Evidence of meeting #15 for Status of Women in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was services.
A recording is available from Parliament.
11:30 a.m.
Conservative
February 16th, 2021 / 11:30 a.m.
Liberal
Anju Dhillon Liberal Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, QC
First, I'd like to welcome all the witnesses.
My first question is for Ms. Fuchs.
Ms. Fuchs, you told us about a woman who was sexually assaulted and was unable to testify in court because of her language, as no French interpreter was available.
That is truly unfair. I find it appalling and shocking that she didn't get—
11:30 a.m.
NDP
Heather McPherson NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB
On a point of order, Madam Chair, the translation is not working, and I don't know if that's fair to all of our witnesses.
11:30 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Marilyn Gladu
No, for sure.
Madam Clerk, can you let me know what the technologists are saying?
11:30 a.m.
The Clerk
They are doing their best, but if it's not possible, they cannot continue.
11:30 a.m.
Liberal
11:30 a.m.
The Clerk
If you could repeat the question, that would be fine.
Madam Chair, perhaps we can give a bit more time.
11:30 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Marilyn Gladu
Yes, we'll give you a little bit of time and then you can translate back and forth while we wait.
11:30 a.m.
Liberal
Anju Dhillon Liberal Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, QC
Okay. Do you want me to ask it in English or in French?
11:30 a.m.
Conservative
11:30 a.m.
Liberal
Anju Dhillon Liberal Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, QC
My first question is for Ms. Fuchs.
I found it very shocking and unacceptable that a victim complainant was denied justice because of language. It's very disturbing that somebody cannot testify or be represented in their language. As Ms. Fuchs said, that is our right; it's not a privilege. It's a right to be able to speak in the language of your choice.
Can you tell us why you think this happened? The victim complainant asked for an interpreter from the beginning, and these processes in court take time. It takes months to come to trial. Was there an explanation as to why there was no interpreter, even after it was asked for from the beginning?
Maybe we could start with this.
11:35 a.m.
Bloc
Louise Chabot Bloc Thérèse-De Blainville, QC
Asking the question in English does not solve the interpretation problem. I understand the trouble the interpreters are having; it has to do with the equipment.
The fact remains that we had no interpretation into French, and I don't feel that solution is appropriate.
11:35 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Marilyn Gladu
I think the interpretation just came back on.
Let me recap for everyone. The question was about a person not receiving justice because of the inability to have it in their language. They requested an interpreter at the very beginning of this 19-month process, so why is that?
Ms. Fuchs, go ahead.
11:35 a.m.
President, Centre Victoria pour femmes
Thank you.
I understood what the speakers said in both languages. However, I understand the need for French interpretation, especially since we are talking about access to services in French.
Ms. Dhillon, you asked why a situation like that could occur. It's a good question. The judge didn't explain the reasons in detail.
I can say that the issue exists in Sudbury as well. It's sometimes difficult to get interpretation services because there may be only two interpreters available in the whole city. An interpreter may not be able to get to court because of bad weather, such as a snowstorm. Another may be unavailable due to illness or for other reasons. Because the date and duration of a trial is set in advance, you can't do much about it.
It is very unfortunate, but it is neither fair nor acceptable. It's a systemic failure.
11:35 a.m.
Liberal
Anju Dhillon Liberal Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, QC
Thank you.
Do you have any recommendations to help improve the system and ensure that no victims are denied justice in the future?
Also, do you have data on other cases similar to the one you just mentioned? If you don't have the data on hand, you can send it to us later.
11:35 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Marilyn Gladu
I'm sorry. We don't have interpretation on the question.
Can we do anything about the shortage of people able to speak both official languages in this country?
11:35 a.m.
President, Centre Victoria pour femmes
I assume the question is still directed at me. So I will answer it.
First of all, we need more people in designated bilingual positions. This applies not only to judges, but also to lawyers, Crown attorneys, lawyers working with Legal Aid Ontario, for example, court clerks, court staff and interpreters.
Actually, I'd like to point out that we had a pilot project in Sudbury focused on access to justice in French. We took a regional approach. Participants in the project included people from the Superior Court, the Ontario Court of Justice and victim services. The Crown prosecutor was also involved.
I thought it was a really great project because it led everyone to discuss the issue together, to exchange information and to break down barriers. In the end, we saw an improvement in Sudbury.
I don't have precise data, but I can say that, even in Sudbury, those facing charges—I'm not talking about victims here—who don't have access to an interpreter, judge and staff who speak French, have to stay in prison for one or two more days. Unfortunately, it happens a lot.
11:40 a.m.
Conservative
11:40 a.m.
Bloc
Louise Chabot Bloc Thérèse-De Blainville, QC
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I'm not sure, but I believe my colleague from Shefford is back. I can ask the first question and then give her time to ask more questions.
First of all, thank you for your testimony, ladies. It is very informative. We would like to delve into some of these issues much more deeply.
You all agreed that it's hard to get high-speed Internet service and broadband, in rural areas specifically. We continue to strongly advocate for this across all regions of Quebec and elsewhere in Canada.
More specifically, what problems does this lack of access cause for women?
Can Ms. Allen and Ms. Bota answer the question?
11:40 a.m.
Mayor, Ville de Magog
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I touched on this topic briefly. It's certainly difficult to provide a lot of details in five minutes.
I spoke of connectivity. It's not just access to the Internet and broadband. We often forget access to the cellular network. A poor network affects education. As we have seen, children are at school half the time in virtual mode and half the time face to face.
It also affects work—whether or not you can telework—and access to resources. The difficulties caused by this reduced connectivity make women and seniors more isolated and vulnerable, especially in rural areas. As Ms. Bota rightly said, you don't need to go very far out in the country to have connectivity issues.