In my presentation, I talked about the next generation. From 2002 to 2012, the translation bureau offered 3,000 work terms to students from all translation schools in Canada, before it completely shut down the program. In her letter, the minister states that the bureau welcomed a total of 19 students from all translation schools in Canada in 2016. That is a laughable number.
The translation bureau employs experts in translation. It is the largest supplier and the largest client. It is at the centre of it all. Our students who completed a work term with the translation bureau were extremely pleased. I am from the academic world and I can also attest to this myself. The training they provide is excellent.
So what is happening now? The professional training of translators is being left up to the private sector. The private sector, which is already grappling with international competition and plummeting prices, cannot afford to take that on. It cannot invest the time in training a student and passing on knowledge. The private sector is completely exhausted.
That said, we at the universities bend over backwards to find work terms for our students. We are able to place the students, but there are far too few co-op work terms to meet the demand from all Canadian universities.