Government's Response to the Study of the Translation Bureau

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Feb. 9, 2017) - Public Services and Procurement Canada

Today, the Honourable Judy M. Foote, Minister of Public Services and Procurement, speaking before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages, re-iterated her support for Canada's Official Languages and announced a series of measures to strengthen the Translation Bureau. 

The Government is committed to renewing the Translation Bureau as a centre of excellence ready to embrace innovation, adopt leading-edge practices, and recruit the best in class. Minister Foote detailed a comprehensive vision for investing in the Translation Bureau, which in addition to hiring a new Chief Executive Officer, includes hiring a Chief Quality Officer to guarantee the Translation Bureau's linguistic services are of the highest quality.

The Bureau will also focus on ending the era of cuts and building the next generation of talent by hiring a minimum of 50 students a year in each of the next five years, and will make these opportunities available to students in regional offices so as to increase capacity for Official Languages across Canada.

Minister Foote has requested that a review be undertaken to return the Translation Bureau to a mandatory service for government departments. In addition, the Minister re-iterated the Government's commitment to ensuring interpreters continue to be accredited by the Translation Bureau. Finally, the Request for Standing Offers for conference interpretation services has been cancelled and a new process will be undertaken in collaboration with stakeholders to reflect the Government's priority that quality of interpretation services remains at the core of our linguistic services.

These measures will restore the Translation Bureau as a center of excellence for delivering high-quality translation and interpretation services.

Quick Facts

• The Translation Bureau manages 80% of the volume of the federal government's translation needs. 
• The Bureau will continue to operate its network of regional offices, which employ about one-quarter of the Bureau's 1,300 employees. 
• Aligned with the Prime Minister's Youth Strategy and as part of the Government of Canada's ongoing engagement with students and universities, the Bureau commits to hiring a minimum of 50 students per year in each of the next 5 years from translation programs, such as those of the following Universities:
  Université de Moncton
  Université Laval
  Université d'Ottawa
  Université de Trois-Rivières
  Université de Montréal
  Université Concordia
  Université du Québec en Outaouais (FSWEP - Federal Student Work Experience Program only)
  Université de Sherbrooke
  McGill University
  Glendon College
  Université de Saint-Boniface

Quotes

"The measures announced today demonstrate our government's strong commitment to Official Languages, and our plan for renewing the Bureau and strengthening its capacity to carry out its important mandate. The Translation Bureau plays a key role in supporting Canada's linguistic duality throughout the country. Canada is a world leader in maintaining the highest standards in terminology, translation and interpretation."

The Honourable Judy M. Foote, Minister of Public Services and Procurement

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