CHAPTER 3 - EQUITABLE PARTICIPATION

General

1. This chapter is divided into two parts. The first provides information on the Equitable Participation of anglophone and francophone DND civilian (Public Service) employees within the Department. The second provides similar information on military personnel.

DND (Public Service)

2. Linguistic Representation by First Official Language (Public Servants). Table 7 represents the distribution of civilian employees (public servants) by province and territory and by First Official Language.

Table 7: CIVILIAN PARTICIPATION BY PROVINCE/TERRITORY OR REGION

Sources: 2001 Census & ADM (HR Mil) PeopleSoft (HRMS), Jan 2004 (Ticket 27957-13B).

Notes: Minor discrepancies in some figures between Tables 1, 7 and 8 are attributed to monthly statistical fluctuations. (2) The provincial/territorial and Canadian population statistics were taken from published Statistics Canada 2001 census figures. The provincial figures group individuals who speak neither Official Language with the provincial Official Language majority. The “Canada” statistics do not include individuals who speak neither Official Language and, therefore, total only 98.6% of the total population. Given the different means of reporting the statistics, the provincial/territorial figures do not add up to the Canadian totals provided in the last line. The DND statistics are based on departmental Human Resources Management System (HRMS) PeopleSoft data.

3. Table 7 shows that New Brunswick is the only province where there is a significant discrepancy between the percentages associated with DND civilian employees and the provincial demographic norms. This is attributed to the fact that Canadian Forces Base Gagetown (and its associated formations and units) is located in a predominantly English-speaking part of the province, even though the province itself is considered to be a “bilingual region.”⁹

⁹ According to the 2001 census figures, of the 80,685 citizens living in the Greater Fredericton Area, in which CFB Gagetown is located, 5,630 (or 7%) were Francophones, 71,590 (or 88.7%) were Anglophones. Three hundred and forty (340) indicated that they spoke French and English; and the remainder (4.3%), that they spoke a language other than French or English. Therefore, the DND linguistic representation in New Brunswick depicted in Table 7 closely mirrors the linguistic composition of the area of the province in which the majority of DND employees work.

4. Linguistic Representation Among Civilian Executives. A review of public servants at the EX level indicates that Anglophones and Francophones are equitably represented, that is to say, in accordance with national demographic levels. The EX group is made up of seventy-five percent (75%) Anglophones and twenty-five percent (25%) Francophones.

5. Linguistic Representation Among DND Civilians (Public Servants). Table 8 provides a further breakdown of civilian personnel by Public Service occupational category and by First Official Language.

Table 8: CIVILIAN (PUBLIC SERVICE) PARTICIPATION (BY FIRST OFFICIAL LANGUAGE)

Source: ADM (HR - Mil), PeopleSoft (HRMS), Feb 2005 (Ticket 94242)

Notes: (1) These statistics include data for public servants who have since transferred to the Office of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, as their data remains stored in HRMS, a matter that should be resolved by next fiscal year. (2) Minor discrepancies in some figures between Tables 1, 7 and 8 are attributed to monthly statistical fluctuations.

Canadian Forces (CF)

6. Linguistic Representation by First Official Language (CF). As is the case with DND public servants, Table 9 demonstrates that the representation of Anglophones and Francophones within the CF closely mirrors the national demographic statistics of 24.1 per cent Francophone and 74.5 Anglophone. The military does not recruit by First Official Language quota nor by bilingual ability, so such statistics have resulted solely from decisions made by individual Canadians from various backgrounds and regions to join the military.

TABLE 9: CF PARTICIPATION BY PROVINCE/TERRITORY OR REGION

Sources: 2001 Census & ADM (HR Mil) PeopleSoft (HRMS), Jan 2005 (Ticket 27957-13A)

Notes: (1) This table is identical to OLIS II Table P1 -Participation by Province, which is included as Appendix 3 to Annex D. (2) Minor discrepancies in some figures between Tables 4, 9, 10, 11 and 12 are attributed to monthly statistical fluctuations. For example, the total number of individuals serving in the CF is presented as 61,175 in this table and 61,504 or 61,428 in other tables. (3) The statistics were taken from published Statistics Canada 2001 census figures and interpreted in the same manner as in Table 7. (Note 2 to Table 7 refers.)

