Question Period Note: Official languages on Buyandsell.gc.ca

Concerns regarding the quality of translation of titles and tender documents on the Buyandsell.gc.ca website.

• All documents published on Buyandsell should be properly translated
  • My department is committed to improving the quality of translations on the Buyandsell website, including tenders
  • Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) is implementing an action plan to respond to the recommendations of the Commissioner of Official Languages to improve the quality of translation of information on Buyandsell

If pressed:

• PSPC has communicated with other federal organizations, who also publish tenders directly on the Buyandsell website, to remind them of their obligations under the Official Languages Act
• This will ensure attention is payed to quality prior to documents being posted directly to the Buyandsell website

On December 8, 2020, Le Droit published an article raising concerns regarding the quality of the translation of titles of solicitations on the Buyandsell.gc.ca platform.

The Translation Bureau is an optional service and does not have the mandate to translate all federal government Web sites. Each federal department is responsible for meeting its official languages obligations, including providing online information in both official languages.

The Translation Bureau is available to offer linguistic services to all federal departments to meet their linguistic needs.

The Commissioner of Official Languages delivered his final report to PSPC in December 2018 related to the review of complaints regarding PSPC tenders on the Buyandsell website. The report made 3 recommendations. PSPC has developed and is implementing an action plan to respond to the recommendations, which include steps to increase the quality of translation of titles of tender documents issued by PSPC. To date, PSPC has:

• implemented notifications related to official languages obligations on the Buyandsell.gc.ca website, in the Tender Management Application, and in the Standing Offers and Supply Arrangements Application
• communicated with other federal organizations to remind them of their obligations related to the Official Languages Act. This includes internal and external communiqués at different levels and across various procurement communities
• drafted an amendment to the Supply Manual and an accompanying policy notice to foster awareness of the pre-eminence of the Official Languages Act and to provide clear direction on how to meet the requirement of having tender notices and related documents of equal quality in both official languages and publishing both language versions at the same time. This amendment has been delayed due to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it is expected to be completed and implemented by January 2021

None