Proceedings of the Standing Senate Committee on
Official Languages
Issue 13 - Evidence - Meeting of November 30, 2009
OTTAWA, Monday, November 30, 2009
The Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages met this day at 4:42 p.m. to study the application of the Official Languages Act and of the regulations and directives made under it, within those institutions subject to the act. Topic: Olympic and Paralympic 2010 Winter Games
Senator Andrée Champagne (Deputy Chair) in the Chair.
[Translation]
The Deputy Chair: Honourable senators, I would like to welcome you to the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages. I am Senator Andrée Champagne, from Quebec, and Deputy Chair of the Committee. I would like to begin by introducing members of the Committee.
On my right are Senator Tardif, from Alberta, Senator Losier-Cool, from New Brunswick, Senator Jaffer, from British Columbia and Senator Pépin, from Québec.
On my left are Senator Seidman, from Quebec, and Senator Fortin-Duplessis, also from Quebec.
The Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages is closely following consideration of official languages in the organization of the Olympic and Paralympic 2010 Winter Games which will take place in Vancouver and Whistler. The Committee has published one report, as well as two follow-up reports on this topic since the winter of 2007. Its most recent report was tabled in the Senate in September.
Today we welcome to the Committee key organizations involved in organizing the 2010 Winter Olympics. The Committee is anxious to follow-up on a number of issues, such as resources allocated for translation and interpretation, temporary and permanent signage at Olympic venues, services available to the travelling public in both official languages, as well as the active offer of services in French and English by volunteers.
The meeting will be divided into three parts. To begin with, we will be hearing from representatives of the two municipalities, Vancouver and Whistler. They will be appearing by videoconference. The Mayor of Richmond also received an invitation, but preferred to convey his comments in a letter which all Committee members have received.
In the second part of the meeting, we will be hearing from representatives of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, also by video conference.
Finally, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., representatives of the Vancouver Airport Authority will be appearing in person before the Committee.
[English]
We now welcome Ken Melamed, Mayor, Resort Municipality of Whistler, B.C.; and Penny Ballem, City Manager, City of Vancouver, B.C.
Thank you both for joining us this afternoon. As we are still having problems reaching Whistler, we will first hear from Ms. Ballem. The senators will then be invited to ask a few questions.
As we only have 45 minutes with the witnesses, I will ask that comments, questions and answers be short and to the point.
Ms. Ballem, we are listening to you.
[Translation]
Penny Ballem, City Manager, City of Vancouver B.C.: Madam Chair, it is with great pleasure and respect that I appear today before the Senate Committee on the eve of an historic event for our city. I appreciate this opportunity to talk about Canada's official languages, and particularly the importance of the French language for our community and for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver and Whistler.
Earlier this month, your Committee mentioned that 30 of the 80 countries that will be taking part in the Games are members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. We recognize that the French language is very important for these events and that there are likely to be other guests who will share that sentiment and will be visiting our wonderful city.
We are proud of the fact that Vancouver is a multicultural city with a complex profile that includes many spoken languages. Statistics produced by the Census and Statistics Office showed that, out of a total population of 571,000 in Vancouver, 1.6 per cent have French as their mother tongue and 10 per cent speak French and English. However, 30 per cent of Vancouver residents speak a language other than French or English. Vancouver is a very rich and highly varied environment where different languages are spoken and where, at the same time, there is a growing interest in French immersion education.
Having said that, I have some good news to share with you with respect to the work we have done to promote a bilingual experience during the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, in cooperation with our partners, the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC), the provincial government and the Government of Canada. The City of Vancouver is offering a bilingual experience to our residents and visitors from across the globe who will be attending the Olympic festivities. At the City of Vancouver, we take our commitment to communicate in French very seriously. The public will have an opportunity to meet our bilingual staff and bilingual services will be provided at every Olympic venue.
All the details have been carefully planned. First of all, we are publishing information in French on the host city website, providing links to maps, venues as well as additional information. Furthermore, our communications centre will be staffed by fully bilingual personnel during the Games. Finally, bilingual customer service representatives at our call centre will be available to answer questions from the French-speaking public, and they can be accessed by dialling 3-1-1.
During your stay in Vancouver, you will have an opportunity to read directions in French. As well, we will be providing bilingual information on our maps, in order to help people get to Olympic venues and celebration sites across the city, and use public transit.
In order to welcome our visitors, our protocol office will be sending bilingual invitations to dignitaries visiting the Games. Also, bilingual signs will be posted at the protocol development centre and we have pledged to make a city representative proficient in French available at every event that takes place during the Games.
The entire world is invited to join in this historic celebration taking place in the City of Vancouver. There will be celebrations and entertainment at our live sites every evening. We have a number of bilingual strategies as part of our arsenal. The festivities will showcase francophone artists on stage or on the screen along with bilingual announcers and emcees.
There will be an educational program, including one day dedicated to French-language education for elementary and high school students from British Columbia.
When you visit the city, and in and around the live sites, you will be served in both official languages.
Another important point for us is to ensure that visitors can get around easily. To that end, we will be displaying international pictograms, hoping that this will make it easier to enjoy the Olympic festivities.
City employees are very enthusiastic about this opportunity to be part of the Olympic Games. Many employees speak several languages, including French, and they will be available on a daily basis and at all venues.
Messages on the host city website will be bilingual. There will be lots of practical links to information in French.
Six hundred employees of the City of Vancouver form the host city team. Of that number, 20 per cent have adequate proficiency in French and many are fully bilingual.
It is important to mention that City of Vancouver representatives have already begun to express their enthusiasm for the Olympic Games in both official languages. For example, in recent months, Mayor Gregor Robertson has made a number of presentations. They were brief, but they were in French. Very recently, at an official ceremony where the keys of the Olympic and Paralympic Village were handed over to the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, one of our masters of ceremony, who is a city employee, conveyed our message in French with eloquence.
As regards the media, City of Vancouver employees and myself have given interviews in French to Radio-Canada during Olympic-related events and we will continue to do so in the coming weeks and months.
To answer media questions, we will be providing bilingual information on our website, and anyone wanting to speak to a customer service representative can dial 3-1-1 to access our phone information service.
If someone has questions on anything at all, such as information about closed roads or about tickets, we will be able to answer in French quickly and effectively.
We are working very closely with our partner, Vancouver Tourism. All information kiosks will be staffed by bilingual personnel and, all across the city they will be providing assistance to pedestrians. If people require directions, bilingual signs and maps will be available and easy to locate.
The City of Vancouver is proud to be the host city of the Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic 2010 Winter Games and we are also proud to greet the world in the two official languages of Canada and the IOC.
Thank you for giving me this opportunity to tell you about our preparations. I hope to see you in February. I am very confident that this will be a memorable event for all Canadians.
I will be pleased to answer any of your questions.
The Deputy Chair: Thank you very much, Ms. Ballem.
We are still hoping to make contact with Mr. Ken Melamed, the Mayor of Whistler, but in the meantime, I am certain that senators here will have questions for you. We will begin with Senator Jaffer.
Senator Jaffer: Thank you, Madam Deputy Chair.
[English]
Ms. Ballem, having known you for many years, I want to tell everyone on the committee that every word you have said, you have said carefully and with credibility. I am taking a chance in speaking for the committee in saying that we are very pleased to hear about all the preparations you have made to get ready for the Olympics.
I would like some clarification, if I may. I know that many signs are in both official languages. Are you planning to have more bilingual signs as the Olympics approach?
We all know that Vancouver is a multicultural city with many languages, but the two official languages, especially around the games, are French and English. Will you be making further efforts to put out more signs nearer to the games?
Ms. Ballem: We are working closely with VANOC. We have a large signage operation that is dedicated to signage for the Olympics. We will endeavour to have all Olympic street signs and indicators in both official languages. All signs, both temporary and permanent are in both official languages.
This has been quite a shift for the city over the last months. We have been working with our partners from La Fédération des francophones, and they have been very helpful to us. You will see a significantly greater amount of bililngual signage that will relate particularly to the Olympics, such as directions to the venues and to our transportation system, as well as indications of different walking paths and biking routes.
