Under the Official Languages Act (OLA), travellers at Pearson have the right to communicate and obtain services in either French or English. This includes regulatory, safety, emergency and wayfinding information.
This Hub serves as a centralized resource for all of our airport workers and defines best practices to achieve a high level of service to passengers in compliance with the OLA.
Official Languages Toolkit
To help us work together in meeting our official languages commitments, as outlined in our Official Languages Plan, please review our employee toolkit, which includes:
- Service standards
- Role-specific guidance and resources
- Escalation pathways
- Support and resources
Service standards
Core expectations
- All communications, services, and signage visible to the public must be bilingual (English and French) and of equal quality.
- Exception: Internal, business-to-business, or technical content does not need translation under the OLA.
What do we mean by equal?
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✅ Equal status Same font size, layout, and placement |
✅ Equal use Always offer both English and French up front |
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✅ Equal access French options shouldn’t be hidden or harder to find |
✅ Equal quality The experience must feel the same in tone, clarity and professionalism Avoid poor machine translation or outdated terms Both versions should reflect our brand |
Minimum service standards
Travellers must be able to:
- Access services in their language of choice at any time
- Receive consistent bilingual service across touchpoints (e.g., announcements, signage, interactions)
Key behaviours expected of all employees
If you have a RAIC, you may be approached or called by a French speaker.
You’re expected to:
- Use the active offer: Always greet with “Hello / Bonjour”
- Provide service in the passenger’s preferred language. If unable:
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Say “Un moment, s’il vous plaît” = “One moment, please”
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Connect them to a bilingual colleague or approved language support tools (e.g., a language line service)
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Guide them to the nearest information counter or the airport’s bilingual assistance line numbers: (416)-AIRPORT or 1 (866) 207-1690.
- Ensure passenger-facing content is bilingual and of equal quality and prominence before it is published or displayed. No handwritten signage
Do not switch the passenger to English by default, unless they do so on their own terms. Refrain from using Google Translate or AI as much as possible, especially for complex translations, as they cannot be verified; quick and simple translations (e.g., where is gate D30) should be acceptable.
Suggested actions for managers and supervisors
✓ Audit your materials, translation tools and passenger touchpoints
✓ When possible, schedule French-speaking personnel on every shift and ensure staff know how to reach them
✓ Train staff on basic bilingual greetings and how to access support to further the conversation (e.g., interpreting tools)
✓ Use pre-recorded announcements where possible
Role-specific guidance and resources
If you are employed by the GTAA, please visit the GTAA employee portal [link to new portal page] for relevant guidance and resources.
Additional resources for workers employed by an airline operator
The table below provides an overview of bilingual expectations.
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✅ Must be bilingual (Public-facing content) |
❌ Does not require translation (Internal/Non-Public) |
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Additional considerations:
- For airline signage, English and French can be after the national language of the airline, as long as English and French are present.
- Please avoid using handwritten signage.
Additional resources for concession partners
Your lease agreements and The Pearson Standard require you to communicate and provide services in both languages. This is typically included in lease agreements and tenant manuals.
What this means for you:
- Communications and services with the public must be in both English and French. It is a requirement that you have personnel on each shift that are able to converse effectively with passengers wishing to speak French to meet their needs and experience, or through access to a 24-hour language line service.
- Active offer “hello/bonjour”
- Communications and services in both languages must be of equal quality
The table below provides an overview of bilingual expectations.
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✅ Must be bilingual |
❌ Does not require translation |
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When in doubt, go bilingual — better customer experience, more inclusive, and alignment with GTAA’s policy.
Escalation pathways
Here are a few examples of when to escalate a bilingual compliance issue:
- Unilingual signage Inability to serve a passenger in French
- Repeated announcement failures
- Tenant or airline non-compliance
- Complaints from passengers
Escalation flow
Step 1 – Immediate action
- Support the passenger (find bilingual support / workaround)
Step 2 – Notify
- Supervisor or duty manager
- GTAA official languages representative who can assist or clarify concerns, if needed
Step 3 – Document
- Location
- Issue type (signage, service, communications)
- Time/date
- Photos if applicable
Step 4 – Follow-up
- Ensure the issue is tracked and resolved (e.g., audits, signage updates, partner follow-up)
Support and resources
Have questions?
Please contact OfficialLanguages@gtaa.com.
Tools
- View this job aid for an overview of our bilingual expectations for employees.
- View this curated list of external and internal resources for additional support related to official languages.