Language Commissioner recommendation 2: That the government immediately take steps to ensure the appropriate training and certification of interpreters and translators and ensure that there’s a registry of interpreters and translators that is available to both the public and private sector.

With the closure of the aboriginal language section of the Language Bureau in the mid-1990s, the GNWT lost capacity in the areas of language standards, terminology development, training and accreditation. The precarious situation of our aboriginal languages combined with the declining numbers of mother-tongue speakers makes the need to actively address the revitalization of the aboriginal languages more urgent.

In recent years the former Language Commissioner and the Special Committee on the Review of the Official Languages Act spoke to the need for capacity building through the development of translation standards as well as training and certification standards for interpreters and translators.

The Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight recommended in its “Report on the Review of the 2004–2005 Annual Report of the Languages Commissioner” that “the GNWT work with Aurora College to deliver a basic interpreter-translator training program for aboriginal languages as well as specialized training for medical terminology.”

In its response to the report, the government indicated that while it generally supported the idea,

it “delegated” the responsibility for action to Aurora College and further made any action dependent on “sufficient demand and program funding.” The government’s response did not indicate any specific steps towards such an undertaking.

A year later the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight recommended in its “Report on the Review of the 2005–2006 Annual Report of the Language Commissioner” that “the GNWT implement a plan for the training and certification of interpreters and translators.”

During the review of the 2006–2007 annual report, the Standing Committee on Government Operations discussed with the commissioner the fact that, despite repeated recommendations by the Languages Commissioner and by standing committees of the Legislative Assembly, the GNWT has not made any progress on training programs and certification of interpreter-translators in aboriginal languages.

During this discussion the committee also encouraged the commissioner to follow up on her recommendations in accordance with her mandate and powers under the act. The committee suggested that the commissioner include a status section on previous recommendations in future annual reports.

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to ask my colleague from Nunakput to continue the report.