At a minimum, it is a breach of members’ parliamentary privilege if the interpreters are no longer able to interpret. That could have been mentioned in the motion. In any event, when the interpreters cannot keep interpreting, either because of decorum issues or because of health and safety risks, there’s a problem.
Every time an issue comes up, I don’t want to have to ask the interpreters whether they can keep interpreting from a health standpoint. This puts a lot of strain on them. I must say, the interpreters do an outstanding job. In many cases, they interpret our remarks in extremely difficult conditions. It is only when they’ve hit their limit that they tell us they are no longer able to do their job.
Making sure that interpreters are safe and that their health is protected is a real concern. It’s important that the chair feel he is justified in suspending the meeting in those situations. We have to make sure that everyone can do their job without jeopardizing their health.