This is a perfect illustration of the type of interpretation problem that arose at the IRB, since the wonderful and talented House of Commons interpreters are obviously not able to translate that into English.
Elsewhere, the interpreter said: “Quand je fais la demande d'asile, j'ai utilisé la adresse permanente, mais dans autre adresse, ma famille habitait dans cette adresse-là. Mes parents habitaient dans cette adresse-là.”
To understand the real meaning, you'll have to listen to him in French—if you can manage to understand.
Later on, the interpreter said: “Ils sont moi aidés pas.”
The IRB member interjected: “Pardon?”
The interpreted repeated: “Ils sont moi aidés pas”, meaning “they did not help me.”
So then, the lawyer said in French: “Ils ne m'ont pas aidé.”
The interpreter incorrectly said: “Ils sont...Ils sont moi...Ils sont aidés pas, parce qu'ils ne savaient pas où pour aller pour chercher la document.”
A while later, the interpreter said: “Je suis blank.”
The IRB member said: “Je suis...”
The interpreter repeated: “Je suis blank.”
That prompted the IRB member to ask: ““What does that mean: “Je suis blank?” Does it mean: “Je ne me rappelle pas?”
The interpreter replied in French: “Maintenant, je ne me rappelle pas ni, mais si ça vient dans mémoire revient, je vous diserai.”
I could go on, but our time is limited, so I will stop there. Clearly, even though the interpreter assigned to this hearing had the very best of intentions, the IRB member made a serious mistake once again. He allowed someone who is not fluent in French to work as an interpreter on a case which could mean either life or death for a person, to interpret statements made in a foreign language.
That the IRB member made a mistake is one thing that we can accept However, you went to court as the minister and you paid lawyers to say that unless evidence to the contrary was presented, the interpreter was deemed to be qualified.
Should such an important determination as to whether a person is or is not a refugee be made on the basis of such a poor interpretation?