5. The Winds of Change: Canadian Sign Language Interpreter Education Programs (ASL version)

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"The Winds of Change: Canadian Sign Language Interpreter Education Programs" | Chapter summary in American Sign Language
Chapter authors: Debra Russell, Jeanette Nicholson, and Nigel Howard

From “International Perspectives on Sign Language Translator and Interpreter Education”
Edited by Jemina Napier, Stacey Webb, and Robert Adam
Published by Gallaudet University Press

*This video may not be repurposed or incorporated into other works in any way without the express written consent of the signer and the chapter authors.*

Video description: Nigel Howard is 181 cm tall with a slim build, short dark hair, and hazel eyes. He is standing against a blue background and is wearing a long-sleeved black shirt.

Transcript:
This chapter explores the historical and current landscape of sign language interpreter education programs in Canada. Contextually, Canada is the second largest country in the world by land area, with a population of nearly 39 million. The majority of its residents are concentrated in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. As a bilingual country of English and French, Canada has a long history of employing interpreters to deliver services in both official languages. As of 2019, the Government of Canada through the passing of Bill C-81, known as the Accessible Canada Act, recognized American Sign Language (ASL), le langue des signes Quebecoise (LSQ), and Indigenous Sign Languages (ISLs) as the sign languages used by deaf Canadians.

This chapter traces the professionalization of sign language interpreters in Canada, starting with the earliest documented interpreter, Anne Byrne, in the late 1800s, and describes the evolution from intermittent training to formal post-secondary programs lasting two (Diploma) to four years (Bachelor of Honors Degree) in length.

This chapter also highlights the early development of deaf interpreters in Canada, noting that deaf interpreters, including a deaf woman from 1977, earned the "Reverse Skills Certificate" from the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID).

Over time, the Canadian interpreting landscape evolved to include Video Relay Services (VRS). Interpreters originally only provided service to deaf Americans. When the Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission mandated the creation of the Canada Video Relay Service to service deaf Canadian consumers, VRS centers were established in some Canadian cities. Employing Canadian interpreters was an attempt to provide the most linguistically and culturally appropriate service, as interpreters in the United States were not familiar with the Canadian sign language variations, or the political and geographical context that frames many of the calls to Canadian service providers. Canadian interpreters working in VRS settings were also preferred by deaf Canadians due to their reported higher quality of interpreting skills compared to interpreters in the United States, who were noted for employing a more literal interpreting style.

A positive and unique feature of the Canadian implementation of VRS is the hiring of deaf managers for the VRS centers who are also deaf interpreters and have experience working as interpreter educators. With the unfolding of time, there has been a significant increase in deaf interpreters creating new business opportunities in translation work, as well as interpreters working and undertaking professional development opportunities to work within specialized settings such as medical, legal, and mental health.

One significant finding amongst deaf Canadians is their predilection for deaf interpreters to interpret for televised broadcasts such as the news, emergency announcements, and political briefings (for example, the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic) as the provision of deaf interpreters can provide the most linguistically accessible interpretation for ASL and LSQ users.

Although the chapter concludes with several recommendations that could lead interpreter education in new directions, diversity within current interpreter education is critical. Canada embraces deaf individuals from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds, necessitating that cohorts in postsecondary programs reflect the evolving diversity of the deaf community.