By Hub member Dr. Marie-Hélène Girard, Assistant Professor and Academic Coordinator, School of Continuing Studies, Graduate Diploma in Legal Translation, McGill University

Located in Montreal, one of the world’s most bilingual cities, McGill University not only has a long tradition of building bridges between Canada’s two official languages of English and French, but its law programs also proudly embrace the coexistence of the two legal systems — common and civil law — practised within the country. This bilingual, bijural environment is the ideal backdrop for a graduate-level legal translation program, which was recently expanded from 15 to 30 credits and converted to an entirely online format, thanks in part to funding from the federal justice department.

Noticing a glaring lack of data about the professions that are at the crossroads of language and the law in Canada, and as the newly minted assistant professor and academic coordinator of the program, I immediately set out to address this gap in knowledge. In July 2020, I launched a nationwide survey to find out more about the individuals currently working in legal translation, court interpreting, jurilinguistics and other related fields.

The 28-question survey was sent to jurists, translators, researchers, managers and others to document the occupational status, working realities and education/training activities of this diverse group of professionals. Response to the initiative has been very enthusiastic, with more than 300 surveys returned thus far.

Once compiled, the results of the survey will help provide a clearer profile of existing and future needs in this high-demand and growing sector. This information will be critical in helping to continuously improve the program under my remit. The ultimate goal is to prepare the next generation of legal translators and jurilinguists to play a key role in ensuring that Canadians in every jurisdiction can access justice in the official language of their choice.

For more information about the survey or the Graduate Diploma in Legal Translation at McGill’s School of Continuing Studies, please contact me at [email protected].