The Government of Ontario is "struggling to attract and retain bilingual staff" to meet its French language service requirements in many designated areas of the province, according to the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery (MSPE) in internal documents dated last January.

This observation is part of the transition documents for the new Deputy Minister of Francophone Affairs, Rawda Moussa.

ServiceOntario offices located in certain areas of the province are required to provide services in French and respect the principle of active offer, which was legislated in the French Language Services Act when it was first introduced in April.

"I find it difficult to see how the government can hope to achieve or even meet its own regulations regarding active offer and providing services in French, which is concerning," said François Larocque, a linguistic law professor at the University of Ottawa.

About one hundred French-speaking agents...

According to documents obtained by CBC, there are nearly 100 French-speaking agents in 108 ServiceOntario offices located in 27 designated areas of the province. However, the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery (MSPE) confirms via email that each office has an agent who speaks French.

The number of agents in the designated areas was not known to Fabian Hébert, president of the Franco-Ontarian Association (AFO), who said that labor shortages are probably the biggest challenge facing the French-speaking community.

To ensure the sustainability of French language services currently, the province must make sure it properly promotes French-speaking positions, then bilingual ones, in order to attract staff.

Hiring French-speaking and bilingual workers represents the second pillar of Ontario’s French Language Services strategy launched in 2021. The government then wrote that the quality of French services depends heavily on the availability of a workforce capable of providing services in French.

François Larocque said that even if each office has a French-speaking agent, this will not allow the province to respect the standard of true equality.

This standard requires that any French-speaking client visiting a ServiceOntario office—whether at 9 a.m. on Monday or 4 p.m. on Thursday—be able to access services in French at the same time as an Ontario resident using English.

Also, according to the Ministry of Public and Business Services (MPSE), the overall labor shortage affects the hiring of bilingual staff.

In an email, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union said that the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery (MSPE) is having difficulties finding enough bilingual employees due to low salaries. The union says that positions designated as bilingual remain vacant.

Annual reports from the Services Commissioner since its integration into the Ontario Ombudsman’s office in 2020 also reported year-after-year problems in providing services in French at ServiceOntario offices.