I cannot continue to take part in committee meetings if the interpreters are unable to interpret. The excuses range from people not muting their microphones to sound checks not having been done to make sure the interpreters can hear the witnesses clearly.
Regardless, I want you to know that there is an issue right now. Throughout Mr. Attaran's entire presentation, which was highly relevant, the interpreter stopped speaking a number of times because she couldn't hear what he was saying clearly enough to interpret his comments. I, however, could hear Mr. Attaran perfectly when the interpreter stopped speaking. She flagged the problem repeatedly during his statement.
It baffles me that there is no mechanism to ensure the clerk receives the message quickly so you can deal with the problem right away. Even if I wanted to listen to the speaker in English, I couldn't. All I hear is the interpreter saying that she can't interpret what is being said.
As a member of the linguistic minority of Canada—and North America—I am just as entitled to hear what witnesses are saying.