I think the problem stems mainly from the fact that there is no systemic approach. That comes from the way it was decided to standardize the common law in French. The work is done bit by bit, carefully, slowly, and every year we have to wait in order to plan the work. The problem stems, first, from the way it is funded and the way it is structured. For example, if we have $80,000 for a year, we can work on several standardization issues in a field, and at that rate, it is going to take us three years to complete the standardization in that field.
The resources are not adequate. The number of people working in this field needs to be doubled or even tripled. We really have to get to a point where we will be able to express ourselves as well in French as in English in the common law. The work must not be limited to the Centre de traduction et de terminologie juridiques. At the CTTJ, we have a person who works on standardization, but we need three times as many. That is also the case for the other organizations that work with us in Ottawa and at the federal government's translation bureau.
In the past, the Department of Justice was more committed and involved, but that is less and less the case. The person who handled standardization has left. Now, it is the translation bureau that handles standardization issues. Our centre is the Ottawa centre.
As I said, once all the funds for the year have been spent, we stop the work. This year, all the funds had been spent in November. That means that we have been doing absolutely nothing since November, and we will be doing nothing until March, when new funds will be injected. In fact, we are never sure the funding will be renewed.
For two or three years, we have been receiving less and less funding, since the support fund has received more and more applications for activities that fall within the fund's mandate. So that means that it is trying to fund more things with less money. As a result, centres like ours, which play a fundamental role, have less money to meet standardization needs.