DND: Audit of the Language of Work at NDHQ

Audit of the Language of Work at National Defence Headquarters February 2006

Table of contents

HIGHLIGHTS
INTRODUCTION
OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY
OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Commitment to creating a bilingual work environment

Policies, directives and related documents
Leadership and organizational culture

Accountability framework and performance indicators
Services offered to employees at Headquarters

Supervision
Performance appraisals
Meetings
Work tools and software
Training and development
Central and personal services

Language requirements of positions and language skills of incumbents
Awareness program

CONCLUSION
APPENDIX A

List of recommendations, the Department of National Defence and of the Canadian Forces’action plan, and our responses

APPENDIX B
Audit objectives and criteria

Highlights

The Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages conducted an audit at the Department of National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Forces (CF) between November 2004 and June 2005. [....]

Language requirements of positions and language skills of incumbents
The language skills of military personnel in positions of management, supervision, central and personal services are still a major problem at Headquarters. [A problem to whom? A real problem or a created problem? ....]

The Commissioner has formulated 12 recommendations to DND and the CF for improving language of work at Headquarters. Their purpose is:

to build and improve the language skills of managers;
to increase the proportion of Francophones in certain sections;
to require awareness sessions on linguistic duality, and the integration of clear language of work objectives in the performance appraisal of managers;
to add to the 2007-2012 strategic plan a section designed to ensure that the language rights of employees are respected at all times; [Francophones complain and then, new rules are formulated and must be enforced. It keeps the pot boiling and Tzar Adam's department expanding, I would guess.]
to provide language training and learning retention; and
to communicate language of work rights and obligations to employees at Headquarters. [....]

INTRODUCTION [....] This audit concerned Part V of the Official Languages Act. Under this Part, the institutions subject to the Act must ensure that their work environments are conducive to the effective use of both official languages in regions designated as bilingual, and accommodate the use of either official language by their employees, subject to the obligations relating to service to the public and to other employees in their language of choice. For example, federal institutions must: [....]

OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
[....]

Recommendation 1
The Commissioner recommends that DND and the CF implement, six months after the adoption of the 2007-2012 strategic plan, the policies and directives relating to the language of work, which are still in draft form. [....]

According to the model, each unit is designated French, English, bilingual or, exceptionally, non-designated. At Headquarters, units are designated bilingual and their work environment must be conducive to the effective use of English and French and accommodate the use of either by its employees.

Also, the former Minister of National Defence established five main objectives when he appeared before the Standing Committee on Official Languages of the House of Commons in June 2003. These five main commitments, chosen from among the Strategic Plan objectives, are:

to increase by 5% each year the percentage of bilingual military positions held by personnel who meet the language requirements of those positions;
to increase to 70% the percentage of newly promoted colonels/captains (Navy) who have at least a CBC linguistic profile by the end of 2006; [C is the highest level --Level CBC designation includes ability to read, write, speak.]
to maintain the current initiative to integrate language skills into the management agreements governing the performance of senior personnel; [Promote French or your performance assessment will be impacted negatively.]
to reinstate mandatory re-evaluation of the language proficiency of military personnel every five years;
to ensure that graduates of the Royal Military College are bilingual with an intermediate level of proficiency in their second official language, and that recruits who become officers through other officer recruitment programs also achieve this level. [....]

Recommendation 2
The Commissioner recommends that the Canadian Forces, when adopting the functional approach, ensure that a sufficient number of positions are filled by bilingual personnel upon their transfer to bilingual groups and units at Headquarters and that an appropriate accountability mechanism be put in place to monitor this new approach closely. [....]

At National Defence, senior management has taken a number of measures that show its support for the official languages program. [....]

It identified two co-champions for official languages: the assistant deputy minister of human resources (military), and the assistant deputy minister of human resources (civilian). [....]

The financial and human resources allocated to the Official Languages Division were significantly increased (the number of employees rose from 12 to 26 between 2002 and 2005).

It takes into account knowledge of the second language as an evaluation criterion for officer promotions, bilingualism being tangible proof of leadership. [....]

Funds totalling $13.9 million have been allocated to the language training of military personnel4 in 2004-2005. [....]

Recommendation 3
The Commissioner recommends that the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces:

a) communicate, between now and June 30, 2006, their vision to create an organizational culture based on respect for the language rights of all employees at Headquarters; and

b) require their middle managers and supervisors at Headquarters to attend mandatory awareness sessions on linguistic duality and respect for the language rights of employees.

At Headquarters, all branches and work units are designated bilingual according to the DND and CF Official Languages Model. Nevertheless, a number of investigations5 and studies6 we conducted at National Defence show that English is used most of the time as the operational and administrative language, and that Francophones have little opportunity to work in French, except in bilingual locations where their proportion is quite high. [....]

Recommendation 4
The Commissioner recommends that the Canadian Forces modify, as soon as possible, its official languages model by increasing the proportion of Francophones working in bilingual branches and units at Headquarters and by limiting transfers and assignments to these locations to individuals who have at least second-language reading and oral comprehension skills.

2. Accountability framework and performance indicators [....]

Recommendation 5
The Commissioner recommends that the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces ensure that the performance of managers at all levels at Headquarters relating to the creation of a work environment conducive to the effective use of both official languages be evaluated specifically in the context of the annual appraisal process. [....]

