The federal government has been forced to adjust the set-up House of Commons And after the second language, the committee room interpreter There was serious injury to hearing.
The incident occurred during a closed-door meeting of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on April 8.
“I always caution everyone to pay attention to this, because we’ve had a number of incidents here,” the committee’s chair and Liberal MP Ali Ahsasi said on Monday.
“I certainly hope that members (of Parliament) will take this more seriously. It is very disappointing.”
The Canadian Association of Professional Employees says the employee has been on leave for the past three weeks and the union is blaming inadequate equipment on Parliament Hill for a number of injuries in recent years.
The latest incident involves the Larsen effect, which occurs when a microphone and an earpiece come too close, resulting in a sharp, sudden response that can be loud or persistent enough to permanently injure someone.
The Federal Labor Bureau, which oversees labor standards in federally regulated workplaces, issued an order in effect on April 25.
The order, written in French, said a health and safety official who visited the Hill last week found that exposure to the Larsen effect “poses a danger” to workers wearing headphones.
“Repeated exposure to the Larsen effect can cause permanent damage to interpreters’ hearing health,” the order said.
Speaker of the House of Commons Greg Fergus informed MPs on Monday morning that tables in committee rooms had been rearranged to keep microphones and earpieces away.
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There are now stickers placed where MPs can leave unused earpieces, as well as printed instructions to prevent incidents.
Fergus also reminded lawmakers not to touch the microphone or its stem when it is on, lean in and out of the microphone while speaking or adjust the volume of their earpieces while sitting near a live microphone.
“The House of Commons works with translation bureaus to ensure the best possible working conditions for interpreters,” Fergus’ office wrote in a statement, noting that this included measures “at the technical, practical and physical levels.” Are.
Workers who translate meetings between English and French are at risk of injury because they are sometimes exposed to sudden, loud noises, even as they work, experts have told parliament. Some people even strain to hear sounds.
“Despite the unacceptably high number of workplace injuries, the Translation Bureau has been slow to implement appropriate measures to protect its workers,” the union said in a statement Saturday.
Public Service and Procurement Canada, which oversees the translation bureau, did not immediately comment.
The union said the latest incident occurred during a committee meeting when the MPs were drafting a report.
There were two instances of sharp reaction, the union said, and Ehsaas warned MPs to respect existing protocols.
But that didn’t happen, the union said, and a third, much louder episode of reaction followed. The interpreter left work and later sought medical attention.
Ehsasi said he couldn’t remember specifically what happened, but he hoped the new rules would “prevent further problems.”
Bloc Québécois MP Stephane Bergeron said lawmakers learned only after the meeting ended that an interpreter had been injured. He said his party opposes mixed meetings, partly because of interpreter injuries.
“We must do everything possible to ensure the safety of House of Commons staff,” he said in French.
“If it’s just a matter of keeping our earpieces away from the microphone, that seems like a very modest contribution to increasing the safety of our interpreters.”
Conservative MP Ziad Aboultaf said he did not remember the incident, but found these injuries easily preventable.
“People need to use the recommended tools and that will solve the problem,” he said.
So many interpreters were placed on injured leave in 2022 that the public service hired contract workers to make up the shortfall.
The shortage has helped hamper committee travel, as a certain number of interpreters are needed to ensure that meetings of MPs abroad can be conducted in both official languages.
Last year, the labor program found that Ottawa was breaking labor laws by not adequately protecting interpreters after an October 2022 incident in which a parliamentary interpreter was taken to hospital in an ambulance after experiencing acoustic shock during a Senate committee meeting. Was sent to the hospital.
The union had argued that the translation bureau was not adequately protecting employees who were working in hybrid settings, where people appearing virtually were using substandard equipment, in violation of committee rules.
In the relevant Senate committee, no one was allowed to testify without a headset.
Parliamentary interpreters may have their services suspended if someone attending virtually does not wear a headset that appears on the list of approved equipment, officials have said.
People have repeatedly ignored instructions to use the approved equipment during parliamentary hearings and press conferences.
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