Senator Jaffer: I congratulate you, because this is not an easy task. We are pleased to hear that this is still a work-in- progress. By the time the games come, we will certainly reflect who we are as Canadians. As you know, the games, though they are in your hands, belong to all of Canada. The reflection of our signs, as one way to show who we are, is very important.
My second question is about volunteers. I am sure you have all the staff in place that you need for the games, but do you have enough volunteers who speak both official languages?
Ms. Ballem: The volunteers for the games will be VANOC volunteers. We have an agreement with VANOC that they will be responsible for those volunteers.
We will have staff volunteers. We have asked all of our staff to remain present for the games, and we will deploy them to various activities and responsibilities. Twenty per cent of our host city team is bilingual and these people will interact with the public. The remainder of our staff will be deployed in various other ways; some will interface with the public and some will not. Overall, about 10 per cent of our staff members are comfortable speaking in French, which I think reflects the general population of Vancouver. We have moved them into strategic positions to ensure we have as much access as possible.
We will not have a volunteer contingent. They will all be our staff. I know that VANOC will speak to you about the capacity among their volunteers, but we are putting our best foot forward with those of our staff who speak French and who are comfortable speaking French, by placing them as close as possible to our visitors and other visiting Canadians.
[Translation]
Senator Fortin-Duplessis: My question is for Ms. Ballem. The French language is generally absent in Vancouver. At the Vancouver Tourism Information Centre, there are bilingual brochures, but they are in Chinese and Mandarin; in French, there are hardly any. And, in the new SkyTrain, Vancouver's surface metro, no information is available in French either.
Yet it would have been easy enough to program the machines in several languages, as is done for ATMs across the country. You mentioned that only 10 per cent of Vancouver residents speak French, and that out of respect for them, for francophones all over Canada and francophones from around the world, you have taken all kinds of initiatives that I believe you described earlier. But do you think you are doing enough?
Ms. Ballem: You are referring to the new Canada line, which comes under TransLink, a regional association responsible for public transit. But we are working with our colleagues at Translink and with the Vancouver airport, which is also a SkyTrain partner, especially the Canada Line. I hope you will be hearing from the president of YVR, who says that he anticipates progress will be made in terms of more signage and information in French for the Olympic Games, and I hope that will remain permanently.
The Deputy Chair: Thank you, Ms. Ballem. We do not have much time, but I am told we will at least be able to hear from the Mayor of Whistler. We will not be able to see him, but at least we will have sound.
[English]
Ken Melamed, Mayor, Resort Municipality of Whistler, B.C.: I am here; thank you very much. The pleasure is all mine.
[Translation]
As the Olympic host resort, Whistler is proud to welcome the world, on behalf of Canada, to the 2010 Winter Games. Whistler Mountain was originally established for the purpose of bringing the Games to the region, and now, several decades later, we are finally realizing our Olympic dream.
We are lucky enough to live in a wonderful and inspiring place, and we cannot wait to show it off to the entire world in 2010. We hope to hold extraordinary Games and leave a lasting legacy for generations to come.
In cooperation with the Government of Canada, VANOC and community partners, Whistler has taken this opportunity, as the host resort, to integrate linguistic duality into our operations.
Although we are a small community of only 10,000 permanent residents, we are working with our partners on a number of levels to guarantee a bilingual experience during the Games. We have a number of plans in place to enable our community to succeed in this regard because we expect to welcome more than 50,000 visitors, residents and athletes every day during the Games.
I would like to elaborate on my first point and reiterate our gratitude to the Government of Canada, particularly the Department of Canadian Heritage, for its ongoing support of Whistler, including: our designation as a 2009 Cultural Capital of Canada; a cash contribution of $5 million from Cultural Spaces Canada for the Medals Plaza project; and a $5-million contribution from Celebration and Commemoration to the Whistler Live! program. Our community has been greatly enriched by those contributions.
In addition, in connection with this presentation, our community has become more aware of and dedicated to the profound Canadian value of linguistic duality.
To summarize our pre-Games activities, our efforts have included a number of media and community mobilization opportunities. To manage media impact, the municipality has two bilingual media relations employees who have several years' experience in community mobilization, event management and crisis communications. They are working with a group of four pre-selected translators, one of whom was hired specially to meet our requirements for Whistler Live!
Our media strategy before the Games includes bi-monthly interviews with the mayor and Radio-Canada hosts. We have also given French-language presentations on our lead-up to the Games to the Canadian embassy in Paris, the Canadian Tourism Commission in Paris and the Grand Témoin de la Francophonie for the Olympic Games, and I have said at least one brief word in French at every presentation I have given since becoming mayor in 2005.
Our community partners worked together to organize a free celebration to mark 100 days until the Games. It was a marvellous success and more than 2,200 persons showed up to meet the athletes, artists and mascots of the Games. The community came out to wish our Olympic hopefuls good luck and to take a look at Whistler Live! programming. The bilingual masters of ceremony and the production team included French-language snapshots on what to expect during the Games at the Whistler Live! sites.
During the Olympic Games, Whistler Live! programming will be the main opportunity for bilingual interaction at Whistler. Whistler Live! will put you right in the stadium. Whistler Live! is an outdoor network of stages, screens and performance sites that will create an unforgettable mix of sports, arts and entertainment for spectators of all ages during the Games.
French Canadian programming will represent 20 per cent of Whistler Live! content. Bilingual content will include: interviews with artists, athletes, and stars; short films in French and English provided by Canadian Heritage; content provided by CODE from the Cultural Olympiad; up-to-date information on Whistler Live! screens around the village; big screens at Skiers Plaza presenting sports programs, including RDS, as well as visual arts and short films in French and English. In the evenings, Skiers Plaza will provide a major mix of arts, music and sport. The show will start right after the victory ceremonies and concert at the other end of the Village Stroll. The show includes francophone DJs, skiers and boarders from Quebec. The RDS sports broadcast will be on big screens in the Village Square during the day. Village Square will be the main stage for musical presentations every afternoon, with a 20 per cent francophone objective. Whistler Medals Plaza programming will be the site of nightly victory ceremonies and concerts. As the host resort, Whistler will also have the honour of presenting the Winter Paralympic Games closing ceremonies at this site.
In terms of the experience for visitors and the community, we have discovered that mobilization opportunities include: live sites — you are in the stadium; a positive, no-ticket experience for a sports event; appearance and image; enthusiasm for programs developed in your communities; the Whistler community has developed the Ask Me! I'm A Local program.
The Ask Me! initiative comes from our community and encourages members of the community to get actively involved in the visitor experience simply by helping. Ask Me buttons like the one I am wearing today, are available in five languages: French, English, German, Japanese and Spanish. Since the program was launched in October, we have recruited 1,000 volunteers, 20 per cent of whom speak French.
Our Village Host program involves a group of longstanding volunteers who have made a commitment to enhance the visitor experience. During the 2010 Winter Games, our hosts will play an important role in welcoming visitors. The program is managed jointly by Tourism Whistler and the Resort Municipality of Whistler and will have more than 100 volunteers on hand during the Games. Currently, 15 per cent of that number are francophones. Our volunteers will also speak German, Japanese, Korean and Spanish. In addition, the information booths with bilingual VANOC employees will have French capability.
Another example of our community mobilization effort is the Kids of Whistler 2010 project. Whistler students will present holiday concerts showcasing cultures from around the world. The Family Concert will include Whistler's French-language school, the École La Passerelle. This is a school-based project designed to get students involved in the spirit and activity of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
Canada House at Whistler is another Whistler initiative involving the two official languages. Nearly half of the complex will be occupied by the Canadian Olympic Committee and will be a second home to friends and families of athletes from across Canada, many of whom will be francophones. The other half of the complex will be managed by RMOW as the information centre, a reception complex and business centre. Hosts will speak French and a broad range of information will be offered in both official languages.
The Resort Municipality of Whistler has launched a new website for the Games. The goal of the website is to provide resources for the 2010 Winter Games and up-to-date information before and during the Games. The bilingual sections of the site will include: a welcome from the mayor; news kit and news releases; Whistler Live! bilingual programming with e-bulletins; and an overview of Whistler Live! in the Cultural Olympiad programming guide.
