2004-2005 Official Languages Annual Review submitted to the Public Service Human Resources Management Agency of Canada on April 15, 2005

Table of contents

• Overview
• Parts IV, V and VI of the Official Languages Act
  • Communications with the public
  • Language of work
  • Equitable participation
• Language requirements for members of the management group
• List of offices and service points
• Summary
• Statistical Appendix

Overview

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) is proud of the innovation it has undertaken and the progress it has achieved in the area of official languages in recent years and reiterates its commitment to respecting the obligations set out in the Official Languages Act. Its Official Languages Program has been designed to meet the particular needs of the organization and to ensure that the Service fulfills those obligations under the Act.

This report sets out the initiatives undertaken by CSIS during 2004-2005 to meet the specific requirements stemming from Parts IV, V and VI of the Act, as well as to implement the program and institutional bilingualism throughout the organization.

Parts IV, V and VI of the Official Languages Act

Communications with the public

Given its obligations under the Official Languages Act, the Service must actively offer to communicate with members of the public in the official language of their choice. That having been said, in view of its mandate to investigate activities that pose a threat to the security of Canada, to analyse them and to advise the government in that regard, CSIS does not directly provide service to the public. However, for purposes of employment within our organization, there are times that the public communicates with us by telephone, in writing and sometimes in person.

In the case of people who correspond by mail to inquire about employment opportunities at CSIS, an information kit in both official languages is sent to them regardless of what office they contact.

When members of the public communicate with us by telephone at the local number listed in the government directory for the province in question, they are also invited to visit our website www.csis-scrs.gc.ca, which provides information of comparable quality in both official languages.

In addition, during the hiring process, interviews with members of the public (for the purposes of security clearances or selection) and any tests that are administered to them are offered and available in both official languages. As well, the traditional symbol that indicates bilingual services are offered is always displayed.

As shown by the data in the Statistical Appendix to this report, the Service has the necessary resources to provide bilingual service to members of the public at all its regional offices. This was moreover confirmed by the audit of telephone services conducted by the Official Languages Branch of the Public Service Human Resources Management Agency of Canada (PSHRMAC) in March 2003, when callers were served in the official language of their choice 91% of the time.

As the result of this audit, some gaps were identified in the active offer of services in certain regional offices of CSIS. The Service therefore took additional steps to ensure 100% active offer at all times in the future. For example, a memorandum was sent to all Directors General of the Service in April 2004. In addition to that, a follow-up was conducted in December 2004 in the form of an anonymous internal audit of all regions, as stated in last year’s report. The results for each office were positive, that is, the oral greeting was bilingual and, when the call was directed to an answering machine, the message was bilingual.

In order to raise the awareness of all CSIS employees (in addition to the regional offices), a message entitled “ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE TERM ACTIVE OFFER?” was also published on the CSIS intranet in February 2005, wherein the definition was explained and promoted. Lastly, the obligations of CSIS and of each of its employees regarding communications with the public are reiterated during information sessions, not only for new employees but also for supervisors and middle managers.

Language of work

The Service is committed to establishing and promoting a work environment that is conducive to employees using the official language of their choice, as prescribed by the Official Languages Act.

As the result of recent modifications to the official languages policies of the Public Service Human Resources Management Agency of Canada (PSHRMAC), which took effect on 2004-04-01, CSIS has for its part revised its policies and procedures in order to comply with the Directives that are relevant to the Service. In this regard, the maximum hours allowed for full-time language training have been increased as follows:

Level “A”, from 1000 hours to 1210 hours
Level “B”, from 1300 hours to 1710 hours
Level “C”, from 1860 hours to 2270 hours

Moreover, under its part-time language training program, the Service will reimburse the cost of French or English courses (to a maximum amount) for the spouses of employees who are relocated between Headquarters and a regional office to facilitate the job search.

CSIS continues to listen to its employees needs and objectives for acquiring and maintaining their second language. Thus, given that the popularity of the various part-time language training sessions is growing every year, new courses have been developed in collaboration with two private language schools and will be available as of April 2005. These courses, like others already in place, will be offered on site and will consist of lunch-time chat sessions and Level “C” second-language oral interaction maintenance.

