Concerns and Opportunities in the Canadian Language Services Sector

Introduction

Canada’s existing language service supports are not meeting the needs of our increasingly diverse population. This has been especially apparent during our recent experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic.

In February of 2021, MCIS Language Solutions, in partnership with a number of organizations across Ontario, sponsored and hosted a Language Advocacy Day (LAD21) to bring these concerns to the attention of provincial policy makers.

This short survey will help us identify the major concerns facing the language services community across Canada, as well as potential solutions to those problems.

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* 1. Are you an organisation that:

Provides language translation and interpretation services

Provides services (e.g. social services, health care, legal etc.) to people with language with barriers

Or are you an independent translator/interpreter

Other (please specify)

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* 2. What region of Ontario do you provide services in? (pick all that apply)

Northern Ontario

Eastern Ontario (613, 705 - Ottawa-Carleton, Quinte, Kingston, Rideau, Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge)

The GTA

905 (Durham, Halton, Hamilton, Niagara, Peel, Simcoe, York)

South-Western Ontario (519 - Kitchener-Waterloo, Wellington, London, Thames Valley, Windsor, Essex, Kent, Lambton, Brantford, Grand River, Grey, Bruce, Huron, Perth)

Outside of Ontario, and not serving clients in Ontario

If not Ontario, where are you based, where do you offer services?

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* 3. What do you see as the biggest language-related challenges facing people with language barriers in getting the services they need?

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* 4. What do you see as the biggest language-related challenges facing service providers (eg. health care, legal, education, etc.) in offering best service for their clients with language barriers?

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* 5. What do you see as the biggest language-related challenges facing language service (e.g. translation, interpretation) providers in best supporting their client organisations to ensure the needs of people with language barriers are met?

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* 6. Are there specific challenges you see clients with language barriers having in regards to accessing and understanding COVID-19 related government guidelines and supports?

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* 7. Would you be interested in participating in an online discussion to identify key language-related concerns creating barriers and potential solutions to be raised during Language Advocacy Day 2022?

Yes

Other (please specify)

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* 8. For updates on Language Advocacy Day 2022 and related news, please share your name, organisation (if any) and email address:

Name:

Organisation:

Email:

Thank you for your time and insights! If you have any other questions or comments, please feel free to contact Craig at languageadvocacyday@gmail.com.