44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 19, 2022 10:00AM
- May/19/22 8:44:50 p.m.
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Madam Chair, my thanks to the member for his indication at the beginning of the question of where he was going with it.
I agree that we have two official languages, and at all times it is important that we have interpretation, especially during the very exceptional circumstances that we have been experiencing.
In budget 2021, we recognized the changing needs of the translation bureau and committed $18 million for the translation bureau to respond to a higher volume of translation and interpretation requests, while continuing to support a remote working environment. This is going to ensure the parliamentarians and Canadians receive timely translation and interpretation services in both official languages, as well as indigenous languages, sign languages and other languages spoken across Canada.
However, I appreciate the member's question with respect to the stress that is being put on them during this very trying time, because of remote work and virtual appearances at committees. We are going to continue to support the translation bureau, and I want to thank them for the great work that they are doing.
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- May/19/22 8:46:02 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I am glad to hear the minister's commitment, but her department's record speaks to the contrary. The minister was a member of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs in 2018 when it reported to the House that the “Translation Bureau...is mandated by statute to be the exclusive provider of translation and interpretation services...to Parliament.”
Does she still stand by the view she helped write in the report?
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- May/19/22 8:46:27 p.m.
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Madam Chair, we want to continuously work with the translation bureau to ensure it can provide the services that are needed. We know there is a stress on the system, and it is actually about hiring interpreters to commit to this. There is a limited pool of expertise in this regard, and we continue to work on it.
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- May/19/22 8:46:53 p.m.
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Madam Chair, we have had committees tightly rationed with meeting time in the past few weeks, and we have seen many committee meetings, including very important meetings, cancelled because of a lack of interpretation services. Simply put, our committees cannot do the things they want, and they certainly cannot hold the government to account adequately.
If her translation bureau is supposed to be the exclusive provider of services, is she not concerned about the lack of resources she is making available to support the proceedings of this House and its committees, and what is the minister doing to actually make sure Parliament has the resources necessary to hold the government to account?
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- May/19/22 8:49:17 p.m.
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Madam Chair, can the minister confirm that there has been a 25% decline in the number of staff interpreters employed by the translation bureau since 2019?
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- May/19/22 8:49:25 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I gave the numbers that we have who are employed with the translation bureau, and we are working hard to increase those numbers. It is a question of getting the skill set that is available.
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- May/19/22 8:49:39 p.m.
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Madam Chair, she has not in the previous question, but can she confirm in this question that there has been nearly a 40% decline in the number of freelance interpreters retained by the bureau since 2019?
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- May/19/22 8:50:21 p.m.
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Madam Chair, the interpretation bureau employed 65 staff interpreters and 56 freelance interpreters in 2019 to 2020.
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