As regards the media during the Games, we have worked with our partners to take a proactive media approach. During the Olympic Games, Whistler will have two media centres: Whistler Media House and the Centre des médias de Whistler. We want to encourage the international media to be part of our Games and to come and live the Whistler experience. In addition to providing interviews with athletes, dignitaries and resource persons for Whistler-related stories, Whistler Media House provides access to resources, including Whistler Tourism's B-roll and image library.
Another example of our bilingual media outreach effort is the Franco Médias 2010 program, francophone news programming with six journalists and six radio hosts. The program is partnering with the local francophone community, including students.
Whistler's Bilingual Legacy: After the Games, the Medals Plaza will be converted to an outdoor meeting place for residents and visitors, a permanent community amenity. Plans include: use of the Olympic cauldron and installations to recognize the contributions of athletes, medal winners, government agencies and partner organizations involved in Whistler's journey to host the 2010 Winter Games.
In addition, the Ask Me! I'm a Local program will continue after the Olympic Games. This traditional community program will continue to grow and develop through the inclusion of other languages to serve our visitors and enhance their Whistler experience.
A number of bilingual video sequences produced by Whistler Live! during the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games will be available to create video clips, documentaries and B-rolls for editorial use.
In addition, the media room being developed for whistler2010.com, including short bilingual stories and media facts, will be copied to our existing municipal website for permanent media relations opportunities.
Last, I would like to thank the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages for this opportunity to present Whistler's Official Languages Strategy for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. I am very excited about this opportunity to welcome the world to our community and to provide a bilingual experience that truly reflects our Canadian heritage.
Senator Tardif: My question if for Ms. Ballem. You indicated that there will be information kiosks at every Olympic site and that information will be available in French and English. Will it be the same for B.C. Tourism and Vancouver Tourism kiosks? Will documentation be available there in French and English?
Will you be in a position to provide an active offer of service in French at those sites, not only Olympic sites but also at Vancouver Tourism and B.C. Tourism information kiosks?
Ms. Ballem: Our partners at B.C. Tourism in Vancouver and at CTC are working together to prepare to welcome visitors during the Games. Our information is that signs and maps at Vancouver Tourism and B.C. Tourism will be in French.
Senator Tardif: There you are talking about printed material. But will services in French be provided when people request information at these kiosks?
Ms. Ballem: Yes. Our partners at Vancouver Tourism tell us that they will have bilingual staff on hand at their information kiosks who are able to provide services in French throughout the Games.
Senator Losier-Cool: Ms. Ballem, I would like to begin by commending you for your commitment to ensuring a strong presence for the two official languages at the Olympic Games.
When we went to Vancouver as part of our study, we met with people from the City of Vancouver and said that we found it highly regrettable that there are so few French language television stations available in the hotels. At the time, we were assured that appropriate steps would be taken with the hotel industry. Has that been done?
Ms. Ballem: I cannot answer that. It is possible that VANOC's work with the hotels has moved forward. There is very little information in French in Vancouver hotels. Most international visitors to Vancouver speak other languages. There have been efforts made in relation to visitors from China and Asia.
However, we can work with VANOC to try and move this forward. We have committees with connections to the City of Vancouver which are business associations, and we have been working with them to plan transportation during the Games as well as in other areas. We have not spoken to them about services in French, but we can do that with direction from the Committee.
The Deputy Chair: Senator Jaffer, I believe you have a question for Mr. Melamed, the Mayor of Whistler.
[English]
Senator Jaffer: Your worship, I am very proud of the work you have done in Whistler. All British Columbians know your history. I do not wish to embarrass you, but I know that for a long time you have had a real commitment to French being well represented, not only in the games but in your way of life.
Would you be so kind as to share with us your philosophy on French? I commend you for ensuring that French has been well represented in Whistler, and I want my colleagues to understand why you are so committed to this.
Mr. Melamed: Thank you, Senator Jaffer.
[Translation]
The Deputy Chair: Your Worship, unfortunately, we are having a lot of trouble understanding you. I hope that you will do us the honour of providing your brief so that we know what you wanted to tell us.
[English]
Mr. Melamed: I have been in elected office for 13 years. I have always included French during my campaigns to make it known to the community that I am very proud of my French and proud that Canada is a bilingual country, and that Whistler should reflect this pride as well.
Our community receives visitors from around the world and we benefit from a large number of Quebecers who live in Whistler. It is something about which I am very passionate. I love speaking French, and the Olympics have provided an opportunity to promote our linguistic duality.
Senator Seidman: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. In order to assist the committee in understanding the good work you have done, could you tell us how many bilingual front-line employees you had a year ago, how many you have now, and your estimate of how many you will have on the opening day of the games?
Mr. Melamed: Sadly, front-line employees at the municipal government are very limited. We have a full-time staff of only approximately 250. A year ago we had zero bilingual front-line employees and now we have two. Percentage-wise, that is a good increase. I wish it were more.
Within our Village Host Volunteer program and our Ask Me! I'm a Local program, we have a significant number of francophones and people who will be able to give information in both languages, as well as in our central visitor information kiosk and the five other individual kiosks that will be in the village during the games. We are making every effort possible to provide bilingual services at the front desks and at the information kiosks.
The Deputy Chair: We are delighted that you, Ms. Ballem and Mayor Melamed, agreed to speak with us today. We thank you very much and hope to see both of you in Vancouver in February.
[Translation]
We will suspend the meeting briefly to allow our other guests to get settled in. Back in a moment.
Mr. Melamed: Goodbye and see you soon.
Voices: Goodbye.
(The committee suspended.)
(The committee resumed.)
The Deputy Chair: Good afternoon everyone. I would like to welcome our second panel of witnesses. From the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, we have John Furlong, Chief Executive Officer; Ms. Donna Wilson, Executive Vice-President, HR, Sustainability and International Client Services; Ms. Élisabeth Lefrançois and Mr. Robert Cousin, both of whom are official language consultants.
Welcome to the Senate Standing Committee on Official Languages. As you know, the committee is interested in following up on progress made with respect to consideration of official languages in the organization of the Olympic and Paralympic 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, in light of the report it tabled in September. It is particularly interested in hearing more about resources allocated for translation and interpretation, temporary and permanent signage at Olympic venues, services available to the travelling public in both official languages, and the active offer of services in French and English by volunteers.
The committee wishes to thank you for accepting its invitation to appear today. I would now ask Mr. Furlong to make his opening statement, and senators will have questions following that. Since we only have 45 minutes, I would ask all of you to be brief and concise. Mr. Furlong, you have the floor.
[English]
John Furlong, Chief Executive Officer, Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen and members of the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages. I am pleased to have this opportunity to address you once again with Ms. Donna Wilson and other colleagues on our team, Ms. Elizabeth Lefrançois and Mr. Robert Cousin.
Our commitment is to a bilingual experience at its best, applying the official language lens to all that we do while working with stakeholders to meet and exceed commitments. We are committed to bilingual experience at the games. We began a public awareness campaign on November 4 — 100 days before the games — to publicly communicate our commitment to bilingualism. You may have seen some of these advertisements in major newspapers, which speak directly to our commitment to a bilingual experience at Vancouver 2010.
We have, over the past weeks and months, issued a number of very significant publications in both languages. The one I am holding up here is the official souvenir program of the 2010 games. This happens to be the French copy. As you can see, this is a beautiful magazine entirely in French and it has been replicated in English. It is available across the country already.
This is a bilingual guide for spectators who attend the games in Vancouver. Printed in both languages, it is available to any spectator who visits the Olympic Games area.
This is a brochure which has been issued specifically to unilingual English-speaking volunteers so they can secure French words for various things they may need to communicate, albeit that they are not themselves bilingual. This is a considerable upgrade from past games.
This brochure speaks directly to the Canada's games and the whole idea of a fully bilingual experience, which is available across the country. In fact, you may already have copies of this brochure.
Quite a bit has taken place since the last time we spoke with you. As you note, today across the country we are having an extraordinary amount of success with the Olympic torch relay. Community celebrations are taking place twice per day. They reflect the culture of Canada and the people in the communities. VANOC and the various communities in which we stop to celebrate are delivering the torch relay jointly.
All of the services provided by Vancouver 2010 during the torch relay are in English and French. The cultural component each day is organized with the community. In many cases — especially now as the torch relay has entered Quebec — most of this will be performed almost entirely in French.
