Procedure and House Affairs committee  Madam Chair, may I speak?

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I just wanted to add to what Mr. Phillips said about the injuries to interpreters being serious. Fewer and fewer interpreters are available. I must say that the Translation Bureau has been listening and has introduced basic health measures. No one is worried about potential COVID-19 infection.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  It certainly would, Ms. Normandin. Right now, I would say that 75% of the work is interpretation from English to French and 25% is from French to English. I don't have statistics, I am providing figures based on my personal impression. Of course, members are free to speak in the language of their choice.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I can certainly try to answer your question, Ms. Normandin. The Translation Bureau and the professional association are not responsible for any technical matters. We provide you with interpreters. Administration staff take care of the technical side of things. What you are describing is indeed a problem.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you very much for that question. I would be happy to answer it to the best of my ability. Acoustic shock presents symptoms like a concussion where you have headaches, nausea, difficulty with this fog we're talking about. I'm sure you know that concussions are cumulative in impact over time.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Improvements have been made. Of course, virtual Parliament goes back some six weeks now. Staff interpreters were working these sessions and reporting back to the Translation Bureau. Because of that, the Translation Bureau has been talking to the House administration. Freelancers only went back to the Hill last week, and after a week, they have been reporting back to their association as well about these issues we've raised.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  We will endeavour to do so, yes.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes, I realize that Mr. Moseley from the Zoom corporation assured you that there was an interpretation functionality on the Zoom platform. That is true, but it is minimal. In the case of the Government of Canada, specifically parliamentary services, although the House administration has adopted a Zoom platform, it has been modified, so to speak, because of security concerns, first and foremost, and the end-to-end encryption that is required.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  So, as I was saying, our desire to be a bilingual country is written into the Official Languages Act and enshrined in the Constitution, which clearly obliges the federal government to provide access of equal quality to its proceedings in the country's two official languages. Neither the quality of the communication, nor the access to that communication in either official language can be overlooked in times of crisis.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you for the invitation, ladies and gentlemen. If you recognize my voice, but you cannot place who I am, it's because you are accustomed to hearing me, not seeing me, when I am in the interpreting booth at your service. The International Association of Conference Interpreters of Canada, or simply AIIC Canada, is the only national association representing conference interpreters in the country, both freelancers and Translation Bureau staff professionals.