Privilege / Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous; committees; translators and interpreters

Journals p. 197

Debates p. 2421

Background

On October 31, Mr. Laprise (Abitibi) rose on a question of privilege to complain about the insufficient number of translators and interpreters available to meet the needs of the House and its committees. He proposed that the House consider suspending the business of committees as long as the number of linguistic support personnel remained inadequate. The Speaker acknowledged the merits of the Member's grievance and asked for the opportunity to inquire further into the matter before taking any action.

Issue

Is there a prima facie case of privilege?

Decision

This does not constitute a question of privilege. [The complaint, however, is fully justified and steps will soon be taken to improve both the interpretation and translation of committee proceedings.]

Reasons given by the Speaker

Several committees have been meeting recently at the same time, thereby straining the services of the House. It would hardly contribute to solving the problem, however, to suspend the work of all committees.

References

Debates, October 31, 1968, p. 2243.