Interpreter dilemma: pushback continues against changes to federal exam, freelance contract terms

As of last March, 84 freelance interpreters were covering Parliament Hill. Only 37 such bids were received by the first deadline for submissions under its new standing offer.

An interpreter covers a press conference with then-prime minister Justin Trudeau in the Sir John A. Macdonald Building in Ottawa in February 2021. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

News

BY LAURA RYCKEWAERT

January 14, 2026

Concerns remain over the standard and future of interpretation services on Parliament Hill as pushback continues against recent changes made to both the Translation Bureau’s accreditation exam process, and the contracting terms for freelance interpretation services.

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