PROVIDING ACCESS AT THE CANADIAN

SENATE

Canada’s Governmental System

Crown

Executive Branch

Prime Minister and Cabinet

Legislative Branch

SenateHouse of Commons

Judiciary

Senate Chamber Senate Committees

Reporting Environments

Genesis in Shorthand

In the beginning…there were two houses1867 to 1990Amanuenses and dictation10-minute takesRecession (1990s)Austerity and choices

PRISM CAT

Different Paths

Computer-Aided Transcription (CAT)

Restructuring (1993-2000)Ten minute takes to two hoursNon-assigned reporters used as

transcriptionistsTheory shiftSoftware choice

Hard of Hearing Population Growth

Aging Baby BoomersIncreased aural stressShift in attitudes toward hearing lossChanging political motivators

Communication Access Realtime Translation

CARTLinking skills to needsTechnological developmentsClient buy-inReporting external environmental sounds

Senate Shift

Senate as a house of minority rightsRight to participate for all senatorsKarmic wheelNeedsCART in a bilingual environmentTools

Assessment Phase

LanguageVenueResponsibilityDemandImpactClient satisfaction

Departmental Considerations

TESTING PHASE: Staffing Increased workload Morale Training

IMPLEMENTATION PHASE: Recruitment and retention Client service transition Greater visibility

Closed Captioning

Broader populationNetwork drivenBroadcast applicationBilingualOn site captioningValue added services

Multi-stream Reporting Process

CC

Text

CART

Reporter

Multi-tasking

Reporting Process

Reporting process (2000-present)Prep documentsTeam writing (Committees and Chamber)DurationInterpretationData streamTrouble shooting

Production by Numbers

Senate and Committees – 9,540, 133 words (2010)

Reporters – nine English, nine FrenchDelivery – same day unrevised – 99.7 %Next day revised – 100 %Increase in productivity over 1990 figures -

15 %Personnel – other than retirements, no loss

since CAT

Debates Services

One Managing EditorFour SupervisorsEighteen Parliamentary Reporters

Nine English Nine French

Four part-time EditorsFour part-time ScopistsDebates Assistant

Additional Benefits for Providing Access

Linkage with hard-of-hearing communityGuardian angelsBenefits to the reputation of the SenateIncreased job securityJob satisfaction and moraleEnhanced service levels for the Canadian

public