What this program offers – Enhancing Access to Professional Sign Language Interpretation
What this program offers
This funding initiative will be funded through the Opportunities Fund
for Persons with Disabilities Program.
It aims to support projects that will enhance access to professional
sign language interpretation, as there are not enough professional
sign language interpreters in Canada.
The Deaf community, or people who use sign language as their
main method of communication, does not always have access to sign language interpretation.
Accessible Canada Act (ACA), as it requires more programs and services to be accessible.
Accessible Canada Act (ACA), as it requires more programs and services to be accessible.
services to be accessible.
On this page you will find the following:
Objectives of this Call for Concepts, Funding priorities, Glossary
Objectives of this Call for Concepts
The purpose is to fund projects that will: increase access to
American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation, and increase access
to Langue des signes Québécoise (LSQ) interpretation.
This will be through skill development for existing interpreters and
training of more interpreters.
Concept application forms will need to meet at least one of the
following 3 objectives of this Call for Concepts (CFC):
raising awareness about recognized sign language interpretation
accreditation/training programs (bringing people into the
interpretation field), increasing the number of trained sign language
interpreters that can provide services (increasing the number
of graduates), improving the overall competencies of sign language
interpreters through the acquisition of additional skills
(improving skills of interpreters)
Funding priorities
Additional consideration will be given to concepts that meet one or
more of the following priorities:
supporting Deaf persons in becoming specialist interpreters
or sign language instructors, supporting the entry of Black,
Indigenous and persons of colour into sign language interpretation
career pathways, supporting the use of LSQ
Glossary
Here is a list of key terms used within this initiative.
Self-employed
Earning income directly from one's own business, trade, or
profession rather than as a specified salary or wages
from an employer
Sign language interpreter
A sign language interpreter provides interpretation services in:
American Sign Language (ASL), or Langue des signes
signes Québécoise (LSQ), and other visual and tactual
communication forms used by: individuals who are Deaf, hard of
of hearing, and deafblind.
They facilitate communication between:
persons who are Deaf, or hard of hearing, and those who
are hearing
Deaf interpreter
A Deaf interpreter is a specialist who:
masters either American Sign Language (ASL), or langue des
signes Québécoise (LSQ), and other visual and tactual
communication forms.
Their experience is shaped by:
region, culture, age, literacy, and education
They enable nuanced comprehension in a wide range of visual
language and communication forms.
Service provider
A service provider is an organization that provides services,
such as:
sign language interpretation involving both hearing and Deaf
interpreters, translation of written text into sign language video
formats, captioning services for sign language videos, and
video remote interpretation
American Sign Language
American Sign Language (ASL) is the language of most
Deaf Canadians.
It is a visual language made up of specific gestures (signs),
hand shapes and facial expressions.
It has its own unique grammatical rules
and sentence structure.
You can visit the website of the Canadian Hearing Society
to learn more about ASL.
Langue des signes Québécoise
Langue des signes Québécoise (LSQ) is used mainly by
French-speaking Deaf Canadians.
LSQ enables users to communicate using a series of specific
gestures involving the hands, face and body.
It is governed by a unique sentence structure
and grammatical rules.
Disability
Consistent with the Accessible Canada Act, disability means
any impairment, including a physical, mental, intellectual, cognitive,
learning, communication or sensory impairment, or a functional
limitation, whether permanent, temporary or episodic in nature, or
evident or not, that, in interaction with a barrier, hinders a person’s
full and equal participation in society.
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