Interpreters and Translations

Meurrens LawJudicial Reviews, Refugees

People appearing before the Immigration and Refugee Board (the “IRB“) come from all over the world, and often communicate in a language that their counsel, the hearings officers, and members do not understand. Accordingly, translators and interpreters are often used during IRB proceedings. Translators and interpreters have a very serious and important role in proceedings. Section 14 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms provides that a party or witness to any proceeding who does not understand or speak the language in which the proceeding is conducted or who is deaf has the right to the assistance of an interpreter. This section applies to immigration and other administrative proceedings. Accordingly, the IRB and the courts take the right to proper interpretation seriously. A person appearing before the IRB has a right to an interpretation that is continuous, precise, competent, impartial, and contemporaneous. An applicant does not have the burden to show that a determinative prejudice arises from a breach of his Charter right to such interpretation. Jurisprudence Singh v Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), 2010 FC 1161,  provides a more comprehensive summary of the common law principles governing translation.  These principles are that: a.         The interpretation must … Read More