Job Specification

Purpose of Position :

To translate Ontario statutes, bills and regulations into the French language. To build and maintain a current understanding of the most accurate translations of specialized terminology used in bills, statutes, regulations.

Duties / Responsibilities :

Under the general supervision of the Director, the Position is responsible for translating both draft and final versions of bills, legislation, regulations, and related Government documents, as follows:
1. Translating into French complex statutes, bills and regulations, which include legal, specialized and technical terminology.

2. Keyboarding translated material into a shared database or other medium using office computer hardware and software, such as Microsoft Word. Using peripheral equipment and software, such as printers, photocopiers and e-mail services to print out, fax or e-mail completed drafts for review or discussion by others. Proofreading French texts to ensure overall quality.

3. Researching meaning and/or intent behind terms and phrases to ensure accuracy, including obtaining clarifications from English-language drafters and providing them with comments aimed at improving their drafts; consulting experts for information on technical aspects of draft legislation, while maintaining confidentiality of clients draft.

4. Ensuring uniformity of style and language by accessing similar provisions in other statutes, bills and regulations.

5. In cooperation with linguistic advisers and bilingual counsel, participating in the development and updating of a French legislative terminology for Ontario, participating in the updating of the office lexicons, developing “new” expressions which reflect any concepts or provisions which are unknown in French to express the common law, and sharing information with colleagues.

6. Responding to inquiries from, and providing consultation to, government officials, members of the legal profession, publishers and the public on legislative terminology and French language usage in respect of the French version of Ontario statutes, bills and regulations. Using tact and discretion, and communication skills, when not disclosing confidential information to unauthorized parties about draft bills and regulations. Following Office procedures, while being aware of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, when responding to external or public enquiries, while meeting legitimate requests for accessible materials.

7. Contacting linguistic advisers and legislative specialists to explain problems faced in clarifying the intended legal terms and concepts in order to define the reason for the dilemma and to find an appropriate word or terminology solution to meet the need. Appreciating that a translation that does not translate into French the exact same meaning as was intended when the English language version was prepared, could result in legislation or regulations that differ in their implementation, depending on whether the English or French version is referenced, which could create serious problems until corrected.

8. Maintaining accurate records of time spent on translation of documents for invoicing and billing purposes. Inputting revisers corrections into electronic draft documents.

9. Other duties: the Director has the authority to assign additional duties.

Staffing and Licensing :

Position requires “Superior Level” oral and written French language skills, with the prospective incumbent tested to meet the necessary French Language Services (FLS) Standards.

Knowledge :

Position requires knowledge of the English and French languages at a level appropriate to translate statutes, bills and regulations from English into French. Position requires knowledge of translation practices and conventions and of principles of selecting precise language and appropriate style and structure to ensure that correct interpretation of English text is given and that meaning and intent of the original texts are preserved. Position requires knowledge of legal and technical terminology to ensure accurate translation of terms and ideas and consistency with other legislation. Position requires knowledge of legal and technical terminology to conduct inquiries and searches to resolve linguistic problems. Position requires knowledge of the process and procedure for passing legislation in order to prioritize work and of government requirements related to confidentiality and the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act to respond to public inquiries. Position requires knowledge of various specialized computer programs, including word-processing and database programs and Internet access, to perform research and to do translation. In translating texts, the Position requires knowledge of formatting tools in computer software to set up special formats such as tables and forms.

Skills :

Position requires analytical and evaluative skills to translate original document while preserving both meaning and intent and eliminating any ambiguity. Position requires researching terminology of subject matter not immediately known for implementation into the translated documents so that the widely varied questions governed by legislation are properly described. Position requires research skills, including accessing electronic terminology banks and style guides, and consulting legal and linguistic experts to verify that meaning and purpose are maintained. Position requires identifying and dealing with language problems, which can create ambiguities and mistranslations. Position requires, when translating potentially confusing, ambiguous or inappropriate language in draft legislation, that the employee consult linguistic adviser, client or legal counsel to ensure correct interpretation of the English text and consistency of content and meaning. Position requires reviewing similar legislation to determine which existing provisions can be directly applied or adapted to the current document to ensure consistent language for all statutes, bills and regulations. Position requires written communication skills, including vocabulary, legal and technical terminology, and facility with grammar and sentence structure in order to translate statutes, bills and regulations.
Position requires verbal communication skills to explain problematic legal terms and concepts in order to define the reason for the concern and to find an appropriate solution with client, legal counsel or linguistic adviser. Position requires good verbal communication skills and tact when obtaining clarification from clients and in restricting confidential information about draft bills and regulations from outside inquiries while still providing accessible material.
Position requires planning and coordinating skills to develop a work plan for each document to be translated, including prioritizing sometimes-conflicting assignments for each of the statutes, bills or regulations, in order to ensure that all deadlines are met.

Position requires office computer skills, both in operating the hardware and peripheral equipment, e.g. printers, and in using the word processing software, such as Word, as well as any specialized software to access databases of information, and using e-mail software such as Microsoft Outlook to send and receive materials electronically. Position requires the ability to accessing the Internet to research information as required, e.g. to clarify the use of translated terms.

Freedom of Action :

Position requires little supervision during first draft stage of translation process. While internal procedural or operational guidelines exist and the Position has access to previous drafts of legislation, lexicons, glossaries, technical specialists in both English and French, style guides and terminology banks, the Position must use own judgment and decide independently whether these are helpful for the task at hand. Position requires decision-making in translating from one language into another while maintaining style and language requirements in legal documents, e.g. ensuring accuracy of words/phrases chosen to maintain integrity of meaning and intent. Position requires verbatim review by linguistic adviser to ensure accuracy and consistency after first draft stage of translation process. Position requires consulting linguistic adviser, legal counsel or drafter for clarification or guidance when errors or ambiguities are found. Position requires consulting the Director when there is disagreement as to language, meaning or intent with linguistic adviser, legal counsel or drafter, or when there is insufficient information from client.