You may know that there has been full francophone involvement in the organization of the torch relay, both at the celebration level and in the selection of communities the torch is visiting. So far, this has gone along beautifully. As you are probably aware, since we entered Quebec 24 hours ago we have had extraordinary success.
We are getting a lot of help from our partners, Madam Chair. We have received a $7.7-million boost from the federal government, which has been applied to ensure we meet the various commitments we have been talking about; improving the quality of signage and ensuring translation services are at their very best. We are simply ensuring that we are at the top of our game across the Olympic and Paralympic theatre.
At the Vancouver International Airport, where there has been a great deal of discussion in the past, they now have full- time volunteers working there to improve the quality of bilingual services available at the airport. We are confident that the airport will be a fully bilingual event for everyone who arrives in Vancouver.
You will have already heard from the City of Vancouver and the Resort Municipality of Whistler in respect to the services they will provide. We are very encouraged by this.
Just recently, a member of our board from Montreal, Jacques Gauthier, has expanded his role and taken on ambassadorial responsibilities to improve the quality of the performance of some of our partners in delivering these services at the games. We think he is doing a very good job, and you already know who he is.
As of today, approximately 3,500 volunteers have been recruited to provide these bilingual services at the games. They have been assigned very tactically and strategically across the Olympic and Paralympic theatre to deal with those areas where we think those services will be needed the most. For example, in key areas, such as servicing the public, the media, the athletes and dignitaries, between 15 per cent and 50 per cent of the volunteers will be bilingual. In the press operations area, 19 per cent of the volunteers will be bilingual. In the athletes' villages and working directly with athletes, 20 per cent will be bilingual. In providing event services directly with to public, 19 per cent will be bilingual. In all of the information kiosks throughout the city and neighbouring municipalities, 100 per cent of volunteers will be bilingual.
We are feeling very good about the number of volunteers we have recruited. Many of them are coming from far away from Vancouver to provide these services. We have a system in place that in the event there is any particular location in the Olympic theatre where we do not feel the quality is good enough, we will be able to move additional volunteers into place to provide those services directly.
We have made quite a bit of progress since the last time we spoke. We are quite proud of our accomplishments, and we are working very hard. We are encouraged by recent comments from the Grand Témoin de la Francophonie, Mr. Raffarin, the confidence expressed by him and Commissioner Fraser in respect to some of the improvements they have seen since the last time they have been in Vancouver.
The Grand Témoin was just here and made a number of positive comments about the changes he had seen in Vancouver, very particularly at the airport, in the hotels, and about the general commitment he sees to bilingualism at the games. Mr. Raffarin had similar comments to make the last time he was in Vancouver.
As you know, we see these as Canada's games, which are a celebration of our rich culture and our diversity, in which our linguistic duality plays a major role. We are more confident today than we have been that we will achieve the high- water mark and that the games people will experience, whether they are Canadians or from other parts of the world, will be games of which we all can be proud. It will be fully bilingual. Thank you for your attention. I welcome your questions.
The Deputy Chair: Thank you for taking the time to be with us today. We appreciate that you are quite a busy person, especially less than two months to the opening of the games.
Senator Jaffer: Mr. Furlong, I want to congratulate you for the work that you have done, especially with representing both of our languages at the Olympic Games. You have worked with us for a very long time, and I certainly feel that you have heard our suggestions and implemented them. I congratulate you and your team for the great efforts you have made.
I was pleased to hear you when you talked about a bilingual lens. I agree with you, and that the games are Canada's games. I know my colleagues will join me in congratulating you in the way the torch has been going across the country and the attention you have paid. We thank you for all of that.
Being from British Columbia, I always, of course, want things to be even better. This is just making additional requests rather than providing criticism.
With respect to the airport, there is still a lot of work to be done. I was happy to hear you say that you have full-time bilingual volunteers, but the signage in the airport is still an issue. There is some signage in both official languages, but if you go to Calgary or Vancouver airports, it feels like they are lacking in the bilingual emphasis, especially when one leaves the airport. I would like to hear your comments. Maybe I am jumping the gun and those signs will come shortly.
Mr. Furlong: There has been quite a bit of progress made at the airport, but there is still quite a bit of time between now and the arrival of the people of the world and, obviously, the athletes of the world. The airport is a partner now, as can you imagine, and they are anxious to make sure they play their role and they keep their part up in terms of delivering a quality service at the games.
One thing you will notice in the weeks and months ahead is that Vancouver 2010, working with the airport, will be applying what we refer to as the Olympic and Paralympic look to the airport. This will be to give people the impression when they arrive at the airport that they are arriving, if you like, in an Olympic venue. This will be done in both languages. It will be very beautiful and grand, and it will extend outside the airport and onto the road from the airport down into the city. You will begin to see more and more of this going forward.
The airport is very committed to this and trying to catch up. When I spoke about the volunteers earlier, I was speaking about their volunteers. They have now recruited volunteers. We will have quite a number of our own volunteers, who will provide these services during the games. However, as we get closer to the games, you will see a remarkable difference in how the airport feels and how far they have come, especially if you have been coming and going, as have you for the past few years.
We take your comments seriously, and I will assure you that as of today, we will advise the airport that it is still on your radar. This is an area that everyone is paying attention to, and we are expected to perform at a high level. We are optimistic it will become a good part of the overall story between now and the start of the games on February 12.
Senator Jaffer: Mr. Furlong, take some time to enjoy the work that you have done. You have done tremendous work to make us look good. At this time, I would be remiss if I do not also thank publicly Mr. Poole's work for the games. All of us will sorely miss him, but I know he will be there in spirit. Thank you very much.
The Deputy Chair: Mr. Furlong, before I go to another of my colleagues for questions, I should perhaps tell you that later on today, we will be hearing from people from the Vancouver Airport Authority. We will be trying to help you, and we will be counting on you to help us so that the airport is really what we want to see in Vancouver for the games.
[Translation]
Senator Tardif: I also want to commend you and the Committee for all the efforts you have made to ensure that these Olympic Games will be truly bilingual. My question relates to the Olympic Torch Relay. VANOC is responsible for planning these events in each community where the torch will be making a stop, and for meeting its commitments with respect to linguistic duality and the Official Languages Act.
Media coverage by Radio-Canada in Atlantic Canada expressed the disappointment of Moncton residents with respect to the lack of prominence given to French when the Olympic Torch visited their city. Your representative stated that communities are responsible for content and management of the shows based on local realities.
I find it troubling that the municipalities are the ones to decide on content. It seems to me that, in terms of your responsibilities under the Official Languages Act, the legislation does not talk about percentages of francophones, but rather, of the offer of equal services and equality of both official languages. Do you have any comment to make with respect to what occurred in Moncton?
[English]
Mr. Furlong: I do have a comment. First, let me begin by explaining the relationships between Vancouver 2010 and the communities. We are responsible for getting the flame to the community and then taking the flame from the community, and we own certain protocol elements of the event that state at lunchtime and in the evening every day. Those elements are performed in English and French, as they should be.
The other part, however, is that the opportunity we have given to every community is to develop a show that is worthy of the community and worthy of the project. What each community has tried to do is to find the best performers, the best acts, and the best way to represent the community. Clearly, we would prefer that these cultural elements live up to the whole idea of a bilingual show. It is not possible in every part of the country. They simply do not have the calibre of talent; however, this particular event in Moncton caught our attention. We saw it. When we heard it and heard the feedback — which was the first time we received that feedback — our team got to work, and we have spent quite a bit of time trying to ensure that a better effort is going into ensuring that the cultural aspects of these shows are as bilingual as they can possibly be, presuming that the entertainment and the culture is there and available to come on stage.
It did get our attention. We would have perhaps liked a different situation that night, but that is what the community chose to produce, and we will work harder with the communities as we go along to ensure the show reflects the spirit we are all talking about.
We feel badly when it does not go quite as perfectly as we would like, but we are doing our best to ensure that the show is performed to the level you would expect. However, we rely very much on the community to help us with this because they are responsible for the cost of that part of the show, of producing that show, of finding the artists and helping to develop it. They are responsible for the rehearsals and so on before we get to the community. In most cases, I must say they have done a very good job. However, in a couple of cases where it has not been as good, it has our attention and we are working hard to remedy that situation.
