Re: Angry judge demands interpreter for deaf man, September 23
The Canadian Hearing Society (CHS) would like to applaud Justice Robert Fournier for recognizing the barriers to communication for Adam George-Ouellet during his court proceedings, as reported in the Citizen. We agree with the judge that keeping George-Ouellet in jail without appropriate communication is “outrageous.”
While we recognize the challenges of finding qualified sign language interpreters in Ontario, it is still a basic right to have access to language and appropriate communication, especially in such important matters. This has been a longstanding challenge for our consumers: culturally deaf, oral deaf, deafened and hard of hearing individuals. Deaf Canadians have a right to fair and equitable treatment. When qualified interpreters are not available for assignments, deaf and hard of hearing people, like George-Ouellet, experience discriminatory treatment that has potentially life-threatening or economic consequences. In this case, the lack of appropriate communication has threatened his freedom and his right to a fair trial.
The judge should be applauded for demanding fair and equitable language access for all people in his courtroom.
Michel David,
Regional Director, Ottawa
Canadian Hearing Society
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