A number of Francophones would like to use French more at meetings with colleagues and with management or senior management. [....]

The vast majority of keyboards in use at Headquarters do not meet the Canadian government keyboard standard for computer hardware with respect to French accents (Standard TBITS-5). National Defence should therefore correct this deficiency. [....]

A number of Francophones prefer to take their courses in English since they intend to use the new skills learned in the context of their work. As mentioned before, the work environment is predominantly English in a number of sections, and employees tend to use this language to do their work.

It is our opinion that the situation will improve once DND and the CF succeed in creating a work environment that is truly conducive to the effective use of both official languages at Headquarters. [As soon as the officers are in line ........ ]

Recommendation 6
The Commissioner recommends that the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces:

a) include in their 2007-2012 strategic plan a component for ensuring that the language rights of employees at Headquarters are respected at all times with regard to supervision, work tools, meetings, occupational training, software, services provided by contract personnel, etc.; and

b) ensure that this plan contain clear objectives, specific timeframes, performance indicators and control mechanisms for the various areas of responsibility. [....]

According to the official languages annual review 2004-2005, 94 officers who hold bilingual positions were to meet the CBC standard for language skills. This standard was set by the federal government when it recognized a few years ago the degree of influence senior management has on the organizational culture of institutions. [Follow my orders ... ]

As one of the main objectives of the strategic plan 2003-2006, National Defence committed to increasing to 70% the percentage of newly promoted colonels/captains (Navy) who have at least a CBC linguistic profile between now and the end of 2006. This would increase by 10% per year the proportion of bilingual incumbents of these ranks. While this objective is commendable, we believe it is insufficient. [....]

We believe, however, that National Defence should give a higher priority to the implementation of its Bilingual Officer Corps Policy and that proficiency in both official languages should be a condition of promotion to senior officer positions. [....]

Recommendation 7
The Commissioner recommends that, beginning in 2007, the Canadian Forces grant promotions to General Officers only if they meet the CBC language requirements. [....]

Recommendation 8
The Commissioner recommends that the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces:

a) beginning in 2007, fill bilingual military positions or functions related to supervision and central and personal services at Headquarters with linguistically qualified personnel upon their transfer or assignment;

b) take steps to provide language training to supervisors and incumbents of civilian positions providing central and personal services who do not meet the language requirements of the bilingual positions they hold at Headquarters; and

c) put in place, as soon as possible, the administrative measures necessary when the immediate supervisor at Headquarters is not able to function fully in both official languages. [What does this mean? Is it a matter of choice or coercion? Make a guess.....]

Recommendation 9
The Commissioner recommends that starting in 2007, the Canadian Forces set higher goals with regard to the proportion of military personnel who meets the language requirements of their bilingual position or function. [...]

Recommendation 10
The Commissioner recommends that the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces:

a) take steps, between now and June 2006, to raise to the CBC level of language skills the linguistic profile of bilingual positions at Headquarters that provide supervisory services; and

b) take steps, between now and June 2006, to raise to at least the intermediate level of language skills the linguistic profile of bilingual positions at Headquarters that provide central services and personal services. [...]

Recommendation 11
The Commissioner recommends that the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces:

a) give military and civilian personnel who aspire to supervisory or other leadership positions every opportunity to learn the second language with a view to achieving the CBC level of language skills; and

b) as soon as possible, provide military and civilian personnel who have taken language training with the necessary tools to enable them to maintain and improve their second language skills. [...]

Recommendation 12
The Commissioner recommends that the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces undertake, between now and June 30, 2006, an awareness campaign aimed at employees at Headquarters that clearly explains their rights and obligations with respect to language of work, specifies the various documents available in this regard and effectively shows the merits of working in both official languages. [...]

Audit Team
Claude Ethier
Chantal Bois
Catherine Gendron [Let's see, now, a linguistic group wants to expand French; then the implementation of that is audited by ............. ]

APPENDIX A

[....]
Recommendation 4
The Commissioner recommends that the Canadian Forces modify, as soon as possible, its official languages model by increasing the proportion of Francophones working in bilingual branches and units at Headquarters and by limiting transfers and assignments to these locations to individuals who have at least second-language reading and oral comprehension skills. [....]

Recommendation 4 (reworded)
The Commissioner recommends that the Canadian Forces modify, as soon as possible, its official languages model by increasing the proportion of Francophones working in bilingual branches and units at Headquarters where their proportion is very low and by limiting a large number of transfers and assignments to these locations to individuals who have at least second-language reading and oral comprehension skills. [You want promotion? Study French. ....]


End of audit recommendations -- There is much more if you want to read the details. As I have mentioned before, all other capabilities pall before the need to know French.



Comment:

It is a coercive program from a coercive Commissioner. Even if the language is not wanted by some nor needed in the situation--except where French speakers demand its use--members of NDHQ must use it and promote it ... or else. She will have her team checking and punishing, we can be certain. Over time, NDHQ will be top-heavy with ......... francophones. I understand this necessity to be bilingual, whatever else might be deemed important, has been going on for years; this simply mandates it. Learn to love Big Brother in French ........ or else. (Apparently, the same has happened with the RCMP; see Paul Palango's book, The Last Guardians for more details. )

If Language Top Cop Adam feels a climate of hatred emanating from a large segment, she is responsible for creating it.