Notices to Counsel

We have recently introduced changes to improve the quality of interpretation at Independent Assessment Process (IAP) hearings.

Hearing participants, especially claimants and adjudicators, rely on interpretation by experienced interpreters who can provide objective, accurate, and reliable interpretation to successfully gather and communicate evidence during IAP hearings. The Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement states that the Indian Residential Schools Adjudication Secretariat (Adjudication Secretariat) is responsible for recruiting and approving a panel, or roster, of interpreters.

The Secretariat has developed new training and resource material for interpreters and adjudicators, to improve the overall hearing experience. The following documents are available on the Secretariat’s website:

In the past, the Adjudication Secretariat relied on recommendations from adjudicators, claimants’ counsel, claimants, Health Canada and others to identify interpreters. This approach sometimes resulted in inconsistent services at hearings. In order to minimize inconsistencies, a new approach has been developed to identify and review the qualifications of new interpreters at IAP hearings.

If you wish to recommend an interpreter for the roster, please contact the Interpreter Liaison at Interpretation@irsad-sapi.gc.ca, and submit a written summary of the interpreter’s work experience. The Adjudication Secretariat will assess the qualifications of prospective interpreters before adding them to the roster.

Once a new interpreter is added to the roster, the Adjudication Secretariat will require approximately eight weeks in order to put a contract in place with a new interpreter.

The performance of interpreters is evaluated based on feedback from adjudicators, claimants, counsel and others involved in the hearing process. In some cases, interpreters who receive poor evaluations may be removed from our roster, and will no longer be asked to provide services at IAP hearings. Please forward any questions or concerns regarding interpreters to the Interpreter Liaison as noted below.

As of October 1, 2014, interpreters who are under contract and on our current roster will be paid $500 per hearing, as follows:

  1. $50 for a dialect check. The interpreter will be required to contact the Claimant prior to the hearing to ensure they speak the same dialect and to confirm that they can easily understand each other in the Aboriginal language; and
  2. $450 per day for the hearing.

The Adjudication Secretariat arranges for the interpreters to attend hearings. Travel costs will be handled separately as per our previous process. The Interpreter Liaison is the single point of contact to arrange interpreters for IAP hearings.

Prior to the dialect check, the Adjudication Secretariat will ask claimant’s counsel to confirm that the claimant does not have any conflict of interest with the interpreter that is identified.

For claims where a hearing date has already been scheduled, please use the Logistics Request Form for Hearings in the IAP to identify the need for an interpreter. Please provide 8 to 10 weeks notice of your request for an interpreter to ensure that we can identify an interpreter who speaks the required language and dialect.

Logistic Requests can now be submitted through the Interactive File Management System (IFMS). If you do not have an IFMS account, please contact Crawford Class Actions at IFMSHelpDesk@crawco.ca to set one up.

Contact information and links:

For further information or questions regarding interpretation at IAP hearings, please contact the Interpreter Liaison.

Interpreter Liaison email account: Interpretation@irsad-sapi.gc.ca

Interpreter Liaison contact phone number: 1-877-635-2648