Indeed, representatives of the Association des Francophones du Nunavut threatened legal action if their language isn't included.

Right now, there are official languages, but some odd choices for Nunavut, explained Rebekah Uqi Williams, chair of the special committee reviewing Nunavut's official languages act.

The event, held at the Anglican Parish Hall, was one of the last public meetings she and all four committee members held to gather opinions on languages choices.

The committee will complete its report by the spring, says languages commissioner Eva Aariak.

In the process of becoming Nunavut, this territory copied its legislation from the Northwest Territories' books, including that jurisdiction's Language Act.

Other languages

As a result, Chipewyan, Cree, Dogrib, English, French, Gwich'in, Inuktitut and Slavey are official languages here.

No one questioned the effect English has in everyday communication despite the actual number of native English speakers being a minority of the population.

And no one doubted Inuktitut's credentials as an official choice.

But supporters of Inuktitut dialects such as Inuinnaqtun are jockeying for official status, too.

"We have to be strong, we don't want to lose our dialect," says Donald Haviolak, committee co-chair and MLA for Kugluktuk, an area of Nunavut where Inuinnaqtun speech is common.

The difficulty will be -- if a dialect becomes an official language -- to choose carefully.

"Dialects vary all over Nunavut," cautions commissioner Aariak.

NWT legislation considers Inuktitut to include Inuinnaqtun.

Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated joins Haviolak in wanting Inuinnaqtun equal to Inuktitut.

"All signage should feature Inuktitut, English and French ... with Inuinnaqtun replacing Inuktitut in the communities of Ikaluktutiak (Cambridge Bay), Kugluktuk, Kinnguak (Bathurst Inlet) and Umingmaktuuk," says an NTI position paper presented at the meeting.

French want in

As for French Canadians in Nunavut, "they find themselves in a double minority" -- up against English as the common tongue and Inuit as the majority population, says Francophone Association of Nunavut's Marco Dussault.

"We hope Nunavut will become a shining example of trilingualism," Dussault says.

The francophone delegation reminded the committee of the current lawsuit against the NWT government over French language rights.

"We declined to join that lawsuit in hopes the Nunavut government would be different," Dussault explains.

"But this hope has been misplaced. We find ourselves in the same situation as when the NWT was brought to court," Dussault says.

"The Nunavut government has money available (to provide services in French), but it has not put that money to good use and has even returned some of it to the federal government," Dussault says.

"The Nunavut government as a whole is in violation of the Official Languages Act.

"The Francophone Association wants to work with the Nunavut government to resolve this situation," Dussault says.

"We don't lack rights, but we don't have access to those rights," he says.