Air Canada announced additional Official Languages initiatives that will strengthen and reinforce its commitment to bilingualism in its corporate culture.

Two Executive Vice-Presidents, supported by the senior management team, have been mandated to continuously review and improve Air Canada's Official Languages practices. These new initiatives were shared with all employees last week and have been well received.

From commitment to actions

• Establish Official Languages Branch

Air Canada's new Official Languages Branch will have responsibility for implementing Air Canada's Linguistic Action Plan and reporting progress to executive management on a quarterly basis. This dedicated team will also allow Official Language initiatives across the corporation to be deployed more effectively.

• More training to sustain bilingual service delivery

Air Canada will invest in increasing its language classes and enhance course offerings to enable employees to continuously improve their language skills. Starting this summer, the airline will be launching new training modules to all frontline and management employees to continue fostering the values of Official Languages and inform them of all tools available.

• Recognition and commitment

Air Canada is elevating bilingualism in its internal employee excellence recognition programs. The airline will also implement a special incentive to employees who recommend bilingual candidates who are subsequently hired.

Air Canada is Canada's largest private sector company offering bilingual services across Canada and is proud to offer services in both Official Languages, demonstrating true leadership among major Canadian companies in promoting bilingualism. Over the years, Air Canada has implemented a series of sustained initiatives in its Linguistic Action Plan, to maintain delivery of the services offered to customers in both official languages and to promote a bilingual workplace.