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Union calls out Carney government over cuts to translation bureau
Union condemns cuts to federal translation bureau
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
A federal union is speaking out against cuts to the federal translation bureau and is accusing the Carney government of hypocrisy as Ottawa defends French language standards in trade talks with the U.S.
The translation bureau is a federal government service under Public Services and Procurement Canada that provides translation and interpretation services to departments and private clients.
A government document containing highlights of the translation bureau’s business plan for 2025 to 2030 says the bureau plans to drop 339 employees through natural attrition over five years to ensure its financial viability.
Attrition is the gradual reduction of positions through retirements and resignations.
The document says the plan reflects "an overall drop" in demand for traditional translation services.
It also says departments are turning to online translation services "via free internet tools" or are "investing on their own to deploy translation tools powered by artificial intelligence."
Mario Morneau, spokesperson for Public Services and Procurement Canada, said in an email the plan is to accomplish the reduction through attrition and because it's based on client demand, the final number could vary.
"This attrition is expected to occur across a range of occupational groups, including translation, administrative and management positions," he said.
The Canadian Association of Professional Employees is condemning the plan and says the decision puts Canada’s official languages at risk.
The union said more than 90 per cent of translations in the federal government are from English to French and that when the quality of translation declines, it is francophones who feel the impact.
"The result is a two-tier system by degrading the language services francophones depend on to access public services and Canada’s democratic institutions in their own language," said the union.
After several weeks of intense negotiations, Prime Minister Mark Carney suspended trade talks with the U.S. on Aug. 21 and summoned Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and the rest of the negotiating team back to Canada.
In a media conference, Carney accused U.S. negotiators of trying to limit Canada's ability to negotiate other trade deals, restrict its protections for language and culture and reduce tariffs for cars but not trucks.
Carney cited both the visibility of Canadian content on streaming services and French-language product labelling when he described the collapse of the trade talks. Four days later, a government official, who refused to be quoted on the record, told The Canadian Press that French labels were never part of the conversation.
LeBlanc then told Radio-Canada that while the U.S. had identified French-language labels as a trade irritant in the past, the issue on the table just before the trade talks ended was online discoverability.
Those rules, which are currently under development at the CRTC, would ensure Canadian and French-language content is available and visible on online streaming platforms.
U.S. representatives have maintained they don't have an issue with French language protections.
Bloc Québécois MP Yves Perron said in the House of Commons last month that "we cannot use French as a shield against Donald Trump and then turn around and regard it as an unnecessary expense that needs to be cut."
"While being a useful tool, artificial intelligence can never replace human judgment and a nuanced understanding of human language," he said. "We will not attract the next generation of talent by allowing people's working conditions to deteriorate. A strong internal capacity within the public service is essential to preserving French."
Kelly Burke, Canada's official languages commissioner, said in a statement that the government must ensure the substantive equality of Canada's two official languages in federal services and communications.
"This means, among other things, that translation and interpretation services must meet the highest standards of quality in order to respect the language rights of all Canadians," said Burke.
The Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages’ 2025-2026 annual report said federal institutions must ensure that their language obligations and their employees’ language rights are respected and taken into account during any budget reduction exercises.
"I will continue to monitor this situation closely," said Burke.
Burke added that while artificial intelligence can be useful for translation and interpretation when deployed properly, a qualified professional needs to be involved to avoid errors.
Morneau said the translation bureau will adjust its plans if demand for translation services increases.
"The Bureau remains fully committed to providing quality linguistic services in both official languages, tailored to the needs of our clients, budgetary realities and the expectations of Canadians," he said. "It will maintain the in-house capacity required to fulfil the demand for high-quality translations while continuing to draw on the expertise of Canada's language industry when needed."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2026.
-With files from Anja Karadeglija
By Catherine Morrison | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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Former broadcaster Pamela Wallin steps down from Senate
Pamela Wallin steps down from Senate
THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle
Pamela Wallin has resigned from the Senate, according to her biography on the Senate website.
