LANG Committee Report

SUPPLEMENTARY REPORT FROM THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY ON THE STUDY OF THE TRANSLATION BUREAU

The New Democratic Party of Canada (NDP) would like to thank all who appeared before or submitted written briefs to the Standing Committee on Official Languages during the Committee’s study of the Translation Bureau.

The NDP supports the report and all of the recommendations made by the Committee. However, we would like to make the following remarks concerning the role of the Translation Bureau, its budget and the next generation of translators, as well the more general issue of governance over official languages within the federal government. 

The Translation Bureau’s objectives are larger than simply translation and interpretation. It aims to further the mission of the Official Languages Act by maintaining the equality of both official languages and preserving the integrity and quality of the translations it provides. Limiting the purpose of the Translation Bureau to mere input and output fails to recognize the greater impact it holds on the application of the Official Languages Act.

“In a normal and ideal situation, the Translation Bureau does more than that. It promotes language, it plays a role in the standardization of language through its terminologists.”  - André Picotte[1]

“There is also a cultural aspect to our work that we mentioned in our brief. We stand up for linguistic duality. We care about more than producing words and paying our bills.”  - André Picotte[2]

The NDP therefore believes that the government must stop this practice of pushing the Translation Bureau aside and must recognize its role and specific mandate. We call on the government to implement Recommendation 8 by October 31, 2016, at the latest.

In addition to this, it is essential for the government to restore the financial resources required by the Translation Bureau to carry out its mandate. The repeated cuts made by Conservative governments and continued by the current Liberal government have resulted, and will continue to result in, a loss of expertise and lack of vision for the future within the Translation Bureau.

“In a context where several federal institutions have lost resources and where 31% of Translation Bureau jobs have disappeared, it is not surprising that corners are often cut in the federal government when it comes to communication in both official languages. However, that changes nothing in terms of institutions' language obligations, and that is where we share the concerns of many stakeholders regarding the Portage tool.” - Sylviane Lanthier[3]

In addition, without the perspective provided by the youth benefiting from internship programs such as Traduca, we limit the development of future interpreters and the quality of work provided by the Translation Bureau. The government must reinstate this program or introduce a similar one.

“We are losing expertise, especially in scientific and technical translation. As I said just now, we had accumulated tons of expertise over the years and the decades. The veterans had that expertise, but they have left.” - André Picotte[4]

“Beforehand, when young people were hired, the experienced people trained them and passed on their knowledge. Now, those people are leaving and nothing is left any more […] In other words, the Bureau is killing scientific and technical translation.” - André Picotte[5]

Lastly, we would also like to draw attention to the question of responsibility concerning the direction of the Translation Bureau. The Honourable Judy Foote, the current Minister of Public Services and Procurement, failed to find the time to attend a committee meeting regarding this study, which leads us to ask who is in charge since she clearly doesn’t see this as her priority. The Treasury Board and Canadian Heritage are both in positions where they could be considered overseers of the Translation Bureau. This question raises the broader matter of monitoring the enforcement of the Official Languages Act within government, as mentioned by Ms. Bossé of the FCFA.  

“From 2009 until the elections last fall, we have repeatedly asked the government to appoint an authority responsible for enforcing the act. Currently, as Ms. Lanthier said, Canadian Heritage has an important role to play, as do Justice Canada and Treasury Board. Those are the three federal institutions responsible for the enforcement of the Official Languages Act. Each one of them has a specific role to play involving different parts of the act. However, none of these ministers, pursuant to their respective mandates, have the authority to tell their colleagues what they must do in their department, or to ask them to ensure that the legislation is applied. That is the authority we are asking for, or which we had been asking for up until the fall. The reply we got was that no such authority existed.”    - Suzanne Bossé[6]

The decentralized model put forward by the previous government has been an abject failure. The NDP has raised this matter many times since the Liberal government came to power, but the Liberals have yet to show any real interest in strengthening the governance of official languages. We call on the government to implement Recommendation 1 of the Committee immediately.