INTRODUCTION

From 7 to 9 February 2017, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages (the Committee) turned its attention to the Translation Bureau (TB) again to follow up on the recommendations made in its report, presented to the House of Commons in June 2016.[1]

GENERAL OBSERVATION

The Committee is satisfied with the measures that the Hon. Judy Foote, Minister of Public Services and Procurement, announced when she appeared before the Committee on 9 February 2017. Her testimony, seen as a supplementary government response to the Committee’s report,[2] addressed all of the recommendations that the Committee had made concerning the TB in the summer of 2016.

A NEW ERA FOR THE TRANSLATION BUREAU

In broad terms, Minister Foote and Deputy Minister Marie Lemay announced the start of a new era for the TB.[3]

On the subject of governance, the Minister stated that the process is under way to hire a new chief executive officer (CEO). The CEO’s priorities will focus on quality, hiring and training.[4]

The TB is also creating the position of chief quality officer, which will be filled by a language professional. In addition to overseeing the quality of the TB’s services and products, the chief quality officer will “take part in decision-making on training, technology, staffing, and other issues.”[5]

On the issue of the status of TB services, Minister Foote has contacted the Hon. Scott Brison, President of the Treasury Board, and asked for his support in considering a mandatory service delivery model for the Translation Bureau.[6]

With regard to human resources, the Minister acknowledged that there has been a loss of corporate expertise in recent years and she made a commitment to reverse this trend.[7] To transfer knowledge and prepare the next generation of professionals, the TB will hire language students (50 per year over five years), restore the co-op program and introduce initiatives to bring together experienced professionals and those just starting out in their careers.[8] The Bureau has already entered into discussions with the Canadian post-secondary institutions that train language professionals.

Lastly, the Committee is very pleased with the Minister’s announcement about cancelling the new procurement system for freelance interpretation services.[9] The Canadian Branch of the International Association of Conference Interpreters pointed out that this new system, which would award contracts based on the lowest bid, would “undermine the government's ability to meet its official languages obligations.”[10]

CONCLUSION

The Committee urges Minister Foote to act on the public commitments she made on 9 February 2017 regarding the TB:

• Hire a new CEO and ensure the person is in place before 31 March 2017.
• Ensure that the CEO’s immediate priorities are quality, hiring and training within the TB.
• Create the position of chief quality officer and ensure the position is held by a language professional who reports directly to the CEO.
• Set up a service line that federal institutions can call to obtain advice on linguistic services.
• Ensure that the TB hires at least 50 students per year over the next five years.
• Implement initiatives to increase the number of interpreter graduates from recognized universities to support additional hiring by the TB and the language industry.
• Ensure the TB restores its co-op program.
• Ensure the TB continues to operate its network of regional offices.
• Have the TB work closely with the Canada School of Public Service to introduce training as of spring 2017 for new public servants on the Government of Canada’s language obligations, particularly with regard to translation.
• Implement the plan that has been developed to have professional translators regularly review the content of the language comprehension tool.
• Pursuant to the decision to cancel the request for standing offer, ensure that the TB develops a new approach for awarding contracts based on areas of expertise and further consultations with representatives from across the interpretation industry.

In conclusion, the Committee would like to acknowledge the outstanding contribution made by the Translation Bureau’s translators, interpreters and terminologists as well as all of its employees to building a country that is proud and respectful of its two official languages.