelowna | yes | NA | yes | yes | yes | no
Cascade Plaza | yes | NA | NA | no | no | no
Family Drugs | yes | NA | NA | yes | no | no
Shoppers Drug Mart, Regina | yes | NA | yes | yes | no | no
Pharmaplus, Winnipeg | yes | NA | yes | yes | no | yes
*1  = result unsatisfactory (language incomprehensible) 
*2  = not very visible
*3  = only some in French
*4  = also gives a 1-800 number where service in French can be obtained
*5  = some advertisements in English only
*6  = some forms available in English only
*7  = no pictogram indicating the presence of a postal outlet

CANADA POST FRANCHISES
TELEPHONE-ONLY AUDIT PROGRAM
LIST OF FRANCHISES AUDITED ONLY ON THE TELEPHONE | FIRST TELEPHONE AUDIT (A1)
| SECOND TELEPHONE AUDIT (A2)
| Active offer | Response in the client’s language | Quality of language G= Good A= Acceptable I = Incompre- hensible | Referral to another employee to provide the service | Service available in the client’s language
| A1 | A2 | A1 | A2 | A1 | A2 | A1 | A2 | A1 | A2

Shoppers Drug Mart,
Jeanne D’Arc Blvd.,
Ottawa

no

no

no

yes

NA

G

no

NA

no

yes

7-Eleven Store, Bank St., Ottawa | no | no | no | no | NA | NA | no | no | no | no
Minto Postal Outlet | yes | yes | yes | yes | G | A | NA | NA | yes | yes
Japan Camera | yes | yes | yes | yes | G | G | NA | NA | yes | yes

7- Eleven Store,
Richmond Rd., Ottawa

no

no

yes

yes

A

A

yes

NA

yes

yes

Jean Coutu | yes | yes | yes | yes | G | G | NA | NA | yes | yes
Queen’s Stationery | yes | no | yes | yes | G | G | NA | NA | yes | yes
Centre Value Drug | yes | no | yes | no | G | NA | NA | no | yes | no
Shoppers Drug Mart, Cornwall | no | no | yes | yes | G | G | NA | NA | yes | yes
Shoppers Drug Mart, Elliot Lake | no | no | yes | yes | G | G | NA | yes | yes | yes
B & M Esso | no | no | yes | yes | G | G | NA | NA | yes | yes
Guardian Drugs | no | no | yes | yes | G | G | NA | yes | yes | yes
Luckwin’s Service Centre | no | no | yes | no | G | NA | NA | no | yes | no

Pharmaplus,
Oshawa

no

yes

yes

yes

I

G

no

NA

no

yes

Rockland Variety | yes | no | yes | yes | G | G | NA | NA | yes | yes
Stittsville Drug | no | no | yes | yes | G | G | NA | yes | yes | yes
Pharmaplus | no | no | yes | no | G | NA | NA | no | yes | no
Rita McMahon | no | no | yes | yes | G | G | NA | NA | yes | yes
Extra No. 1 | no | no | yes | yes | G | G | NA | NA | yes | yes
Alimentation | no | no | yes | yes | G | G | NA | NA | yes | yes
Brunet | no | no | yes | yes | G | G | NA | NA | yes | yes
Dépanneur Nicole et Richard | no | no | no | yes | NA | G | no | NA | no | yes

NA = Not applicable