I think post-secondary institutions need to be encouraged to train qualified interpreters for every region of the country. There were unacceptable situations in Alberta where the interpretation was inadequate. When the Alberta Ministry of Justice retains someone to interpret court proceedings, the person does not have to be a member of the Association of Translators and Interpreters of Alberta or other appropriate professional body. And the results are not acceptable.
In Alberta, I've seen that kind of thing happen at every level, from the provincial court to the court of appeal. For example, someone who is trying to earn a living can offer their services to the ministry even if they don't have the necessary education or if they have been trained as an interpreter or translator but not a legal one. We end up with people who don't know the terminology. If we are provided with an interpreter specializing in meteorology, well, it isn't the same.
I can assure you that in some cases where the accused is not represented by counsel, the Crown itself has recognized the problem. The Vaillant case in Calgary is an example of that. The judge, in other words, the Crown, recognized that the interpretation was so inadequate that, had the accused had a lawyer, that lawyer would have requested that the case be dismissed. Consequently, the charges were withdrawn. In fact, the Crown prosecutor had already corrected the interpreter once. The judge had done so as well, and by the end, even the accused had started correcting the interpreter. The accused even added that he should offer his services as an interpreter, so he could earn as good of a living as he did as a truck driver.