Another major blow to the Translation Bureau is the result of all the budget cuts imposed on various departments. For many of them, translation is the first thing to be eliminated due to budget cuts. The number of documents being translated is therefore reduced.
Francophones are already often as a disadvantage. I come from CIDA and the Department of Foreign Affairs. I had very little opportunity to use my first language in working documents, but now, I have almost no opportunity at all. English is the only language of work in every possible draft imaginable of a working document, thereby reducing the ability of francophones to exercise their right to use the language of their choice in the workplace.
Since 2000, the population of Canada has increased about 17%. It has gone from 30 million to 36 million. Departments therefore have increased demands. Instead of responding to that with good quality jobs and by hiring translators and interpreters who are recognized for their great skill and their great professionalism, they go increasingly to freelancers and to the private sector. I am not saying that all freelancers are not good. On the contrary, I think some freelancers are excellent, but others are not so good. Not only are we seeing a pernicious deunionization—we have already lost almost a third of our members—but the uneven quality of the freelancers also means that our members now have to correct the mistakes made outside. That ends up costing the Bureau a great deal and forces our members to salvage the institution’s reputation by doing revisions for which they are often not adequately compensated.