(Ottawa) Interpretation services at the House of Commons are suspended until further notice because they are too dangerous. This decision was rendered Thursday after an investigation carried out under the Canada Labor Code, we learned The Press. The House of Commons is working to resolve the problem to avoid compromising the resumption of parliamentary work on Monday.
“Being exposed to feedback [retour de son] when using headphones poses a hazard that could cause serious injury. Repeated exposure to feedback can cause permanent damage to the hearing health of interpreters,” writes health and safety officer Marie-Ève Bergeron Denis in her letter of instruction to the Translation Bureau.
It therefore prohibits interpretation work in parliamentary debates and committees until the problem is resolved. The situation is evolving rapidly and the House of Commons was already working on Friday to implement mitigation measures in order to avoid disrupting the resumption of parliamentary work on Monday, indicated its spokesperson Mathieu Gravel. All earpieces in committee rooms must be changed. Simultaneous interpretation in both official languages is at the heart of the functioning of Parliament.
The Canadian Association of Professional Employees (CAPE), which represents permanent interpreters, welcomed the Labor Program’s decision. This is the first time that the dangerousness of the feedback effect has been confirmed. A previous decision handed down in 2023 had instead focused on the type of microphone used.
The Press reported a year ago on the hearing problems experienced by interpreters since the migration of parliamentary work online during the pandemic. The situation continues with the adoption of hybrid mode, which allows elected officials and witnesses to participate in debates or meetings remotely. Performers continued to experience acoustic shocks caused by feedback.
Measures have already been put in place by the House of Commons to avoid acoustic shock, including the use by participants of headsets equipped with microphones compliant with the ISO 20109 standard, previously approved by the Translation Bureau. Incidents still continued to occur. It was also after a Translation Bureau interpreter suffered such a shock in mid-April that a new investigation was launched by the Labor Program.
The work of the House of Commons is due to resume on Monday. The deputies spent the last week in constituency.