[Translation]
Senator Tardif: I acknowledge your efforts with respect to protocolar activities. I believe that VANOC signed an agreement with the Government of Canada to ensure that the experience at the Games would be as bilingual as possible. The Torch Relay is part of the Olympic experience. I have trouble accepting that municipalities would be relied on to determine the percentage of French to be allocated to a given event. If the percentage of francophones in a given community is only 1.5 per cent or 2 per cent, does that mean that there will be only 2 per cent content in French?
[English]
Mr. Furlong: No. It will not because we have never had that so far. We have been in communities that have been almost exclusively English, but our part of this event is delivered bilingually every night. However, we have to work with the community to put the show together. All of the artists and cultural elements are from that community. They are not provided by VANOC, and so we do the best we can to find a show that best represents the spirit we are talking about. In some cases, it is fairly easy; in some cases, it is a bit more difficult and is based entirely on the talent pool we are able to draw on in that community.
[Translation]
Senator Tardif: I encourage you to make every possible effort in that regard, Mr. Furlong.
Senator Fortin-Duplessis: I would like to know how many francophones currently sit on the Executive and Board of Directors of VANOC?
[English]
Mr. Furlong: We have two francophones who sit on our board and there are five people on our board who speak French and English.
[Translation]
Senator Fortin-Duplessis: And how many members does VANOC have?
[English]
Mr. Furlong: Nineteen.
[Translation]
Senator Losier-Cool: I have a supplementary question that is a follow-up to the one asked by Senator Fortin- Duplessis. When does VANOC's mandate end? Right after the Games?
[English]
Mr. Furlong: We wrap up our Olympic and Paralympic responsibilities in March, but we have ongoing responsibilities to report out. We have some responsibilities to provide training and expertise to the Russians. We actually, believe it or not, have some responsibility to pass on all of our learning in this area to Russia, and we are being told by the Grand Témoin that they will take what has been achieved here in Vancouver as the new high standard for the Olympic Games going forward. We will do our best to take this particular piece of work and present it to our friends in Sochi so they can take advantage of it and continue to improve on the delivery of these services at future games, especially in countries where the language does not have a base.
All of our financial reports and all reports written about the games, as we wrap up, whether it is reports to the IOC, to the Government of Canada, whatever reports we write, will be written in both languages, so we will report out in a fully bilingual way, as we should.
[Translation]
Senator Pépin: As you mentioned earlier, the federal government provided you with an additional budget of $7 million in September to ensure that there would be bilingualism across the province. What is the status of discussions between VANOC and the City of Richmond with respect to the unilingual signage at the Olympic Oval?
[English]
Mr. Furlong: We understand that the City of Richmond has agreed to change the sign, so the sign on the oval, which is the one we have been talking about, the one that sits on the building, will appear in English and French. All of the signs put up by Vancouver 2010 on all of the Olympic venues will be in both languages.
[Translation]
Senator Pépin: You also demonstrated that there was a lot of advertising for francophones in French-language newspapers. A case in point is the newspaper La Presse, which had a fabulous full page dealing with the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
VANOC signed an agreement with the Gesca Group to raise awareness among francophones of the Olympic Games. Do you have a back-up plan if there should be a problem with the Gesca Group, such as a strike, to ensure that services in French will continue to be available to all francophones?
[English]
Mr. Furlong: Do you mean in the coming two months or during the Games?
[Translation]
Senator Pépin: During the Olympic Games.
[English]
Mr. Furlong: As you know, during the Olympic Games we will actually do very little advertising. During the Olympic Games, the games will be covered extensively in English and French. Huge numbers of francophone reporters are coming to Vancouver. It will be covered extensively on television in English and French. It will be difficult to turn on your television at all during that period and not receive up-to-the-minute coverage of the Olympic Games. We are optimistic about that. If any of these services went missing between now and then, we would have to improvise and find other ways to do it.
In our most recent survey of the country in terms of awareness, the awareness levels in the province of Quebec are above 85 per cent. These are saturation point numbers for the Olympics and are far better than have been achieved in most countries in the world in the past 30 or 40 years. We are happy about this. We are not taking all the credit for it because Quebec has some extraordinary athletes, and they happen to be performing very well. There is high expectations that they will achieve great success at the games, but there is an acute awareness in that province today for what is going on in Vancouver and obviously very much how the athletes are preparing for the games. It is a good situation that hopefully will only get better.
[Translation]
The Deputy Chair: I think we have reason to be somewhat reassured in that regard, because we learned over the weekend that potential problems at the Gesca Group had been resolved; so, the francophone press should be present.
With your permission, I have one final question that Ms. Lefrançois or Mr. Cousin may want to answer. The last time we talked, one area where there still seemed to be some issues was document translation and simultaneous interpretation during the Games.
I know that Mr. Moore, the Minister responsible for Official Languages, provided additional monies several months ago, but will that funding be adequate to resolve all the problems with respect to translation or interpretation that were a concern some time ago?
[English]
Mr. Furlong: Our view is that it will be sufficient and the quality of the specific services we are trying to provide will be the highest in Olympic history because of this intervention. We are very happy about it. We have been able to make huge improvements in terms of reliability and how fast the services can be provided. Again, we hope that what we are able to do will be passed on to future host countries so that this can continue. We are optimistic that what we have been given will be more than enough to achieve our goals.
[Translation]
Senator Tardif: You said that an agreement has been reached with respect to translation, and I know that funding was announced by Minister Moore, but has the contract been signed?
[English]
Donna Wilson, Executive Vice-President, Human Resources, Sustainability and International Client Services, Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games: I am directly involved in those discussions. I was expecting to sign it this morning. The Translation Bureau has the final version, and we are very close, within hours, of signing an agreement. We have already had the Translation Bureau's project manager in Vancouver for all of last week, and she will return this week. It was a very positive visit. We have begun to work together even though I have not signed the paper, but I expect to do that shortly.
Senator Tardif: So there is no signed agreement to date? The contract is not signed.
Ms. Wilson: That is correct.
Mr. Furlong: It is imminent, but we are behaving as if it has been signed.
Senator Seidman: There is a French speaking community in British Columbia. Have you reached out to them and worked with them to help deliver on some of these requirements?
Ms. Wilson: Yes, we have been working for the last four years, and longer, actually, with all of the local communities. There is a very large community in Maillardville. They will be activating quite a bit during the games. We also have been working with Nanaimo and other communities across the province, and they will be collaborating with Place de la Francophonie 2010 on Granville Island to make ensure that some of those communities are also highlighted. We have had some very strong ongoing dialogue with them on a quarterly basis.
The Deputy Chair: We thank you so very much for having met with us today, Mr. Furlong, Ms. Wilson, Ms. Lefrançois and Mr. Cousin.
[Translation]
I believe you are all aware of the fact that, for three years now, the Committee has been asking questions, but also trying to help you ensure that things will be done the way we all want them to be done when Canada hosts the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Thank you very much for your time today.
[English]
We will see you in Vancouver in a few months. Thank you so much.
Mr. Furlong: Thank you very much, and thank you for your support.
[Translation]
The Deputy Chair: I am going to suspend the meeting for a few moments.
(The committee is suspended.)
(The committee resumes.)
The Deputy Chair: Good afternoon once again, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen. The committee is grateful to you for accepting our invitation to appear today.
[English]
We now welcome representatives from the Vancouver Airport Authority: Paul Levy, Vice President, Planning, 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games; Rebecca Catley, Director Communications, Planning, 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games; and Danielle Moore, Liaison Language Services, Planning, 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
As you know, the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages has closely monitored the way in which the official languages are included in the organization of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games to be held in Vancouver and Whistler in 2010. It published a third report on the subject last September.
The committee wants to follow up on a few elements such as the resources allocated to translation and interpretation, the temporary and permanent signage on site, the services to the travelling public in both official languages, and the active offer of services by the volunteers.
Thank you for accepting the invitation to appear this evening.
Paul Levy, Vice-President, Planning, 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Vancouver Airport Authority: Thank you chair and honourable senators.
I am the Vice-President, Planning, 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games. I am joined this evening by two colleagues from the Vancouver Airport Authority: Danielle Moore and Rebecca Catley. I have asked Ms. Moore to make introductory comments.
