LANG Committee Report

Recommendation 1

That the Government of Canada ensure that the cuts to the Public Service Agency’s budgets do not affect its ability to support the federal institutions in their implementation of the provisions of the Official Languages Act.

Recommendation 2

That the government publicly state the reasons for the cancellation of the Official Languages Innovation Program in the public service.

Recommendation 3

That the Government of Canada, as the largest employer in Canada, examine, together with provincial and territorial governments and postsecondary institutions, the best ways to encourage postsecondary educational institutions to promote bilingualism among their students, particularly in the programs which train a lot of public servants, by setting language requirements for admission to their programs or as a condition of graduation, or by any other method they deem appropriate.

Recommendation 4

That the Government of Canada invite the heads of postsecondary institutions in Canada to engage in discussions with it and other interested stakeholders on how to meet the federal public service’s need for qualified bilingual employees.

Recommendation 5

That the Government of Canada raise awareness of the language skills required in the federal public service.

Recommendation 6

That the Public Service Commission provide the Committee with a presentation on the changes made to the language tests, and on the problems to which those changes should provide a response.

Recommendation 7

That the Government of Canada establish sufficient funding for language training for every federal institution so that employees required or wishing to take language training in Canada may do so, in accordance with the Policy on Official Languages for Human Resources Management of the Canada Public Service Agency.

Recommendation 8

That the School of Public Service gather specific data, on an ongoing basis, on the number of federal employees who have received language training, on the outcome of that training for employees’ skills and on the cost of training for each of the departments and institutions.

Recommendation 9

That the Government of Canada inform the Committee of the number of persons who were unable to receive language training as a result of the moratorium designed to allow the transition to the new service delivery model.

Recommendation 10

That the Government of Canada inform the Committee of the number of persons who were removed from the waiting list for language training as a result of the traning validation exercise, and of the reasons for their removal.

Recommendation 11

That the School of Public Service establish an evaluation system to ensure the quality of subcontractors providing language training to employees of the federal public service.

Recommendation 12

That the Canada Public Service Agency promote language training methods recognized as offering the best chances of success, particularly immersion over a number of weeks in an environment in Canada where the language learned is the majority language.

Recommendation 13

That the Government of Canada increase its financial support to the language industries in the the renewal of the Action Plan for Official Languages.

Recommendation 14

That the Government of Canada acknowledge the positive results of the Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund and grant it long-term support when the Action Plan for Official Languages is renewed.

Recommendation 15

That the Department of Justice promote greater involvement by Quebec’s Anglophone community in measures designed to ensure better access to justice for the minority language communities.

Recommendation 16

That the Department of Justice consider the appropriateness of expanding the scope of the Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund to other areas of shared jurisdiction.

Recommendation 17

That the Government of Canada conduct a full and independent evaluation of the results achieved by each of the measures implemented under the Action Plan for Official Languages.