IQALUIT - The Government of Nunavut is taking too long to impose new language laws, languages commissioner Johnny Kusugak said.

The GN has also proposed changes to the nature of Kusugak's job, changes that he opposes and apparently had no control over.

Johnny Kusugak says changes to languages commissioner position were made without him -

The languages commissioner told Nunavut News/North of his concerns last week. He wasn't able to voice his criticisms publicly during the unveiling of the language bills at the legislative assembly on March 28 because he said a bureaucrat told him he was not invited, even though he returned early from travel to be available.

"Of course given the choice I would have been there. I was asked not to be there," Kusugak said, declining to name the public servant who allegedly advised him to stay away.

Language Minister Louis Tapardjuk said all members of the languages legislation steering committee were informed that it would be elected officials who presented the bills and responded to media questions. But Tapardjuk said he didn't know of the languages commissioner being told he wasn't invited.

"If he really wanted to attend that, he would have gone ahead and attended," the minister said Thursday.

Kusugak said his job could soon be limited to conducting investigations and overseeing enforcement rather than promoting languages as he does now. Although his office was involved in drafting the Inuit Language Protection bill from the outset, he said altering the role of the languages commissioner was something that was done without his input. He said he was later told it was done "last minute."

Tapardjuk responded that promotion of Inuktitut has primarily been the responsibility of regional Inuit organizations, and will likely remain so. Proposed changes to the commissioner's role - which Tapardjuk noted would strengthen the office's compliance powers - are conditional on feedback from public consultations to take place over the next week, the minister added.

Asked if he would continue as languages commissioner should the job be altered to that of a compliance officer, Kusugak replied that he doesn't want to answer that question until the legislation is finalized.

"When they offered me the position, it was for me to do what I'm doing now," he said of his advocacy duties.

Kusugak did applaud draft measures to force businesses and organizations to offer customer service in Inuktitut, to compel schools to offer studies in Inuktitut and to have government management be able to communicate with employees in the Inuit tongue. However, he said the two to 12 year timelines attached to some of these initiatives are too lengthy. They should have been effective immediately, he contended.

Again, Tapardjuk said such details could be amended depending on the views of Nunavummiut.

"If he's got concerns about the timing, these are the issues that I'd like to hear about," the minister said. "This all depends on the public consultations."

In addition, Kusugak said the workplace Inuktitut management rules should apply to all workplaces, not just government offices.

"Our recommendations have not been taken into consideration," he said. "The bar is not high enough."

He also said the new language authority - an appointed group that will work towards language standardization - should consist of more than five people.

Kusugak said he plans to attend the public consultations and make himself heard.