Failure to comply with bilingualism requirements within the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is part of the organization’s culture, according to the Commissioner of Official Languages, Raymond Théberge. According to him, the entire “federal apparatus” must do “enormous work” to “promote” compliance with the Official Languages Act.
“The RCMP is an institution which, for a long time, has had difficulty respecting its obligations regarding official languages […]. I think […] that there is a cultural question at the heart of the organization,” Mr. Théberge declared Thursday before the standing committee on official languages.
“The situation in the RCMP, especially at the senior management level, is worrying,” he added. “I’m going to meet with the commissioner (of the RCMP, Michael Duheme) soon to have a discussion about how it’s taking so many years. »
Last October, Mr. Duheme acknowledged that the federal organization is struggling to comply with the requirements of the Official Languages Act. “We sometimes struggle to ensure our full compliance with the law,” he said, saying he took the situation “very seriously.” He was summoned by the committee after Radio-Canada revealed that several senior officers occupy bilingual positions even though they do not speak French and do not take courses to remedy this.
The head of the public agency had mentioned the difficulty of freeing employees for training due to operational needs, as well as to “fill certain high-level bilingual positions”, while facing a labor shortage . But these “operational reasons” which would prevent them from training employees do not seem to convince Commissioner Théberge. “It’s a reason that we can always give, all the time,” he said.
A “huge job” to be done at the federal level
After receiving “a veritable tidal wave” of complaints in 2021-2022, Raymond Théberge recommended that the standing committee on official languages conduct a study on linguistic obligations in the staffing or appointment process to key positions. According to him, “the bilingual character of an organization depends largely on the bilingualism of the people who occupy the highest levels. They must lead by example.”
If Mr. Théberge sees “favorably” the language training required of deputy ministers and deputy ministers delegated by the new version of the Official Languages Act, he believes that “the work is only half accomplished in the absence of clear policies and guidelines.” “What will happen in cases where senior civil servants still cannot master the official second language? », he questioned.
Asked by the Bloc spokesperson for official languages, Mario Beaulieu, whether the federal government will demonstrate “political will to respect” the new legislative text, Mr. Théberge replied that we must “let luck to the runner”, emphasizing that the implementation of Bill C-13 is complex. “But there is enormous work to be done within the federal apparatus in terms of promoting compliance. […] The changes that have taken place are very slow. »
He also emphasizes that the filing of a decree to establish financial sanctions, as provided for in the Law adopted in June 2023, would constitute a “tool […] essential, especially as it will apply in the field of transport”, which “has given rise to many complaints at the police station for a number of years”. Mr. Théberge, however, asserts that he was not “informed of a fixed date” for filing this decree.
The official languages watchdog also maintains that “section 91 has always not been well understood by managers.” “It’s a systemic problem. » This article provides that “each position must be evaluated according to the language requirements necessary to do the work,” he explains.
Mr. Théberge also reacted to the drop in the percentage of Francophones appointed to key positions under the Trudeau government reported by Radio-Canada. This low of 21%, in 2023, “concerns” the commissioner. “When we make this kind of observation, we must react immediately,” he added.
“Is this an anomaly, or is this a trend that will continue […]. If this is a trend, it is very concerning. »
This report is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.