7. Given the fact that military personnel serve nationally, that is to say, they are liable to serve wherever they may be posted at home or abroad, the CF statistics provided in the table above present a picture of a Force that is far more bilingual from coast to coast than is the national norm or than is generally found in the Public Service. This places an extra impetus on the CF to provide key bilingual services to CF members and their families wherever they may live across the country or overseas, and regardless of whether or not such services must be provided bilingually according to the OLA. As described elsewhere throughout this Annual Review and in Annex B, a compendium of some of the Official Languages initiatives and “Best Practices” adopted by National Defence, the CF takes very seriously its obligation to provide strong support to CF members and to their families, including members of the “military linguistic minority communities” it creates throughout Canada and abroad as a result of the military posting system.

8. The Official Languages Model and Promotion of Equitable Participation. The CF has gone far beyond Treasury Board-defined policies to ensure that service personnel have the opportunity to work in their preferred Official Language. In accordance with the CF Official Languages Model, many French- and English-Language Units and Bilingual Units are located throughout the country, providing service personnel with opportunity to serve in their preferred Official Language. For example, the ship HMCS VILLE DE QUÉBEC, which berths in Halifax (a unilingual English-speaking region), has been designated a unilingual French Language Unit to enable French-speaking Canadians who chose to join the Navy to serve in their preferred Official Language. (The Province of Quebec has no coast that would enable Francophones to serve there on sea-going vessels.) Similarly, the Army and Air Force have both French- and English-Language Units that enable Francophone Canadians and Anglophone Canadians to serve in a linguistic environment that corresponds to their preferred Official Language. In addition, all CF schools (national-level training establishments) are designated as bilingual. A handful of out-of-country units and Canada-based units, such as Ranger units in the North where neither French nor English is spoken, remain undesignated in accordance with the Official Languages Model.

9. First Official Language By Rank. Tables 10 and 11 depict a breakdown of First Official Language by officer and non-commissioned member (NCM) ranks. Again, both sets of statistics mirror national demographic percentages fairly closely.

Table 10: CF OFFICERS BY FIRST OFFICIAL LANGUAGE

Source: ADM (HR Mil) PeopleSoft (HRMS), Jan 2005 (Ticket 27957-2B)

Table 11: CF NON-COMMISSIONED MEMBERS (NCMS) (BY FIRST OFFICIAL LANGUAGE)

Source: ADM (HR Mil) PeopleSoft (HRMS), Jan 2005 (Ticket 27957-2B)

10. Table P2 - Participation by Occupational Category has not been included in Annex D owing to the fact that CF NCM and officer occupations are not easily aligned with the Public Service Occupational Categories that appear on that table. Moreover, many of the over one-hundred NCM and officer occupations include elements that could fall into more than one of the defined categories (i.e., “managers,” “professionals,“ “specialists and technicians,” “administrative support” and “operational”). Indicating the francophone and anglophone breakdown in each would provide information of little practical use. It is recommended that readers refer to Tables 10 and 11 above and Table 12 below, which provide comparable data of greater utility.

Table 12: NCM AND OFFICER FIRST OFFICIAL LANGUAGE (BROKEN DOWN BY ENVIRONMENT)

Source: ADM (HR Mil) PeopleSoft (HRMS), Feb 2005 (Data Extracts)

11. Table 12 shows, once again, that the CF’s demographic composition closely resembles that of the country. There are, however, significant fluctuations between the three environments (Army, Navy and Air Force).

12. The relatively low number of Francophones serving in the Regular Force Navy can be largely attributed to the fact that, with the exception of the Chief of Maritime Staff Headquarters (located in Ottawa) and the Naval Reserve Headquarters and CF (Naval Reserve) Fleet School Quebec (both located in Québec City), major Naval units tend to be based on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, which are English-speaking regions. In a deliberate effort to counter the effect of geography on Navy recruiting, eight (8) of Canada’s twenty-six (26) Naval Reserve units and divisions (including Naval Reserve Headquarters and the CF Fleet School Quebec) are located in the Province of Quebec, and twenty-eight percent (28%) of all Naval Reservists are Francophone. This is important, as many Regular Force recruits begin their military careers as Reservists.

13. Both the Army and Air Force have relatively strong Regular Force and Reserve representation within the Province of Quebec and, therefore, generally find it easier to attract recruits there. The Regular Force Army, in particular, has a significant Francophone representation. This may, in part, be due to a long-standing tradition of service in the Cadet Corps and Militia (which is shared with other regions of the country), and a strong Regular Force Army presence in the province. One of the three Regular Force Army Brigade Groups is garrisoned in Québec City and the Chief of Land Staff (Army) Headquarters, now located in the National Capital Region, was formerly located in St-Hubert, Quebec. In addition, the Army’s Combat Training Centre is situated in New Brunswick, a bilingual region.

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