Those are excellent questions.
First of all, it's important to point out that the Translation Bureau is part of the public administration, and as such, subject to the values and ethics code for the public sector. The Translation Bureau is within the Public Services and Procurement Canada portfolio, which also has a code of conduct. These two codes govern cases of violence and harassment not only within the department, but also in dealings with the public or clients. It's worth noting that 90 to 100 departments and agencies use the bureau's services. This includes translation services, but what we're looking at today is interpretation.
We won't deny that the interpreters here are rather invisible. Things can often happen behind the window of the interpreters' booth. At a liaison committee meeting, we met the committee chairs and were able to discuss ways of improving communications to ensure that the chair or the clerk would be informed if any incidents were to occur in the interpreters' booth.
I can give you an example of certain types of behaviour. You've no doubt already heard about people who twist the cord of their earpiece while speaking. It's not necessarily done consciously. It's often a nervous tick during debate. It's like what some people do when they nervously fiddle with a pencil. But it can definitely jeopardize the interpreters' work. It can also be perceived, not as a lack of respect, but as a lack of familiarity with the dangers of the Larsen effect. That's why stickers are posted to explain how to proceed.
In some instances, meetings had to be interrupted. We spoke about people who are online. There was one instance in which, even though the witness had a working microphone, there was no sound. It's impossible to interpret what you can't hear. When that happens, the meeting has to be interrupted. Once the interpretation is working again following an interruption, you can sense that the committee is eager to get on with the meeting. Sometimes there are heated debates during committee meetings.
Those are the sorts of situations that can arise. We have so far dealt with them in discussions.
I'm going to ask Mr. Ball, an experienced interpreter, to tell you more about it.