French language services commissioner said 'adequate planning' would have resolved most complaints

French Language Services Commissioner Kelly Burke said most of the complaints her office has received about access to services and materials in French could have been avoided with "adequate planning."

Upon tabling her first annual report on Wednesday, which covers a 17-month period, Burke said the recurring themes her office uncovered related to a lack of services in French including a "shortage of human resources, the absence or lack of knowledge of policies and procedures, and the unavailability of material resources such as templates in French."

"The majority of the complaints we dealt with could have been resolved if adequate planning for the provision of French language services had been done," stated Burke. "The pandemic has exacerbated these issues and has highlighted the need for the government to assess how planning for the provision of French language services is being carried out."

Burke called for each ministry to table a plan on the quality of the French language services in their ministries and on how to improve them.

Her office stated that the French Language Services Act provides for "French language services coordinators to support deputy ministers in meeting their obligations."

"Research by the commissioner’s team indicates that there is currently no standardized process to assist deputy ministers to meet their obligations," Burke's office noted, adding that another recommendation is for the minister of francophone affairs to report each year on the implementation of ministries' plans starting April 1, 2022.

In a statement to QP Briefing, Minister of Francophone Affairs Caroline Mulroney said her ministry receives "annual reports on French language services from each ministry for internal evaluations."

"I thank the commissioner for drawing our attention to the fact that the report referred to in the French Language Services Act does not seem to have been published since the 1990s. The MFA publishes a plan and a report on the government of Ontario’s website. We will adapt this existing mechanism to submit the annual report to the lieutenant governor and the legislative assembly," Mulroney said, thanking Burke for her "excellent work and her recommendations."

The French language services commissioner's office, which the government folded into the ombudsman's office last year, dealt with 431 complaints or inquiries between May 1, 2019 and Sept. 30, 2020, with 110 of cases occurring during the initial six months of the pandemic starting in April.

Burke's report noted several complaints related to the government's COVID-19 response "particularly with respect to public communications in French, or a lack thereof." This included Premier Doug Ford's press conferences, public health advisories and teleconference services.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has put the spotlight not only on health care, but also on the critical role of communicating information essential to public health and safety," the report said.

Cabinet Office, which provides the premier’s office with advice and analysis, topped the list of organizations that garnered the most complaints, with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of the Solicitor General following.

Burke noted that her office received "many complaints" earlier this year that Premier Ford's daily press conferences, where he was sometimes accompanied by Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams, were only conducted in English.

"The complainants explained that they felt the briefings showed the government’s lack of respect for them, because only English-speaking people were represented," the report said, adding that these individuals were also concerned that health instructions were only issued in English.

Burke wrote a letter about these concerns to the premier and according to an April 2 response outlined in her response, Ford responded, "As you noted, Francophones in Ontario have the right to receive communications services in French, equivalent to those offered in English. This is even more critical in times of crisis." By mid-April the government started providing French translation for pandemic-related press conferences.

When the government released its second wave plan in Sept. 30, it was only available in English, Burke's report noted, adding that her office flagged this to the government and a French version was made available by the following morning.

The office also received several complaints that some public health units were only providing information on their websites or through correspondence in English. While the office doesn't have jurisdiction over public health units, "given the health emergency" Burke's team contacted Williams' office, which subsequently sent out a memo encouraging public health units to offer French-language services.

As a result of these complaints, Burke recommended the government "systematically plan to offer services in French at press briefings" and that it ensure "the communication of all public health information be provided in French and English simultaneously."

Burke outlined "limitations" of the French Language Services Act including the fact that it doesn't apply to local public health units, elected officials and Ontario Power Generation, stressing the importance of the government's commitment to modernize the act.

The report also touched on emergency and amber alerts, with Burke raising concern about delays in issuing the French version of an alert, prompting a recommendation that the Ministry of the Solicitor General and the Ontario Provincial Police "continue their efforts to guarantee an equivalent offer of services in French, without delay, when issuing emergency alerts."

Meanwhile, the report also noted that the absence of French language characters such as "ç, è, é, ê, ë" had been an ongoing issue.

While the government moved to correct the problem for driver's licences as noted in an announcement in September, Burke's office said the issue remains for health cards.

"We are continuing our efforts with the Ministry of Health on this issue, so that complainants who have contacted us can have access to the same service," the report stated.

"Whether it concerns communications during the COVID-19 pandemic or adding French accents on government-issues ID, our government has shown that it is very keen on ensuring Franco-Ontarians receive quality services in their language," said Mulroney, pointing out that several of the issues noted in Burke's report had been resolved.

Burke, who has been tasked with reviewing complaints related to access to French language services by government agencies, joined Ombudsman Paul Dubé's office on Jan. 13. Her office was previously a standalone entity until the Ford government decided to get rid of three independent offices of the legislature — the French language services commissioner, the child advocate and the environment commissioner. While the first two have been folded into the provincial ombudsman’s office, the auditor general’s office has added the environment commissioner’s role to its mandate.