[Translation]
Danielle Moore, Liaison Language Services, Planning, 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Vancouver Airport Authority: Madam Chair, we are very pleased to be here in person. At Vancouver International Airport, we are acutely aware of the Official Languages Act and that it serves as a daily reminder for Canadians and visitors that we are a bilingual country.
For this reason, we are very pleased to be working with the Commissioner for Official Languages in response to his report: Raising Our Game for Vancouver 2010: Towards a Canadian Model of Linguistic Duality in International Sport.
My full-time position at YVR is to work on coordinating with our business partners and Airport Authority staff to ensure the active offer of services in both official languages to the travelling public.
We anticipate welcoming more than 250,000 additional travellers for the Games. We want to make sure that those additional quarter of a million people from all over the world recognize that they have arrived in a Canadian city, and one that is proud to host the Games on behalf of all Canadians.
[English]
Mr. Levy: The commissioner's report stated that we made a valuable contribution, but we need to increase our efforts so that the 2010 Winter Games are fully bilingual. We agree.
The commissioner made three separate and specific recommendations as to how Vancouver Airport Authority can make progress in regard to hosting a bilingual Winter Games. I am here to report on what I believe is substantial progress in this regard.
The commissioner provided us with a helpful roadmap in his report. I will summarize what the commissioner recommended that we do. I will then highlight a few of the 24 action items that we have identified. I would like to point out that this is a progress report. Our goal is consistent improvement.
The commissioner recommended that Vancouver Airport Authority integrate official languages into planning and activities for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. One of the key actions taken by the Vancouver Airport Authority is the appointment of our Official Languages Liaison, Ms. Moore. We also included a segment on active offer in our course that targets over 26,000 employees who work on Sea Island or at YVR, and we are actively recruiting for French speaking volunteers and paid staff.
The commissioner also recommended that we work with Air Canada, the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, Canadian Border Services Agency and Toronto Pearson International Airport on a coherent official languages experience for travellers. We have spoken with all of these agencies and have worked to develop tools and reporting structures to be used by all players involved. We are also implementing a mystery traveller program to measure our performance.
Finally, the commissioner recommended that we take measures to ensure that all front-line personnel working during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games make an active offer of service in both official languages. I am pleased to report that there will be either a verbal or a visual active offer of English and French service at all points of contact throughout the airport where the travelling public may request services or information. The Vancouver Airport Authority will make available our bilingual language service to all tenants and companies operating in the terminal whether or not these business partners have an obligation to provide services in French or in English. We have met with the management of all these companies to seek their commitment and we will continue to work with them and their corporate headquarters to ensure compliance.
I have provided you with a copy of the official languages initiatives that are completed, planned and ongoing for the 2010 Winter Games. These have been developed in order to live up to our responsibility to welcome the world to Canada in both French and English.
As you will see from our submission, we are implementing a number of initiatives during the games period in addition to those that have been place for years. We welcome any other suggestions that honourable senators may bring to the forefront.
Clearly, the government has made the question of official languages and the games a priority and it is a priority that we share. Is there still work to do? Yes, absolutely. However, I have no doubt that when visitors arrive or depart from YVR, they will know that they are in Canada, a country with two official languages. Employees at the airport are proud of their airport and are excited and united with a common goal to provide a positive and memorable airport experience for all users.
The work that is happening now will create a lasting legacy at YVR. Of course, honourable senators, I wish to invite each and every one of you to come to visit us during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in February and March of next year.
[Translation]
Senator Fortin-Duplessis: I want to begin by congratulating you. Having read the recommendations made by the Commissioner of Official Languages, it was clear that you had a major challenge ahead of you and I see that you have made considerable effort to fill in the gaps.
My question is quite brief and is addressed to the management of Vancouver International Airport. I learned last week that there are no calls made in French, not even for flights to Montreal from Vancouver International Airport. According to my sources, there was not even a French-language recording available. The absence of English in Montreal, for example, would certainly not be tolerated.
Does the Vancouver International Airport Authority intend to correct that situation before the Olympic Games begin?
[English]
Mr. Levy: Thank you for the compliments. The responsibility for providing translation into French at all the gates rests with the individual carriers. For the flight that you were on, Air Canada had that responsibility. We are working with them to ensure they live up to their obligation to provide bilingual services for all their flights. We are also looking at whether we can assist them during the Olympic period. It is their responsibility but we are looking at staff to assist those carriers that do not have bilingual staff to make announcements. However, Air Canada has an obligation under the Official Languages Act to provide that service.
[Translation]
Senator Fortin-Duplessis: In any case, I really think it is terrible that a company like Air Canada is not able to provide services in both official languages. That is incredible!
I experienced some things when I was a member of Parliament that I still cannot get over. For example, in Alberta — not necessarily Vancouver, but Alberta — there was absolutely no one at the Air Canada counter who understood French. And, at the time, we were not given the slightest consideration.
That was my first question; I may have more later.
Senator Tardif: I find it interesting that we are talking about the Vancouver International Airport Authority's obligations in relation to the Olympic Games; however, it is important to remember that, according to the Official Languages Regulations at Paragraph 7 — the part that deals with communications with the public and service delivery — Vancouver International Airport is required to provide service to the public in French and English. That is an obligation, and this obligation does not only exist because the Olympic Games will be held in February 2010. Yet the active offer of services in French at the airport is non-existent.
You indicated in your report that you are working with Air Canada, with the Canadian Air Transportation Security Agency, with the Canadian Border Services Agency and Pearson International Airport in Toronto to provide a coherent official languages experience for travellers. You say that you have met with these agencies. How many times have you met with them thus far? And what was the reporting level of the people who attended these meetings? Also, how many meetings do you expect to have between now and next February?
[English]
Mr. Levy: I will let Ms. Moore respond, because she has had some of the conversations. Not all of the conversations have been in person, as the communication with the people at the Toronto airport has obviously been by phone.
[Translation]
Ms. Moore: As Mr. Levy was saying, we have had a number of meetings with representatives from the Border Services Agency at the airport, but the problem is that people in Ottawa and Toronto tend to prefer teleconferences, and the same people are not always in attendance. However, I know that at least three or four times, we were all there. I can tell you that I am on the phone with one or the other several times a week. We meet with their people on site at the airport and I have been working with my VANOC colleagues.
We have responded to a request from the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages pertaining particularly to the offer of services by publishing a small dictionary in French and English that will be available to all employees — especially those who are not proficient in French — so that they can help passengers receive services in French directly.
Also, everyone who can speak French will be wearing the same button as VANOC saying: "Bonjour." All the companies represented at Vancouver International Airport will also be using the button; in their case, the company name, the employee name and the words "Je parle français" will appear on the button.
And for those who do not speak French — for example, staff at stores and restaurants and others who are responsible for providing services in both official languages, we hope to be able to help them by providing a small pocket translator. That tool will be completed in the coming weeks and will include a variety of pictograms representing what the person is seeking, so that she or he can receive assistance. However, if assistance is not available at that precise moment for the person seeking it, a special phone line will be available, and in fact has been available since late December 2007. People are able to call that direct line, and someone there can provide the help they are seeking, provide translation or give information.
Senator Tardif: That is really quite minimal. At this stage of the game, you are talking about pictograms? Really! These things should have been in place a long time ago, since you are responsible for ensuring there is an active offer in French. You are one of the agencies required to comply with those obligations. I strongly suggest that you start to make a serious effort to recruit more French-speaking staff and more volunteers, either for security, communications or to staff the different information kiosks. You simply must do better.
[English]
Mr. Levy: We fully understand our obligation and take it seriously. That is why we are here today even though we were originally invited to attend via videoconference. We have meetings here tomorrow and take our responsibilities so seriously that we decided to appear in person. In terms of your comment about recruitment, we are currently working with the francophone community. We have actively made offers to volunteers or paid staff. When I return to Vancouver next week, I will have a follow-up meeting with the Superintendent Mario Cyr of the francophone school board. Mr. Cyr was excited about the opportunity of having the students, teachers, family and friends take part.
We are not just looking for volunteers, if we need to pay staff, we will. We are reaching as far as we can to find volunteers, including family and friends of Vancouver Airport Authority staff.
