(Ottawa) The federal Treasury Board says it has no intention of extending its bilingualism bonuses to public servants who speak an official language and an Aboriginal language. The bonuses therefore remain reserved for employees who speak French and English.
Posted at 6:23 a.m.
This bilingualism bonus is worth $800 per year to federal public servants who occupy a position where knowledge of French and English is required.
A proposal to extend access to the bonus to people who speak an official language and an Aboriginal language was formulated last year by experienced public servants who were considering solutions to respond to the issues raised by Aboriginal colleagues.
Some details of these proposals were in briefing notes obtained by The Canadian Press through the Access to Information Act.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada, a union that represents more than 120,000 federal public servants under the authority of the Treasury Board, has proposed the creation of an Aboriginal languages bonus to reward workers who use these languages in the framework of their functions.
The union’s national president, Chris Aylward, said his organization has identified nearly 500 federal employees who speak an Indigenous language as part of their jobs.
“It’s a discriminatory practice,” he said in an interview. While their colleagues receive a bonus for speaking a second language, they receive nothing. How can this government justify this? »
“It would be a very progressive and very concrete way for the government to recognize the importance of Indigenous languages in Canada. It’s a win-win,” he added.
Chris Aylward pointed out that the union, which has been negotiating a new collective agreement with the government for more than a year, is proposing to improve the bilingualism bonus so that it reaches $1,500. He also insists that these bonuses be paid to civil servants who speak an indigenous language in their functions.
“We strongly believe that Indigenous employees should be recognized for the languages they speak,” he said.
These bilingualism bonuses are intended to support the government’s commitment that federal public servants have the right to work in the official language of their choice. Federal institutions have an obligation to respect this right because of the Official Languages Act, recalls the spokesperson for the Secretariat of the Treasury Board of Canada, Alain Belle-Isle.
“The Treasury Board has no intention of expanding the scope of the bilingualism bonus to include Aboriginal languages,” assured Mr. Belle-Isle.
In a subsequent reaction, a spokesperson for Minister responsible for the Treasury Board, Mona Fortier, said the government was committed to creating an inclusive public service and working to break down barriers to employment and advancement. .
“We will never change the fundamental principle of bilingualism in the public service,” wrote Scott Bardsley, who took care to add that 40% of federal jobs require proficiency in both official languages.
He also argued that Indigenous representation among senior government staff rose from 3.7% in 2015-2016 to 4.4% in 2020-21.
The preservation and promotion of Indigenous languages are part of the promises made by the Liberal government of Justin Trudeau as part of the reconciliation process. In 2019, a bill was passed to support language revitalization in Indigenous communities across the country.
Census data from 2021 shows a slight decline in the number of people claiming to speak an Indigenous language. The figures also indicate a decline in the rate of Canadians speaking French at home.
Nunavut NDP MP Lori Idlout, who speaks Inuktitut, says she wants to convince Treasury Board to change its approach.
“I’m very disappointed,” she commented. I am angry. »
The member believes that federal public servants who speak an indigenous language, such as Inuktitut, provide better services to indigenous populations and they should be entitled to the same benefits as their colleagues who speak French and English.
“Canada was built on Indigenous lands, on First Nations, Inuit and Métis lands, and if reconciliation is to happen, this is one of the ways to get there. These people must have the same value as employees who are bilingual Francophones or Anglophones,” she pleaded.