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The commissioner for official languages says the investigation broke the law by posting the documents on his website and should translate them all. The research says no
Published on November 4, 2024 • Last updated 5 hours ago • 4 minutes reading
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OTTAWA – The official languages commissioner says the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference broke the law by sharing government documentation only in English on its website and should translate it all. But the answer from the head of the investigation is: not.
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In a letter to Raymond Théberge, commissioner for official languages, the head of the Foreign Interference Commission (FIC), Marie-Josée Hogue, said it would be literally impossible for her team to fulfill its mandate if it had “thousands of pages of documents ” should translate.
“It would indeed take several months or even years to simply carry out these translations, which is not feasible given the tight deadlines within which the committee must complete its work,” Hogue wrote in French in the letter obtained by National Post.
“That said, I reiterate that the FIC is making significant efforts so that other federal institutions with which it collaborates can provide it with their evidence in both official languages,” she noted. She added that her team is making “all possible efforts” to publish its own documents simultaneously in English and French.
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The back-and-forth between Commissioners Théberge and Hogue stems from a complaint from Senator Claude Carignan. In April, the senator alleged that the French version of the foreign interference investigation website contained several documents and evidence that were only in English.
In an interview, Carignan said Hogue’s response was “completely inappropriate” and argued that the FIC is not obliged to publish untranslated evidence on its website.
“I think Commissioner Hogue should withdraw that letter,” he said. “When she publishes on her website, it must be in both official languages to ensure that both English and French speakers receive the same information.”
“It goes both ways. It would also not be right for her to publish only in French, as English speakers would not have access to the information,” he added.
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After investigating Carignan’s complaint, Théberge sent an investigation report to the FIC in September, which found that it had violated two parts of the Official Languages Act when it failed to produce certain documents in both French and English on its website.
In a statement, Théberge said he could not comment on Hogue’s response until the investigation is formally closed. His office noted that he plans to issue an amended investigative report in light of the FIC’s response.
“I would like to point out, however, that temporary commissions such as the Foreign Interference Commission are subject to the law, just like federal institutions,” Théberge’s statement said.
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The law requires all federal agencies to ensure that the public can obtain services and/or communicate with them in an “equitable manner” in both official languages.
But in his report, Théberge noted that some documents produced by the investigation, such as interview summaries or press releases, were only available on the website in one official language (usually English).
Théberge also criticized the FIC for posting some documents from other government institutions (also covered by the Official Languages Act) on its website, only in French or English.
For example, he cited a Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) document titled “Foreign Interference and You,” which can be found on the agency’s website in both official languages, but only in the English version of the study.
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“The investigation revealed that FIC did not meet its obligations” under the law, Théberge wrote in the report.
Théberge’s report recommended that within three months of the conclusion of its investigation, the FIC should review all documents on its website covered by the law to ensure that they are available in English and French, and that all documents that are not.
In her response last week, Hogue admitted that the Foreign Interference Commission had not always waited for the French translation to be completed before posting some of its communications online.
She said the investigation sometimes has to make “difficult choices” between maximizing transparency and publishing documents in both languages at the same time.
“I can assure you that the vast majority of documents that the FIC prepares and publishes on its website are prepared simultaneously in both official languages,” she wrote.
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“The only exception to this rule is where the FIC is unable to obtain a translation of a document in a timely manner, but nevertheless deems it necessary to communicate it to the parties so that they can fully participate in the public hearings.”
But Hogue disagreed with Théberge’s interpretation of the FIC’s official language obligations when it comes to posting government-provided evidence submitted in public hearings.
“That evidence… does not in my opinion in any way constitute an act of communication with the public by the FIC (or the tribunal), nor the provision of a service, within the meaning of section 22 of the Official Languages Act,” she wrote .
Last year, Théberge also criticized the Emergency Act investigation for similarly failing to meet all its official language obligations, but made no recommendations because the investigation had already been completed.
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