1 in 4 Bank of Canada managers needs French training

One in every four managers at the Bank of Canada fails to meet the institution's bilingualism requirements, including senior deputy governor Carolyn Rogers, who is nearing the midway point of a seven-year mandate, according to information obtained by Radio-Canada. 

As senior deputy governor, Rogers is the central bank's most senior officer after governor Tiff Macklem, who is bilingual.

She was appointed to the position in the summer of 2021, even though she did not meet bilingualism requirements at the time.

Rogers took intensive French courses in the summers of 2022 and 2023, and also receives one-on-one language training, but she does not yet meet the bank's requirements in terms of managing employees in her second language.

"Regarding the level of French of the senior deputy governor, she has made good progress and is moving towards the level of competence required by her functions," said Bank of Canada spokesperson Sean Gordon.

Her case is not unique. According to the bank, 87 managers — 23 per cent of its 373 managers — have not yet obtained Level 5 in French, which is the standard for their positions. About 50 of them either took French-language courses last fall or will take them this spring.

Gordon said managers at the bank must be able to "follow a conversation that unfolds at a natural pace, communicate clearly using complex sentences, and be able to express oneself spontaneously."

Since the creation of the Bank of Canada in 1935, the first official language of all its governors has been English.

The Bank said it wants all of its employees "to be able to work in the official language of their choice." That includes the economic specialists who help set the key interest rate.

"I reject the assertion that we encourage French-speaking economists to work and make presentations in English. Presentations to senior management, including to the Monetary Policy Review Committee, are made in French," said Paul Badertscher, director of media relations at the bank.

Former employee filed official complaint

When the bank opened the position of senior deputy governor, it specified that candidates needed to be able to work in both official languages. However, Rogers confirmed during a meeting with employees in early 2022 that she was not bilingual.

A former employee of the bank filed a complaint with the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, invoking the provisions of the Official Languages ​​Act requiring senior managers of federal institutions to operate in both French and English.

Radio-Canada is not identifying the complainant because they don't have their current employer's permission to speak publicly about the matter.

According to the complaint, the former employee noted that while an "entry-level position requires mastery of English ... several members of senior management [are] incapable of functioning in French, even after careers spanning several decades."

The complainant added that the lack of bilingualism at the top of the bank's hierarchy "was detrimental to the right to work in French" for all employees.

The commissioner's office concluded the complaint was valid, pointing out that Rogers is not sufficiently bilingual to communicate effectively with bank employees in French.

Bank says it has 'overhauled' language policy

According to documents obtained by Radio-Canada, discussions between the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages ​​and the Bank of Canada continued until the beginning of this year.

The commissioner's office urged the bank to implement "a directive aimed at ensuring respect for the linguistic rights of its employees in communications with senior management of the institution," but in January concluded its recommendation had only been "partially implemented."

In response to questions from Radio-Canada, the bank said it has "overhauled" its internal bilingualism policy.

Among the measures put in place, the bank requires managers to speak in both languages ​​during internal events where simultaneous translation services are available. The institution said it has also created a dashboard to "monitor the evolution of the second language skills of its employees and managers."

The bank also said it assesses the abilities of its senior managers in their second language every three years instead of every five "to reduce the risk of regression and encourage the use of both official languages ​​in the workplace."

Pierre Fortin, an economics professor at l'Université du Québec à Montréal, praised the Bank of Canada's bilingual publications, arguing they stand out from those of other federal institutions.

"These are the only publications that I read without having to resort to the English version to understand the French version," Fortin said.

Former bank officials said most of the work there is carried out in English and later translated to French.

Lawyer Darius Bossé, who represents the former employee who filed the complaint after Rogers's appointment, said the bank has a long way to go before it's compliant with the requirements of the Official Languages ​​Act.

He urged the government to stop appointing unilingual people in the hope that they will quickly learn a second language.

"The government takes for granted that language proficiency can be achieved over time, while people are working, even though it's clear that those skills are required from the start in order to supervise and manage employees in both official languages," Bossé said.