Interpreters still fighting for lost wages after federal contract breach

Four freelance interpreters who lost months of work during parliamentary prorogation last year are still fighting for the wages they say they're owed after the federal government breached their contracts.

When Justin Trudeau resigned as Liberal leader in January 2025, the Governor General prorogued Parliament. The pause meant the cancellation of months of translation work on Parliament Hill and in federal departments. But according to the interpreters' complaints, the government didn't stop hiring translators — it just switched to a subset charging the lowest prices, freezing out the rest.

The Office of the Procurement Ombudsman investigated and agreed. In a series of reports published earlier this year, the watchdog found that the government violated the terms of the interpreters' contracts "in secrecy" by awarding work to a subset of freelancers instead of randomly distributing it among qualified suppliers as required. The office recommended Public Services and Procurement Canada pay damages for the lost wages.

Pamela Cousineau, a freelance interpreter with three decades in the field, said the impact was immediate. "It happened overnight without any prior warning — and it was bad," she said. "People were anxious. Everybody was anxious." Among a pool of roughly 70 freelance interpreters, she says all the available work went to just three interpreters while the rest got nothing.

The office described "a strong suspicion of bad faith" on the part of government, but ultimately decided the evidence wasn't strong enough to judge intent. About six months after the ombudsman's reports were published, Cousineau and the other complainants are still waiting for payment. Public Services and Procurement Canada has not yet responded to the recommendation.