Bloc questions if hybrid House is too English

Eighty-six per cent of witnesses who gave evidence to Commons committees in the last hybrid Parliament spoke in English.

OTTAWA The body in charge of administering the House of Commons is set to look into whether the hybrid Parliament is forcing French-speaking MPs and committee witnesses to speak English.

The Bloc Québécois says the issue is “very concerning” and has persuaded the board of internal economy to examine whether poor audio quality is leading to less interpretation into French, and from French into English.

The Bloc’s whip, Claude DeBellefeuille, said it is “very important for Parliamentarians to be able to do their jobs properly, no matter what their mother tongue is.”

Earlier this week, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault addressed the House of Commons remotely but no French interpretation was available, prompting French-speaking MPs to complain.

The deputy speaker Chris d’Entremont apologized and said the minister’s remarks were not interpreted into French because of an “unauthorized headset.”

DeBellefeuille said 86 per cent of witnesses who gave evidence to Commons committees in the last hybrid Parliament spoke in English. She asked the board to monitor what proportion of testimony in committees is in English or French and to look at whether more interpreters are needed in a hybrid Parliament.

There are currently 124 interpreters but they take shorter shifts in a hybrid Parliament because interpreting virtual appearances by video is more arduous than in person, DeBellefeuille said.