opportunities in canada: deaf professionals

03•07•2024 | english

Experiences have been going around and shared in shock, disappointment and helplessness. 

Opportunities face obstacles because of how much customers are charged, in a ridiculously unreasonable amount, that is triple or quadruple, or even quintuple over the reality of financial capacity.

Based on true stories:

8 hrs/day x 5 daysPer interpreter, agency chargesCustomer gets paidCustomer pays
10-Weeks Course$40,000 X 2*$0$12,000 (plus interpreters)
8-Weeks Rehearsal$30,000 X 2*$8,000(interpreters)
Those are two examples of many other similar scenarios
Commonly, a minimum of 2 interpreters is required for a service of more than 2 hours*

The Deaf community gave interpreters sign language(s), and access to their Deaf culture. The community shares gratitude with the interpreters for being an important part of the community, and for their human heart. But when it comes to charging the rates outside the financial capacities and to opportunities becoming obstacles, the heart isn’t there anymore. 

Here and there, us and you, we and they. Accessibility Reinvented

Canada lacks a system standardization for interpreter qualifications and costs. Anyone can offer and claim anything.

In the end, it’s Deaf individuals who pay great costs – in areas of mental health and finance. After great expenses, Deaf experts and professionals do not get much back in return. The 2022 Canada Survey on Disability found that 27% of Canadians aged 15 and over—or about 8 million persons—report having a disability that limits them in their daily activities. An estimated 30.4% of persons with a disability are not in the labour force.

Canadian Inclusive Workplace

It’s time for the Federal Government to do something about this, and support opportunities without obstacles by working with the Canadian Deaf community. Working together, a system of standardization can be established to ensure that Deaf Professionals and Interpreters are being treated fairly in the academic and workforce spheres.

#canada #federalgovernment #opportunities #deaf #signlanguage #barriers #obstacles #interpreters #CCRW #CCRT #CanadianCouncilonRehabilitationandWork #accessibility #inclusion

*don’t worry about my english or french, it’s not my mother tongue. please don’t criticize. the language used on this site will be a mix of lsq, english, french and/or asl.*

*ne vous inquiétez pas de mon anglais ou de mon français, ce n’est pas ma langue maternelle. ne critiquez pas. la langue utilisée sur ce site sera un mélange de lsq, d’anglais, de français et/ou d’asl.*