The Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada submitted his annual report for the period from April 2022 to March 2023 on Tuesday. Unsurprisingly, Air Canada is the worst offender, with 276 complaints. The entire airport sector is experiencing failures when it comes to serving customers in the country’s two official languages.
The federal public service also fares poorly, with many shortcomings in the language of work in nearly 40 departments and institutions. The Commissioner points to the lack of measurement tools to assess the actual ability of public servants to work in the language of their choice in regions considered bilingual.
This report is full of arguments for the adoption of linguistic criteria in the accountability practices of major Canadian and Quebec institutions. During my recent master’s studies, I have studied the close links between language and social responsibility, the notions of equity, diversity and inclusion, as well as ESG (environment, society and governance) criteria. .
Having been responsible for corporate linguistic compliance for a good twenty years, I can testify that organizations have their share of responsibility when it comes to language.
Promoting the local language and culture is a good way for them to commit to protecting the interests of their internal stakeholders (civil servants who want to work in French) and external stakeholders (clients who want to be served in French ). And thanks to good governance practices, they can help counter the decline of French and promote the prosperity of all Canadians, with a view to equity, diversity and linguistic inclusion.
These measures can be linked to ESG criteria, which are at the heart of accountability as we understand it today. On the social side, the language of work and commerce is at the heart of the contribution of organizations to the communities in which they operate, especially in a context where language protection is of paramount importance for the development of the Francophone population.
Good governance
The adoption of language policies at all levels of companies is part of good governance practices. The presence of people of diversity, including linguistic diversity, on boards of directors demonstrates concern for the interests of the various stakeholders, one of the criteria of good governance. Organizations that take such measures set an example and generally win the favor of investors.
Unfortunately, language-related accountability is not yet a criterion for evaluating the performance of companies or their management teams.
Proof, The Press reported in its April 12 edition1 that the link between the compensation of the CEO of Air Canada and his learning of French had not been demonstrated, despite a promise to this effect after the storm unleashed in the fall of 2021 during a speech given only in English in Montreal .
Moreover, the new version of the Official Languages Act does not provide for any obligation for the officers of Crown corporations and other organizations subject to it to be fluent in French. It is not surprising then to see a lack of interest and responsibility. Even the Commissioner admits that the prospect of fines, a new measure provided for by the Official Languages Actis not likely to shake the columns of the temple of Air Canada2.
But all is not lost. Also in the April 12 edition of The Press3, we learned that the Laurentian Bank had disclosed at its annual meeting the languages spoken by each member of its board of directors. What if large companies were inspired by Laurentian to demonstrate their commitment to the French language? What if they took the lead and made language a criterion of accountability? I throw the idea. This will be my individual contribution to Minister Roberge’s major project.