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Helpful Places

Government of Canada – DTPR AI Register

AI-Assisted Document and Text Translation

Translation & Language Access

What it collects

Operational data
Anonymized data
  • Free-form text and documents submitted by GC employees for translation between English and French. The register states no personal information is involved.

TC Translate register entry — Description and Personal Information fields

Run by
Transport Canada (TC)
Where
No fixed location
Kept
Not stated by the Helpful Places.
Shared with
Accountable organization
Your copy
You cannot see the data it holds about you. What you can do

What it is for

Translation & Language Access

TC Translate is an internal machine translation tool used by Government of Canada employees at Transport Canada to translate free-form text and documents between English and French. It is designed for low-risk translations, reducing the need for professional translation services. The system is trained on government terminology databases and users are informed that AI is involved in producing the output.

What it collects and what happens to it

Data taken in

Operational data
Anonymized data
  • Free-form text and documents submitted by GC employees for translation between English and French. The register states no personal information is involved.

TC Translate register entry — Description and Personal Information fields

Processing

Language Models
  • Machine translation model trained on Termium data and the Logiterm bi-text database, specialized for government English-French terminology.

TC Translate register entry — Data sources field

What it does

Understanding (Semantic AI)
Human decides
  • The system understands and maps meaning across English and French, identifying intent and terminology to produce accurate translations. Employees review and decide whether to use the translation output.

TC Translate register entry — Capabilities field

Creating (Generative AI)
Human decides
  • The system generates translated text and document content that did not exist before — producing English or French output from the other language. The translated content is advisory; employees decide whether it meets their needs.

TC Translate register entry — Capabilities and Description fields

Outputs

Generated content
Anonymized data
  • Translated text or document output in English or French. The register states no personal information is involved in the translations produced.

TC Translate register entry — Capabilities and Personal Information fields

Run by

Transport Canada (TC)
  • Transport Canada is the federal department that deploys and operates TC Translate as an internal translation solution for its employees.

TC Translate register entry — Department field

Built by

Government of Canada
  • The Government of Canada developed TC Translate, training it on Termium data and the Logiterm bi-text database.

TC Translate register entry — Developed by field

Kept for

Not stated by the Helpful Places.

Shared with

Available to the accountable organization
  • Translation outputs are accessible to Transport Canada employees and the department as the accountable organization. The system is internal to the Government of Canada.

TC Translate register entry — Primary users field

Not available to me
  • TC Translate is an internal Government of Canada tool. It is not available to members of the public or individuals outside the GC employee user base.

TC Translate register entry — Primary users field

Stored

Not stated by the Helpful Places.

How to read the colours

Can it identify you?

Anonymized data
Data about people with the link to who is broken. Stripped of identifiers, blurred, aggregated, or noised so this system can’t reasonably tie a record back to an individual.
Pseudonymous data
Each person’s data is tied to a token (hash, ID, template) that lets this system recognise the same person across events, but the token itself doesn’t reveal a name. Reidentification is possible with extra information.
Identifiable data
The data either contains a direct identifier (name, address, account name, recognisable face or voice, plate number) or carries a token this system uses to look up legal identity during processing.

Who completes the loop?

Human decides
This mode suggests; a person decides what to do next. The AI is always advisory — a human is in the loop on every decision. Example: a triage tool ranks cases for a clinician who chooses which to see first.
Human executes
This mode decides; a person carries out the result. Example: an optimizer plans the day’s trash-collection routes, and drivers run them.
Autonomous
This mode decides and acts on its own. No person reviews each decision or carries out the resulting action.

Definitions from the DTPR standard. Amber is about your data, violet about who decides. The fuller the shape and the deeper the colour, the more identifying the data or the less a person is involved.

What you can do

Ask about this system

Questions go to the Helpful Places, not the vendor.

Your rights

  • Right to Be Informed of AI UseUsers of TC Translate are informed that AI is used to produce translation outputs. The register confirms AI use is disclosed to users.

Risks and safeguards

  • Societal & cultural harmMachine translation errors in government documents could propagate linguistic inaccuracies or lose nuance in official communications.Safeguard: The system is explicitly scoped to low-risk translations, reducing exposure; users are informed of AI involvement and are expected to review outputs before use, reducing reliance on unreviewed machine output.