By: Craig Carter-Edwards The COVID-19 pandemic has served as a stress test for many essential services offered in Ontario. It has brought to light the challenges, inequities and structural flaws within systems designed to support the health and well-being of Ontarians. These challenges, of course, existed before COVID-19, but this crisis has increased the level of public’s awareness of them. Among these are translation and interpretation services. Many Ontarians with limited knowledge of English and/or…
By: Nicole Anichini, Translation Manager It has been almost a year since COVID-19 started spreading around the world like wildfire. In this time, the importance of language services has become more apparent than ever. ICES, a non-profit research institute that focuses on public health-related data in Ontario, published a report in September 2020 showing that, in Ontario, COVID is disproportionately affecting immigrants, refugees and newcomers to Canada. While immigrants, refugees and newcomers only make up…
By: Cheryl Lu, Social Media Coordinator When brands or companies want to expand their businesses to a wider audience or unknown international market, the first thing they should do is to localize their brands. This applies to everything: brand names, slogans, advertisements, product/service names, and sometimes, even creating products targeted to customers in the specific region to which they’re expanding. Localization is what makes a business abroad look local. It brings customers the familiarity of…
**Update** When MCIS first published this blog on February 19, 2020, the subject of the interview was in the process of appealing his refugee status. In order to protect him, and the confidentiality of his case, we did not publish his name. However, in November 2020, he successfully appealed and received refugee status. The judge in the case accepted the chapter translation of Colombia Diversa that MCIS provided free of charge, as key evidence to…
By: Cheryl Lu, Social Media Coordinator Located in Toronto, one of the biggest Canadian cities where over 180 languages are spoken, every year, MCIS sends our certificated interpreters to thousands of parent-teacher interviews with bilingual and multicultural families and parents with limited English proficiency both in-person and remotely. In these meetings, interpreters are the key to smooth communication between the teachers and parents, and their work is widely recognized as a crucial and irreplaceable part…
By: Ashley Tulio, Communications Specialist While living during a worldwide pandemic, individuals have taken quarantine as an opportunity to learn a new skill such as cooking, sewing, at-home workouts, etc. Something else that many people have pursued is learning a new language. While kids tend to pick up new languages more easily compared to adults, a study has shown that learning a new language as an adult actually reroutes brain networks, igniting shifts that can…
By: Sara Parker-Toulson, Business Development Coordinator As part of our COVID Series blogs, MCIS recently interviewed Jeanie Godfrey, Settlement Services Supervisor of Bow Valley Settlement Services. Funded by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, and in partnership with Town of Banff and Town of Canmore, Bow Valley Settlement Services provides essential support and information services to newcomers looking to settle in Canada. They connect immigrants and refugees with information about community services, language options, housing information,…
By: Ashley Tulio, Communications Specialist Medical language services refer to interpretation and translation for health issues or within the health system. Examples of such include appointments, a patient’s medical history in a different language, lab test results, and doctor-patient written correspondence. Medical Interpretation vs. Medical Translation Medical Interpretation: the transfer of oral communication from one language to another. This enables real-time, cross-linguistic communication, which can be conducted face-to-face, in a conference setting, or over the…
TORONTO, October 22, 2020 – On Thursday, October 29, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., MCIS Language Solutions will honour top language professionals and partners at its virtual Annual General Meeting. Given the need for social distancing amid the current pandemic, MCIS believes that hosting this year’s AGM virtually is in the best interest for all stakeholders and the general public. The virtual broadcast, to be held via Zoom, will allow all participants to attend…
By: Ashley Tulio, Communications Specialist October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month! The purpose is to promote inclusion for people who experience disability and to celebrate the various contributions of workers with disabilities. This annual awareness campaign has occurred within the United States every October since 1945 and has spread and gained attention within Canada among multiple provinces. Within these provinces, businesses and employers are encouraged to participate in the nationwide campaign that brings attention…