Wallin was appointed to the Upper Chamber in 2009 by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
She had a trail-blazing career as a broadcaster and became the first woman to be named bureau chief for CTV News in Ottawa in 1985.
After she became embroiled in the Senate expenses scandal that started in 2013, she was asked to leave the Conservative caucus in the Upper Chamber.
An audit determined that about $140,000 in expenses she charged to the Senate were improper as they covered travel related to her positions on corporate boards.
Wallin has represented her home province of Saskatchewan and is two years shy of the mandatory retirement age of 75.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2026.
Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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One dead, four injured after police chase ends with two crashes in N.S.
One dead, four injured in N.S. crash
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sammy Kogan
One person is dead and four others are injured after a car involved in a police chase went off the road in western Nova Scotia.
A police vehicle followed a grey Honda Civic travelling at a high-speed in Wolfville, about an hour northwest of Halifax, shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday, a Nova Scotia RCMP press release said.
The Mounties said the police vehicle was involved in a single vehicle crash while attempting to stop the car.
A few minutes later, officers responded to a report of a crash in nearby Grand Pré where the Honda Civic left the road and went over an embankment.
An 18-year-old man from Prospect Bay was pronounced dead at the scene, another occupant was airlifted to hospital with life-threatening injuries and the remaining three occupants were taken to hospital by ambulance.
The officer involved in the initial crash was also taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, the Mounties said.
Nova Scotia’s police watchdog will review evidence from the collisions to determine if it should investigate, the release said.
The incident is the second time in as many weeks when a vehicle collision occurred after a police chase in Nova Scotia.
Halifax police referred a hit and run on Oct. 10 to the province’s police watchdog after a truck being pursued by a police vehicle in Dartmouth collided with another vehicle at an intersection. The truck fled the scene, and the driver of the other vehicle sustained serious injuries.
Earlier this year, Quebec’s police disciplinary tribunal suspended three provincial police officers and two Montreal police officers over a 2018 police chase that left a Montreal woman seriously injured.
The tribunal concluded the officers should not have pursued the suspect due to the risks to the public of continuing the chase through a densely populated urban area. The ruling also ordered four of the officers to complete additional training for police pursuits.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2026.
Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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Bianca Longpré prend la défense de Renee Wilkin après des commentaires sur son physique
La « mère ordinaire », qui n'a pas la langue dans sa poche, a fait une story le dimanche 27 septembre qui aborde les jugements négatifs sur le physique des femmes. Bianca Longpré y défend la chanteuse Renée Wilkin, ayant reçu des commentaires haineux sur sa tenue.
Bianca Longpré mentionne que chacun a droit de ne pas aimer un vêtement, mais que cela ne doit pas être relié au corps de la personne qui le porte.
La sélection de l'éditeur : Ces anciennes candidates recherchent l'amour pour « matcher » Julie d'OD
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« Jeune, vieille, maigre, grosse, petites ou énormes boules, pendantes ou pas, décolleté ridé ou pas, bras mous ou pas : on porte ce qu'on veut […] »
Bianca Longpré
La mère influenceuse explique qu'entre filles, il ne faudrait pas accepter les commentaires désobligeants.
« Gère ton look, j'va gérer le mien », ajoute-t-elle.
Suite à sa parution à l’émission Bonsoir Bonsoir le vendredi 25 septembre, Renee Wilkin était déçue de constater que les commentaires ne portaient pas sur sa voix, mais sur son physique.
« Parce qu’apparemment un pantalon moulant sur mon corps remet en question l’intégralité de ma carrière […] » a-t-elle expliqué sur les réseaux sociaux.
Elle a reçu plein de support et d'amour de ses fans et a repartagé le message de Bianca Longpré.
Renee Wilkin ajoute qu'elle prépare un vidéo-clip qui devrait faire taire ses haters :
« […] merci de m’avoir fait comprendre, hier soir, plus que jamais, pourquoi je l’ai fait, pourquoi il mettra en lumière des corps trop peu représentés dans la culture pop ».