According to a press release shared with Slator by the International Association of Conference Interpreters (AIIC Canada), 75% of accredited freelance official language interpreters who work in parliament have refused to sign an extension of the procurement arrangement they entered into last year. The contract expired on June 30th, 2024. 

Interpreters take issue with the decision made by Canada’s Translation Bureau (TB) to extend for a second year the open contract with substantive changes. The extension option was included a year ago provided that, upon renewal, the original contract conditions still stood.

The press release says the contract extension includes an amendment that accredited freelancers “believe would substantially change the conditions under which they provide their services.” It also says that the TB warned that even if the interpreters did not sign, the amendment would be applicable to all types of contracts.

The contract change includes a new rule that would pause the remunerated working clock for interpreters every time a parliamentary proceeding pauses in the House or Senate for votes or for any other reason.

A new rule that would pause the remunerated working clock for interpreters every time a parliamentary proceeding pauses.

Nicole Gagnon, spokesperson for AIIC, said in the press release that “many freelancers regard the TB’s actions as a breach of contract and an unacceptable change to the way interpreters work, especially in parliament. ‘Stop-and-go’ interpreting simply does not exist anywhere in our profession. Yet the TB is trying to keep freelancers waiting in the booth during pauses in parliamentary proceedings without counting their time. It’s like refusing to pay the taxi driver when his vehicle is stopped at a red light.”

A Contentious History

According to the press release, the Office of the Procurement Ombudsman announced on July 11, 2024, that it is reviewing complaints from dozens of freelance interpreters about the TB and the Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) agency.

For several years, the TB has made changes to the working conditions of translators and interpreters (see for example Slator’s coverage from 2016). The common thread is that the measurements taken by the government agency seem to always meet with criticism from other official entities and protests by linguists and labor unions. 

The shortage of qualified interpreters was once again mentioned in this press release. The changes in working conditions interpreters object to, according to AIIC, also mean that fewer accredited interpreters will work in Parliament. As a survey conducted by the organization concluded, this issue is compounded by the impending retirement of close to half of interpreters serving in parliamentary sessions.

On this topic, Gagnon said in the press release that “The shortage of accredited interpreters has become an entrenched fact of life that the TB has been struggling with for years. That’s why it is hard to understand its behavior if it results in fewer accredited freelancers being willing to work in Parliament.”

The agreement extension impasse is the latest in a series of contentious clashes between accredited interpreters and the TB. Earlier in June 2024, and represented by the Canadian Association of Professional Employees (CAPE), over 90% of parliamentary staff interpreters signed a petition against what they call uncompensated additional work assigned since February 2024 by the TB.

The rationale presented by the TB was that the interpreters had extra time during their hybrid shifts, not taking into account that interpreters need to prepare for their assignments, according to CAPE representatives.

Slator contacted the TB for a comment but has not received a response at the time of publication.