[Translation]
Senator Pépin: Did you set a specific target for the tenants? I understand they will be wearing all kinds of buttons, but did you set as a target that the majority of tenants be able to provide bilingual service to customers? Do you have a recruitment target?
[English]
Mr. Levy: I am talking about people who are directly responsible within the Vancouver Airport Authority. We have set a target of about 100. There is no cap. If we can get more, I will take more.
It is different for our concessionaires. We recognize that they have difficulty meeting their obligations under their licences with us. That is not to say we do not hold them to those obligations, we do. For the Olympic Games, we will draw on our own people. Where the concessionaires cannot meet the obligation of supplying a person or persons to provide the service, we will dispatch someone to the location.
For example, if a car rental company has the active offer of service, whether it is a sign or a "bonjour" if someone comes up to the counter and wants service in French, there are two things that person can do. They can use the 1-800 number, which is a phone line to a call centre that has translation services in both French and English. We will offer that service, at our expense, to all operators within the airport. Beyond that, if their customer wants face-to-face service and the company does not have an employee who can provide service in French, we will dispatch someone from the Vancouver Airport Authority or from another operator who can assist.
Senator Pépin: If I want to rent a car and I have to pick up a phone because the person in front of me does not speak French, the communication will not be easy.
Senator Jaffer: You come under the federal government; is that right?
Mr. Levy: That is correct.
Senator Jaffer: Do you have people appointed by the federal government on your board?
Mr. Levy: We have two board members that are appointed by the federal government.
Senator Jaffer: When was Ms. Moore appointed?
Mr. Levy: She was appointed about a month ago.
Senator Jaffer: I come from B.C., and Mr. Levy, we did not think about speaking to you because we thought you would have it together, and you are the least on board.
I go to the airport — fortunately or unfortunately — twice a week. Every time I go to the airport, whether coming from international or national, it takes my breath away the work you do. You have done amazing work at the airport.
However, it is like icing on the cake. Everything looks so good but it does not say who we are. We are officially a two-language country, and it does not come through in a federal organization.
Coming from B.C., I am embarrassed. Even though my airport looks the best in the world — I am not complimenting; it is the truth — you have done everything except express who we are.
I can assure you that you will be coming back to us. It is not about the games; it is about who you are. You are a federal organization, and coming from B.C., I have said this three times: I am embarrassed that I do not see enough French signs.
My colleagues will tell you that when they go to the Calgary airport, they know that we are in a bilingual country, but when they go to Vancouver airport it is not the case.
I am concerned. For people who are watching, I want them to know what the Official Languages Commissioner said:
The Commissioner is particularly concerned by what travellers might experience at the Toronto and Vancouver airports. The poor results observed at Vancouver International Airport and the airport authority's lack of specific official languages measures for the Games are reason for concern . . .
Then he says that, perhaps, visually, it is 53 per cent, but the for the commercial merchants at the airport, it is zero service. The report continues:
While the airport authority states that it complies with the Official Languages Act and integrates official languages into all aspects of its business, the poor results observed at Vancouver International Airport and the airport authority's lack of specific official languages measures for the games are reason for concern.
He said throughout his report, and even Mr. Furlong said it — and Mr. Levy, I have concerns — that it is business as usual for you, and Mr. Furlong said you are behind the ball.
We have to work with you because the first impression of our city will be from your airport. I want you to present to us again in writing exactly what you will be doing. I want an answer from you as to exactly where you will implement all of these things you are saying and what your timeline is and why you are so late in coming on board.
Mr. Levy: I will answer the first part of the question regarding timelines. With respect to the 24 initiatives laid out in the briefing note, some are in place already. Some will continue over the coming months as we lead up to the games and will be implemented so that prior to the games time, all 24 initiatives will be in place.
If additional ideas, thoughts and things that we have not thought about in the initial submission come forward, we will review those and will certainly implement them, right up to the games. Part of Ms. Moore's role during the games is not only to provide great service out on the floor in French and English, but also, if thoughts or ideas come up that make reasonable sense, we will implement them. Some of these things will be legacy items that I expect will go beyond the games period. For example, over the last five years, we have made investments in terms of building facilities and structures not just for the games but also as part of expanding the airport. As part of that investment, a great deal of bilingual signage is there and meets the full prominence of French and English. There is signage for all the facilities, and we will not take it down after the games.
Awareness is one of the lasting legacies. We are meeting with all the retailers and car rental companies and raising awareness. That is a good thing. People are understanding their obligations and responsibilities, and that will be a living thing after the games period.
The multilingual phones and dual handsets that provide translation services that are at all of our customer care counters will be there after the games and will continue to be there.
The 1-800 number, although it may not meet all the needs but provides service to all organizations that may not be able to have a bilingual person, will be available after the games to all tenants throughout the facility.
Senator Jaffer: The work that has been done at the airport is breathtaking. Your standard is high, and you can hear my disappointment. The thing that I am dreading is, the day after the games, a headline in Quebec saying that we did not meet the high standard that you have set. You have set a very high standard at the airport, and I will be watching.
After the games are over, we will have another conversation with you because you set a high standard everywhere except for official languages.
I am concerned with the tenants because I am sure in the leases they know that they are supposed to provide French, and if there is a time that they need to do it, it is now, and I would like to hear more from you as to what leadership you will provide — not that you will provide the services at your expense because that is a short time.
If you cannot do it today, I respect that, but please provide to us in writing exactly how you will provide leadership so that it becomes a long-term legacy for us.
Mr. Levy: It is certainly addressed for the games period. We have taken the leadership and will continue to meet with them regularly. We will continue to do so over the next 75 days as the games approach and through the Olympic period. In terms of following up after that, we can come back to you and give you something in writing to explain other initiatives we will have in the post-games period to ensure we live up to those obligations.
[Translation]
Senator Losier-Cool: My questions are similar to the ones Senator Jaffer was asking. First of all, have you received assistance from VANOC, either in the form of advice or financial aid? Has VANOC helped you?
[English]
Mr. Levy: We worked closely with them, as Mr. Furlong said in the earlier meeting with you.
In terms of financial assistance no, not from VANOC. It is the other way around; we are the official supplier and sponsor to them, so we have donated to them in terms of value-in-kind services and money.
In terms of official languages, no, we have not had direct consultation with VANOC, other than that they are going to have people and volunteers.
Senator Losier-Cool: You mentioned financial aspects — all those actions that you took so that you would be very bilingual. Did it cost you more money?
Mr. Levy: Money is not the issue for us. It is about making sure we meet our obligation and provide service in both official languages.
Senator Losier-Cool: Will that be your lasting legacy? I do have a fear about that because I have been a Canadian who has been fighting for minority rights in both official languages for years, and that is my life. After the Olympics, we will get financial accounts and reports.
[Translation]
There will be a financial report.
[English]
I am afraid we will have a backlash: See what the Official Languages Act costs? This has become so much of a show that it is almost too much, when too much is not enough. Is that your lasting legacy?
Mr. Levy: For the airport authority, the issue of financial cost has not been the issue. We certainly meet our obligations with signage around the airport, inside, way finding and roadway finding. The signage is all bilingual.
It has been pointed out in the commissionaires report that the challenge is the ability of some of our tenants to provide the service. That is where we have more work to do. I am not telling you today that everything is perfect; it is not. We have work to do, and I acknowledge that.
Senator Losier-Cool: Can I take it from your answer that your annual budget is sufficient to fulfill your mandate for the Olympics in both official languages?
Mr. Levy: There is not a separate line item in the airport authority's budget for francophone services or linguistic duality. That is no different from airport safety. It is built into everything we do. New facilities must have signage with equal prominence in both French and English. That is just part of the cost of building a new facility, and all of our new facilities meet that requirement.
Our challenge is to ensure that the other operators at the airport are living up to their obligations. Operators that do not have a direct responsibility under the Official Languages Act but have a licence with us to do business must meet certain responsibilities. Although I do not have direct responsibility for other agencies that have a direct responsibility under the Official Languages Act, such CATSA, the Canada Border Services Agency and Air Canada, we meet with them to remind them of their responsibilities in that regard, but it is their responsibility.
[Translation]
Senator Losier-Cool: We are to understand, then, that the employees who are hired because they are bilingual are not just temporary employees, and that they will eventually be permanent?
