Stephanie McDonald
Northern News Services
Published Monday, September 10, 2007
NUNAVUT - Nunavut's proposed Language Laws have some organizations in the territory claiming that they don't go far enough to protect Inuktitut.
Paul Kaludjak: "The more we wait, the more damage will be done to our language." - |
Sept. 4 was the last day for organizations and individuals to submit a written presentation on Bill 6 and 7, both of which passed two readings in the legislative assembly this spring.
Bill 6 is the Official Languages Act and would replace the act inherited from the GNWT. The bill will make Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun, English and French the territory's official languages. Bill 7 is the Inuit Language Protection Act and "supports the protection, use and promotion of the Inuit Language," according to the bill's preamble.
As of last week, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI), the Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA), the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation (IBC), Arctic Co-operatives Ltd., the Association des Francophones du Nunavut, as well as the Language Commissioner of Nunavut and one Iqaluit resident had submitted feedback on the draft legislation.
The five members of the standing committee will be in Iqaluit next week. They will determine what the next steps are, said John Quirke, clerk of the legislative assembly.
The language must be used or it will be lost, was the central argument of NTI's submission to the standing committee.
"Anyone who wants to work in Nunavut, must understand Inuktitut is the first language," NTI President Paul Kaludjak said.
It must permeate all regions and avenues of the territory, not just government workers, he said.
NTI is concerned that 2020 is too distant a target for Inuktitut to become the working language of the government.
"The more we wait, the more damage there will be to our language," Kaludjak said.
He has noticed that in Iqaluit and other larger communities, Inuktitut is spoken less than it was, due to an influx of non-Inuit speakers.
While happy that legislation to safeguard the Inuit language is coming into place, it doesn't go far enough, Kaludjak contended.
The QIA openly criticized the two bills in the past, and has restated its grievances in this call for feedback.
"We feel that Inuktitut is constitutionally protected and that it should be recognized as such," said Terry Audla, executive director of the QIA.
This new legislation still does not put Inuktitut - the first language of an estimated 72 per cent of Nunavummiut - on par with French and English, he said.
"Inuktitut has never been given the authority it deserves, considering the population here," Audla said.
He said that more Inuit need to be aware of the legislation and the impact it will have, as it will affect generations to come.
"It was originally touted as Quebec's 101 bill equivalent for Nunavut, which probably set a lot of people at ease, but that's not the case," he said.
The written submission from the IBC, which focused solely on Bill 7, was more supportive of the legislation.
"We think it's bold and we encourage it to be even bolder," said Debbie Brisebois, author of the report and executive director of IBC. Her submission to the standing committee traces the history of the IBC and the changes it has witnessed in Northern broadcasting, specifically that there is now less Inuit programming on APTN than in the past.
Brisebois has suggested that Bill 7 be strengthened to include a provision for the creation for a territorial educational channel, which would be called TV Nunavut.
"We're hoping that these laws will actually support our case to do more," she said.
Quirke doesn't anticipate that the bills will come before the house during the October sitting. It is more likely that they have their third reading in the February/March sitting.
