Canada: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada must cultivate better relations with official language communities, says Graham Fraser

[Harold Schiffman]

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada must cultivate better relations with
official language communities, says Graham Fraser

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) must take additional measures
to better serve producers from official language minority communities,
states the Commissioner of Official Languages.

“Farmers who know their land know the best time to plow, what to
plant, when to harvest and the best way to go about it,” said Graham
Fraser, upon the release of an audit report published today. “The same
goes for planning and implementing programs and services for Canadian
producers in the language of their choice.”

Commissioner Fraser is pleased with the Supreme Court’s ruling a few
weeks ago in Desrochers. “There was a difference of opinion between
AAFC and the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages with
regard to the scope of AAFC’s obligations to take into account the
specific needs of official language minority communities when
developing and delivering services for these communities. This recent
ruling clarifies the issue and AAFC, like other federal institutions,
must act accordingly.”

The federal, provincial and territorial governments share
responsibility for developing and implementing a Canadian agricultural
policy. Commissioner Fraser therefore recommends that AAFC consult
with the communities in order to have a greater influence on
provincial and territorial governments to better meet specific
community needs.

“As the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages audit report
points out, renewing agreements between the federal, provincial and
territorial governments in the context of a new national agriculture
policy gives AAFC the opportunity to clarify its expectations in terms
of communications and services in both official languages,” explained
Mr. Fraser.

The Office of the Commissioner conducted an audit on services to the
public provided in both official languages by AAFC offices designated
to provide bilingual services. The audit found that the bilingual
capacity of these offices at times falls short, particularly in
Western Canada. However, all the offices audited in Quebec were able
to provide satisfactory service in English, both by telephone and in
person.

The Commissioner made eight recommendations to help AAFC fulfill its
responsibilities under the Official Languages Act. The Department has
already taken some measures to implement the recommendations.

“AAFC has taken some corrective measures since we shared our results
with the organization. It must implement formal mechanisms to identify
and overcome the technical and structural issues that are keeping it
from improving active offer and delivering bilingual services,” added
the Commissioner.

http://news.gc.ca/web/article-eng.do?m=/index&nid=439809

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