[English]
Mr. Levy: We are recruiting additional volunteers. We have an extensive program called the Green Coat Volunteer Program at YVR. We recognize that there are not many French-speaking people in that program. We would like to increase that number for the Olympics and beyond. We are working with the francophone community to recruit more volunteers into that program. Ms. Moore has just proofread an advertisement to be put in the local French newspapers.
Many of the front-line people who provide service to the public are not direct employees of the airport authority. The 400 employees who work for the airport are primarily doing administrative and maintenance duties or emergency response services. They do not have direct contact with the customers. Most of those services are provided under contract to us, so it is our responsibility. The company that provides customer care at the airport is called Marquise. They currently have 19 fully bilingual staff members of 110. They are going to increase that number to at least 25 for the games period. Twenty-five people represent over 20 per cent of their personnel.
[Translation]
Senator Losier-Cool: Well, I congratulate you and wish you good luck with your challenges. I hope all of this will continue after the Olympic Games.
[English]
Senator Seidman: You have clearly made progress since the language commissioner's report. In your statement, you referred to a mystery traveller program to measure your performance. Would you share more details about that with the committee and tell us how you believe it can help the airport meet its obligations under the Official Languages Act?
Mr. Levy: It is similar to the mystery shopper program that our retail people use. We send people unknown to the operators, including car rental agencies and food and beverage operators, to seek service in French. We will do that prior to the games in order to get a benchmark of how people are doing. If they are not living up to their responsibility under their licence agreement, we will ensure that they are prior to the games. We will continue to do that through the period of the Olympic Games to ensure that they are living up to their responsibilities.
This is about not only reporting on obligations met, but also about measuring performance, and this is how we get better at it. We do customer satisfaction surveys in all parts of our business, and this is an extension of such surveys. This is something we may want to consider doing after the games as a legacy for it.
Senator Jaffer: Mr. Levy, we had a sad experience at our airport in Vancouver with the death of a Polish immigrant. From what I remember reading, you put in place very good measures to help immigrants access service in their languages so that we hopefully never have a repeat of what happened at the airport.
Did you learn any lessons from that experience that you can use in the better provision of services?
Mr. Levy: It was a very tragic incident and something we will hopefully never see again at our airport or any other facility in this country.
We learned a lot from it. We implemented approximately 40 changes right after the tragic incident. Some of the changes included language services, not only in French but obviously also in other languages.
One big lesson we learned was that no one could imagine how so many things could go so tragically wrong. We want to ensure that there is customer satisfaction regardless of the time of day and regardless of the traveller. In this case, the person was not a very sophisticated traveller. Those of us who do a lot of travelling through airports know how to make our way through them, which is why we had not thought about that. We want to ensure that we look after any traveller, regardless of how often they have travelled, where they are coming from and the time of day. We implemented many things to address that person and those circumstances. That extends to everywhere in our facility.
Senator Jaffer: Ms. Moore spoke about coordination. One of our recommendations is for Canadian Heritage, the Privy Council and the Treasury Board to get involved in coordinating the two airports. Your answer was that you have had just a few meetings. I do not want to misquote you, but that gives me concern about coordination, but not with you. I just share this with you because we will obviously have to speak to others about coordination.
Am I correct in understanding that on the language issue those are the only meetings you have had?
Ms. Moore: Do you mean face-to-face meetings?
Senator Jaffer: It does not matter. In today's world, that is not important.
Ms. Moore: We talk to the groups from CDSA, CATSA, Air Canada and VANOC several times a day. We work closely together so that we can benefit from one another's effort. As I said, for example, some of the translation cards are the result of work that we all did together that so we could meet all of our needs.
I know that in the last month we had three or four scheduled teleconference calls to ensure that we were all still working on the same page. As I said, I speak to one or more of them on the phone every day.
Senator Jaffer: Mr. Levy has the Privy Council Office or any other entity contacted you to talk about the official language issue?
Mr. Levy: No, not me personally.
Senator Jaffer: Mr. Furlong talked about looking at the games through a bilingual lens. Respectfully, you and I have work to do at the airport on that. It is your airport. I am so proud of the other work have you done. It is a Canadian airport, and we have to communicate that, even after the games.
[Translation]
Senator Tardif: I would like to ask what you see as the internal or external obstacles preventing you from implementing the Official Languages Act.
[English]
Mr. Levy: I assume you mean not specific to the Olympic and Paralympic Games?
Senator Tardif: Correct; I am speaking generally about communication with the public, active service, and as well, the promotion of the minority francophone communities and what we call positive measures. What are the obstacles that you have in meeting your obligations?
Mr. Levy: The biggest challenge — and I alluded to it earlier — is the fact that it is a big community. That is not to say it is an excuse. Twenty-six thousand people work at Sea Island. That is a big community.
You can imagine there are multiple agencies and organizations. People look at the airport and see us as one entity. We learned that through the Dziekanski incident. It is the airport: We get that.
One of the obstacles is there are many different stakeholders involved at the airport. Some people are running a business at the airport. Some of us are running the airport. The challenge of getting all participants on board is a huge challenge for us. It is a huge challenge to help them understand their obligations. I believe the Olympic Games present a great opportunity to promote official languages and to get people to understand their responsibilities.
It is a great opportunity for a lasting legacy out of the games.
Senator Tardif: I would agree. It is an opportunity, and I hope that you would latch on to that and that you go much further. It can only improve.
[Translation]
Senator Fortin-Duplessis: In your presentation, you say, with respect to Recommendation No. 7 by the Commissioner, that you have organized training for airport employees who wish to improve their proficiency in French. However, you talked about four one-hour courses. How do you expect people to learn to speak French properly in four hours? Are they super achievers?
[English]
Mr. Levy: I will let Ms. Moore respond to that because she will be the one doing it.
[Translation]
Ms. Moore: You are right; it is impossible to teach anyone to speak French in four hours. Some employees of the Vancouver International Airport Authority believe that their knowledge of French is not adequate to allow them to talk to people, help them or even wear the button; so, the purpose of this exercise is to help them feel a little less rusty, if I could put it that way.
I do not have any formal response this time, but I have worked closely in recent weeks with Ms. Marianne Goodwin of the Fédération des francophones de la Colombie-Britannique and we have approached a number of organizations in Vancouver who give courses to people wanting to improve their French. What I hope to do is invite them to the airport. We already have a variety of training programs available to employees at the airport, whether it is Living Greener, yoga or other courses. So, we decided to try and interest these colleagues in brief educational classes.
Many colleagues, particularly since I have been working in our offices, come to speak to me in French and apologize for their poor French. However, their French is actually good; the problem is that they are rusty and think it is not good enough. We hope that by taking these courses, they will feel more comfortable speaking to people. They may not be able to provide a full answer, but at least they will be able to say: "S'il vous plaît, suivez-moi" and direct them to someone who does speak French.
As I say, by getting them to speak every day, I am realizing that many of them would definitely be capable of helping someone. It is just a matter of giving them a hand with it.
Senator Fortin-Duplessis: Have a lot of people registered?
Ms. Moore: We started today. For now, there are four classes. I should not say they are classes. The first begins on December 10. When I am back in the office on Wednesday, I will have an idea how many have registered. If they are wildly successful, we will definitely continue.
For now, I am still planning the process with Ms. Goodwin. We could also give these courses on the week-end or in the evenings. For now, they are only offered during the day, because the employees they are aimed at work during the day. At the risk of repeating myself, if we are successful with these courses, we will go ahead.
The Deputy Chair: I would like to end this meeting with a great story about Vancouver. A little more than two years ago, I came into Vancouver, having flown from Taipei to Los Angeles, and then from Los Angeles to Vancouver and, on the flight from Los Angeles to Vancouver, I was given a little card to fill out. I did not look at it; I simply filled out the side written in French. When I arrived at customs and handed over my card in French, the officer said to me: "Oh wait a minute, one moment!," and went to get a lovely young lady who had just completed courses in Jonquière, who said to me: "Since I got back here, you are the first person I have been able to speak French to." And she spoke lovely French.
Senator Losier-Cool: An extra-terrestrial.
The Deputy Chair: I hope everyone who visits Vancouver gets the same reception. Thank you very much for accepting our invitation.
(The committee adjourned.)