When Premier Doug Ford went on a two-minute rant last Thursday on price-gougers, the ministers behind him showed no emotion, save for finance minister Rod Phillips simply nodding in agreement.
Behind him on his right however, was Christopher Desloges, with his wide eyes and animated hand gestures relaying the premier's disgust to the deaf community.
"We're coming after you," Ford said with vigor to those hiking prices, but it was Desloges pointing straight into the camera who emphasized the message even more.
"A lot of people I've seen online are saying it's like the angry Dad approach and everybody knows the sound of an angry Dad," Desloges said. "I try to convey that through facial expresssion, saying 'I'm very serious about this and this is not okay.'"
His work has certainly been noted online, with social media users finding some levity and joy in these dark times with his impassioned actions. \
Here is @fordnation’s harsh words for price gouging today (special shout out to sign language interpreter, who should be at all pressers from now on) #onpoli pic.twitter.com/fZIi22R4sw
— Laura Stone (@l_stone) March 26, 2020
Desloges says he appreciates the feedback, especially from those in the deaf community, some of which write to him in direct messages, including some suggestions on how to improve.
"It makes me feel really good in a way that I separate myself from," he said.
Desloges is the president of the Toronto Sign Language Interpreter Service, which has roughly 75 freelance interpreters across the city.
The service has been around since 2014 and Desloges has noticed a major shift in how sign language is used across various sectors.
For example, social events on university campuses and film festivals have been hiring interpreters recently to become more inclusive.
Toronto interpreters primarily work in post-secontary lectures, after-hours emergency with Children's Aid, hospitals and police.
But obviously, interpreters are consistently used by government agencies around the world in times of emergency and Desloges has often been with Ford.
Perhaps that's the reason why the well-intentioned praise hasn't gone to his head, as despite being a seasoned professional, he admits he gets nervous when he stands behind the premier.
"The stakes are very high," he said. "It is a very large audience, there's thousands of deaf Ontarians across the province that are watching this message, hoping to gain more information and I'm representing the profession."
"It's always really nice to have that encouragement," he added. "But I have to take that with caution, because that can possibly skew the job that I'm doing."
He gives an example of the word 'frontline' meaning frontline workers and that in real-time, he's made the mistake of signing it literally as front and line, instead of the intention of doctors, nurses, first responders, etc.
"So the feedback I get is often to help me improve and to help me sign better."
The Canadian Hearing Society estimates there are roughly 340,000 Canadians who are deaf, while the Canadian Association for the Deaf estimated in 2015 approximately 357,000 profoundly deaf and deafened Canadians.
For Desloges who is not deaf, he first learned sign language as a child from his aunt and became obsessed.
"In the age of wanting to become a ninja, this was perfect for my craft," he said, eventually graduating from George Brown College in 2007.
He says as the pandemic continues, he'll prioritize the suggestions on how to improve, saying interpreters across the country are doing the best job they can.
"I think that people are latching on to the kindness of providing accessibility and seeing sign language in real time," he said.
Doug Ford’s sign language interpreter tops my interpreter power rankings. pic.twitter.com/QfV5yx2lQK
— Chris O'Leary (@olearychris) March 26, 2020
Interpreting is a HUGE responsibility. Sign language is REALLY hard. Doug Ford‘s sign language interpreter rocks! https://t.co/tTqtwp7eLZ
— Eman AbuKhadra (@EmanAK) March 28, 2020