Mi'kmaq court interpreter pleads for more resources

Justice, it seems, has a language of its own. Malfeasance, voir dire, just cause a defendant's fate wrapped up in legal jargon, a verdict hinging on nuance.

It can be even harder to grasp if English isn't your first language and that's why one of Nova Scotia's only Mi'kmaq court interpreters is pleading for more resources.

"Our people have been crying for interpreter services in the court system for years," said Barry Bernard of the Mi'kmaq Legal Support Network. He works as a Mi'kmaq-speaking court worker and interpreter.

Bernard's job is to help Mi'kmaq people navigating the court system understand what's being said and understand what's going to happen to them.

In Nova Scotia, people have a right to a trial in English or French.

We believe that our people should get fair trial in their own language- Barry Bernard

"When you go to the court system, it's a foreign language. It's a foreign world, it's foreign laws. But when you have somebody that can speak in your own language it makes the offender or the client more comfortable that she or he can express themselves," said Bernard.

"It's easy for our clients that do go to court that have interpreters and to speak in your own language first."

According to the Mi'kmaq Legal Support Network, there are five trained and certified interpreters covering the province of Nova Scotia. They are hired by the courts on an hourly basis.

'We're always struggling with the government'

Bernard said there hasn't been enough money for training since the 1990s.

"We're always struggling with the government. That's our main struggle. We believe that our people should get fair trial in their own language," he said.

"As court workers too, we have lack of funding. Two thousand Mi'kmaq people going through the court system in Nova Scotia, but we always struggle with the government for funding for court worker services, for interpreter services, for any service that we can provide for our people in the court system."

Bernard and his team are familiar faces in Cape Breton.

"We have used interpreters quite frequently here and there is always an interpreter present in Eskasoni and Baddeck on their court days," said Kathryn Pentz, Cape Breton's acting chief Crown attorney.

"If there is a case in Sydney that needs an interpreter, the court is advised and they make the arrangements."

Bernard said there have been days in Cape Breton where the court needed an interpreter in four out of five cases.

Rarely used in Halifax

Chris Hansen, a spokeswoman for the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service, said the use of Mi'kmaq interpreters is "unusual" outside of Cape Breton.

The Department of Justice said since April 1, 2014, a Mi'kmaq interpreter was hired 165 times. During the fiscal year between April 2013 and March 2014, an interpreter was hired about 230 times.

"In most of our courthouses, the services of a Mi'kmaq interpreter are required very rarely a handful of times a year. These services are used mostly in Port Hawkesbury, Eskasoni and Sydney," wrote spokesman Andrew Preeper in an email.

One of the only cases in Halifax requiring an interpreter is Andre Denny, the man accused of killing Raymond Taavel outside a bar in April 2012.

Bernard travels from Cape Breton on those days.

'It's very important for him'

When Bernard was first assigned to the case, he told the court that Denny spoke Mi'kmaq with his grandmother as a child and speaks an older dialect of the language.

In court, Denny is often flanked by Bernard and Ronald Paul, another interpreter, on the bench. He often leans over to ask several questions in Mi'kmaq, which Bernard relays to the court. Sometimes the judge will pause, seeking reassurance from Bernard that Denny understands what's been said.

Denny doesn't receive a word-for-word translation during the trial. Instead, the Mi'kmaq interpreter explains the proceedings as needed.

It's a fairly new process for Halifax courts and there are growing pains including pauses, repetition and some confusion about the interpreters themselves. But Bernard said he's needed to make sure Denny has a fair trial.

"It's very important for him, for his family and for us as a Mi'kmaq nation," he said.

"He feels comfortable that he has an interpreter and now that he can talk in his own language I think that's the most important thing that we have."