It should be noted that the part-time program is open to all employees from Headquarters and the regional offices, whether or not they occupy a bilingual position. This gives all Service employees who are interested an equal opportunity for advancement to bilingual positions during their career at CSIS.

CSIS managers and supervisors have a key role to play in successful implementation of the Official Languages Program in their area of responsibility, as well as in ensuring compliance with Service policies in the area of official languages. They must provide leadership for this program by setting an example and by instituting and supporting measures that promote the achievement of the Service’s objectives in relation to Parts IV, V and VI of the Official Languages Act. Policies are in place that outline the specific expectations of the organization in this regard.

Equitable participation

CSIS keeps a close eye to ensure that the composition of its workforce reflects the rate of representation of French-speaking and English-speaking Canadians in the labour force and pursues the objective of equitable participation in order to give the members of both official language groups the same opportunities for employment and advancement, while fully respecting the merit principle.

One specific way of doing this is to annually devote considerable funds to full-time language training for qualified Canadians who are interested in becoming intelligence officers (IO) at CSIS but who do not meet the language requirements of the position. Although successful completion of this training remains a condition of employment, this program opens up the possibility of an IO career at CSIS for members of both linguistic groups.

Note that as of 2005-03-31, the CSIS workforce comprised 62% Anglophones and 38% Francophones. The distribution of employees by the main occupational groups and by province is outlined in the Statistical Appendix to this report.

Language requirements for members of the management group

All management group positions (equivalent to the EX group) in bilingual regions of CSIS have a second language proficiency profile of CBC.

CSIS remains committed to ensuring that senior managers fulfill the language obligations of their position. While respecting the ever-growing and increasingly complex operational requirements that its mandate imposes, the Service will be able to achieve this objective in the long term through some very clear strategies that have been implemented in this regard. Moreover, special programs remain available to managers (such as private training), not only for those who must achieve a Levels “B” or “C” in oral interaction, but also for those who have achieved the required level and must maintain it.

List of offices and service points

The addresses of the regional offices of CSIS listed in Burolis remain the same. Note that this information will continue not to be available publicly for security reasons.

Summary

As this report attests, CSIS has managed to fully meet the requirements imposed by the Official Languages Act with respect to communications with the public, language of work and equitable participation. For 2005-2006, the Service will be able to maintain this commitment not only to the letter but also to the spirit of the Act, and will demonstrate new initiative and creativity in implementing its Official Languages Program.

Statistical Appendix

Communications with the public

CSIS positions designated bilingual whose functions consist of communication with the public:

*91% of incumbents meet the language requirements of their position; the remaining (9%) have been appointed conditionally, have incumbent’s rights or have been exempted for other reasons. Administrative arrangements are in place to ensure communications with the public in both official languages.

The percentage of employees at CSIS regional and district offices who can communicate with the public in the minority language:

Language of work

The distribution of designated bilingual positions at CSIS:

*88% of incumbents meet the language requirements of their position; the remaining (12%) have been appointed conditionally, have incumbent’s rights or have been exempted for other reasons. The administrative arrangements in place enable the Service to fulfill its responsibilities.

The percentage of bilingual positions for which the functions consist of providing personnel/central services:

87% of incumbents meet the language requirements of their position; the remaining (13%) have been appointed conditionally, have incumbent’s rights or have been exempted for other reasons. The administrative arrangements in place enable the Service to provide personnel and central services in both official languages.

The percentage of employees, by bilingual region, who are responsible for providing personnel or central services and who meet the language requirements:

The distribution of supervisory positions, by language level, in the Service’s bilingual regions:

*78% of incumbents meet the language requirements of their position. The remaining (22%) have been appointed conditionally, have incumbent’s rights or have been exempted for other reasons. The administrative arrangements in place ensure that employees are supervised at all times in the official language of their choice.

The percentage of senior managers in bilingual regions who meet the language requirements of their position:

*Of the 28% who have not yet attained CBC proficiency, 76% have obtained Level B in oral interaction; as well, it must be noted that an additional 7% have attained the CBC level but are presently working in unilingual regions

The number of CSIS employees who have benefited from the various language training programs:

Equitable participation

The distribution of employees by the main occupational groups and by province :