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OTTAWA – The Commissioner of Official Languages ​​says the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference broke the law by sharing the government’s documentary evidence in English only on its website and should translate everything. But the response from the head of the investigation is No.

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In a letter sent last week to Official Languages ​​Commissioner Raymond Théberge, the president of the Commission on Foreign Interference (CIF), Marie-Josée Hogue, declared that it would be literally impossible for her team to fulfill its mandate if she had to translate “thousands of pages of documents”.

“It would indeed take several months, even several years, to simply carry out these translations, which is not feasible given the tight deadlines within which the commission must complete its work,” Hogue wrote in French in the letter obtained by the NationalPost.

“That being said, I reiterate that the FIC makes significant efforts to ensure that the other federal institutions with which it collaborates provide their evidence in both official languages,” she emphasized. She added that her team is making “every effort” to publish its own documents in English and French simultaneously.

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The exchanges between Commissioners Théberge and Hogue stem from a complaint from Senator Claude Carignan. In April, the senator alleged that the French version of the foreign interference inquiry’s website displayed several documents and exhibits only in English.

In an interview, Carignan said Hogue’s response was “completely inappropriate” and argued that the FIC was not obligated to publish untranslated pieces on its website.

“I think Commissioner Hogue should retract this letter,” he said. “When it publishes on its website, it must be in both official languages ​​to ensure that English and French speakers receive the same information. »

“It goes both ways. It would also not be good if it published only in French, because 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 concluding that he had violated two parts of the Official Languages ​​Act by failing to publish certain documents on his website in French and in English.

In a statement, Théberge said he could not comment on Hogue’s response until the investigation was officially closed. His office said it intends to issue an amended investigative report in light of the FIC’s response.

“However, I would like to emphasize that temporary commissions such as the Commission on Foreign Interference are subject to the Act in the same way as federal institutions,” reads Théberge’s statement.

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The Act requires all federal institutions to ensure that the public can obtain services or communicate with them in an “equivalent manner” in both official languages.

But in his report, Théberge pointed out that certain documents produced by the investigation, such as interview summaries or press releases, were only available in one official language (usually English) on its website.

Théberge also criticized the FIC for displaying on its website certain documents provided by other government institutions (which are also beholden to the Official Languages ​​Act) in French or English.

For example, he cited a Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) document entitled “Foreign Interference and You” which can be viewed on the service’s website in both official languages, but only in English on the of the investigation.

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“The investigation revealed that FIC did not respect its obligations” under the Act, Théberge wrote in the report.

Théberge’s report recommended that within three months of the conclusion of its review, the FIC review all documents on its website that are covered by the Act to ensure that they are available in English and French and translate all those who are not.

In his response last week, Hogue acknowledged that the Commission on Foreign Interference had not always waited until the French translation was ready before putting some of its communications online.

She said the inquiry sometimes had to make “difficult choices” between maximizing transparency and publishing documents in both languages ​​simultaneously.

“I can assure you that the vast majority of documents that the FIC prepares and publishes on its website are published simultaneously in both official languages,” she wrote.

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“The only exception to this rule is when the FIC is unable to obtain a translation of a document on time, but nevertheless considers it necessary to communicate it to the parties to enable them to participate fully in the public hearings. »

But Hogue disagrees with Théberge’s interpretation of the FIC’s official languages ​​obligations when it comes to publishing government-provided evidence filed at public hearings.

“This evidence… in no way constitutes, in my opinion, an act of communication with the public by the FIC (or the court), nor the provision of a service, within the meaning of article 22 of the Code of Official Languages. Take action,” she wrote.

Last year, Théberge also criticized the inquiry into the Emergencies Act for also failing to meet all its official languages ​​obligations, but made no recommendations because the inquiry had already concluded .

National Post
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