Official Languages Committee on May 30th, 2016

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Welcome to the witnesses, and thank you for being here with us today.

I am happy that you took into consideration the comments we received from witnesses and that you chose the word "comprehension" rather than "translation". I believe that it's very fitting.

Earlier we talked about whether it would be better to use the tool that is already available rather than wait for our report, which should be tabled soon. What do you think?

[Donna Achimov]

The public service is actually in need of modern tools. This need exists and will continue to exist. We think it's a good thing to have tools that are well adapted to the public service, not only to help with comprehension, but also to maintain language skills in the future.

I am also the chair of the Council of the Network on Official Languages Champions. We are working very hard to change the culture in the federal government and to make sure that people are genuinely eager to explore and use new tools such as the comprehension tool to improve and to preserve the two official languages.

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

The comprehension tool has been in place for a few weeks. Up to this point, have things been going well?

[Donna Achimov]

Yes.

Ms. Gauthier, would you like to speak to that?

[Nancy Gauthier]

The latest numbers we have are that, since the launch, we've had approximately 98,000 requests through the tool.

Most people who used the tool said that it met their needs.

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Thank you.

Are the users told that it's a comprehension tool? Was there a notice to that effect?

[Donna Achimov]

We worked hard to emphasize that it's actually a comprehension tool. We spoke with all the directors general of corporate communications. We shared information with the official languages champions and with all the human resources authorities, who are part of most of the organizations responsible for official languages.

We engaged quite robustly with the existing communities that were very much key to ensuring that we send out the appropriate messaging. Also, when we did message, we went to not only the deputies in each department but to the champions of official languages, as well as the heads of communication.

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Mr. Vandal, go ahead.

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB]

A number of people mentioned that the tool was a comprehension tool and not a communication tool.

Do you have any comments? What do you think?

[Donna Achimov]

Thank you for the question.

It is clear to us that professional translators are responsible for translating official documents. We tried very hard to provide a better understanding of what the tool should be used for, and professional translators are still responsible for translating official documents. The tool is really meant to help with comprehension.

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB]

Which means that—

[Lucie Séguin, Vice-President, Corporate Services, Translation Bureau, Department of Public Works and Government Services]

If I may, Mr. Chair, I would like to clarify a point raised by Ms. Lapointe and Mr. Vandal.

When using the language comprehension tool, people are asked to check a box to certify that they read the terms of use. The terms explicitly state that the service does not replace translation services and that the tool is designed for comprehension.

We also provide links to professional language services. We hope that, with all these enhancement measures, including the acceptance of the terms of use, the users will be well-informed.

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB]

Okay. There is always some form of control for all communications.

Your 2016-17 report on plans and priorities includes a crowdsourcing objective. What does this involve?

[Nancy Gauthier]

Crowdsourcing refers to a collaborative effort to find content through a specific community. For example, crowdsourcing is done for projects. This entails looking for ideas. You have already heard of crowdfunding, which involves finding funding for certain projects.

Crowdsourcing is not necessarily specific to the translation industry, but it has been seen in the industry to be included in their workflow.

First, we send a document to a community of language experts. Professional translators then do post-editing as part of their work flow. It's a way to look for help with terminology, translation, or another area requiring expertise. It's collaborative.

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB]

Are they people outside the government?

[Nancy Gauthier]

Yes, absolutely.

The communities may be very large or very small. For translated texts or texts requiring a specific expertise, we must ensure that the communities have the expertise.

We would have a community that is particularly certified in a certain area to contribute to a task of that type of collaborative nature.

[The Chair, Liberal, Denis Paradis]

Thank you.

Ms. Boucher, go ahead.

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d’Orléans—Charlevoix, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you to the witnesses for being here.

You just spoke of post-editing, a subject often raised in the comments that we have heard.

Can you explain what post-editing is? Is there specific training for post-editing, and who is qualified to do it? It's important for us to understand what post-editing is.

[Adam Gibson]

Good question. Thank you.

Roughly speaking, post-editing is a form of quality assurance.

There are freelancers who work on contract for us. We post-edit their texts to make sure that the texts meet our quality standards. We do the same for a text translated using a technological tool. We review or post-edit the texts. It's a type of quality assurance. We determine which of our employees are qualified to post-edit. They are often more experienced translators.

It's a challenge faced by our sector. We are talking with the universities and with our colleagues in the private sector or from professional associations. We are focusing more on universities and other centres to establish formal post-editing training. At this time, post-editing training is more often done through mentoring. We pair the less experienced translators with the much more experienced translators—

to make them more aware of what to look for so they catch the right things.

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d’Orléans—Charlevoix, QC]

What I understand, then, is that there is not necessarily post-editing training. Through mentoring, qualified people, translators who are much more experienced, are able to post-edit. Is that correct?

[Adam Gibson]

There are a few examples. The market is not completely lacking. Instead, we are currently identifying the best models out there and developing something with a university. At this point, most of the time, it's a mix. Training is provided in the form of courses, and the expertise of our translators, who are very experienced in the field, is used.

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d’Orléans—Charlevoix, QC]

Post-editing is done in both official languages. It must be done properly in both official languages, correct?

[Adam Gibson]

Yes.

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d’Orléans—Charlevoix, QC]

The quality of the post-editing is therefore verified in both official languages.