With a workforce in short supply, interpreters supporting Parliament continue to face challenges amid virtual proceedings, and unless more is done to address identified issues and prevent a further dwindling of available interpreters, it could lead to a “critical problem” for Canada’s bilingual Parliament, says Canadian Association of Parliamentary Employees national president Greg Phillips.
“They’re filing incident reports daily,” said Phillips, whose union represents the 65 official language interpreters on staff with the federal Translation Bureau, many of whom, he said, “are considering leaving their job early or seeking other employment because of this.” Problems encountered in covering hybrid meetings have been “unrelenting and merciless” for the past two years, he said.