EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
In her 2013-2014 annual report, the Languages Commissioner indicated that one of her office’s planned activities for the 2013-2014 fiscal year was to “Finalize the systemic investigation report on the availability of language services and communications at the QGH [Qikiqtani general Hospital] and release the systemic investigation report.”
During her recent appearance before the standing committee, during its November 24-25, 2015, televised hearing, the Languages Commissioner stated that:
“To provide an update on the systemic investigation on the Qikiqtani General Hospital, the Office of the Languages Commissioner finalized a report on the systemic investigation and provided it to the Department of Health.
A summary and recommendations will be included in the 2014-2015 annual report and the report itself will be tabled along with the annual report.”
The standing committee notes with concern that the Office of the Languages Commissioner’s final report on its systemic investigation has not been made available to date.
In her 2013-2014 annual report, the Languages Commissioner indicates that one of her office’s planned activities for the 2013-2014 fiscal year was to “Finalize and publish the systemic investigation procedures,” and that the office will “assess and review our practices for lessons learned.”
The standing committee notes that the Languages Commissioner has not made her office’s updated procedures concerning systemic investigations available to the public to date.
During her recent appearance before the standing committee, during its November 24-25, 2015, televised hearing, the Languages Commissioner also stated that:
“Some of our projects have had to be postponed due to staffing issues, as well as the focus on trying to complete the systemic investigation.
If you can imagine that 51 interviews of half an hour and trying to pull quotes just from those interviews alone, and the research that was done trying to create expectation standards of language services for multilingual services.
We were actually quite overwhelmed by the level of work by the systemic investigation.”
The standing committee notes with concern that the office’s workload associated with its systemic investigation of the Qikiqtani General Hospital exceeded the capacity of its staff and that, as a result, a number of the office’s planned activities could not be completed.
In her 2013-2014 annual report, the Languages Commissioner indicates that one of her office’s planned activities for the 2013-2014 fiscal year was to hold “Meetings every two months with the French coordinators of the GN’s Interdepartmental French Working Group,” in order to have a “better understanding of the status of the implementation of French language rights in territorial institutions,” but that “this activity was postponed until September 2014.”
During the standing committee’s November 24-25, 2015, hearing Members asked a number of questions concerning the reasons for this postponement.
“What happened was the investigator/researcher for the French language was the main person working on the systemic investigation.
So that took her away from some of the activities that we had hoped for her to take part in.
Now that the systemic investigation is complete, she has resumed her regular duties, as of [today].”
The standing committee notes with concern that staff vacancies in the Office of the Languages Commissioner has been an ongoing issue for a number of years.
“I don’t know why we can’t fill the positions.
Right now, we have three positions open.
One is a communications officer.
They are advertised for three weeks and once it is closed, we have to re-advertise it because of no applicants.”
It is important to acknowledge that the office’s systemic investigation of the Qikiqtani General Hospital marks the first investigation of its kind to be undertaken by the Office of the Languages Commissioner of Nunavut.
However, the standing committee has observed that the Office of the Languages Commissioner may not have had the necessary strategic direction or resources to undertake this systemic investigation and, as a result, faced ongoing challenges related to staff and capacity throughout the three years that the investigation was taking place.
The standing committee notes that the delay in the presentation of the Languages Commissioner’s annual reports, and subsequent tabling of these reports in the Legislative Assembly, creates confusion as to the actual date of completion of a number the office’s activities, such as the final report on the office’s systemic investigation.
The standing committee emphasises the importance of providing clear and timely accounts of the office’s activities and related timelines when presenting an annual report.
Issue: Mandate of the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit
Section 16 of the Inuit Language Protection Act provides that:
It is the duty of the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit to expand the knowledge and expertise available with respect to the Inuit Language, and to consider and make decisions about Inuit Language use, development and standardization under this Act.
Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit shall
develop, through consideration of the oral traditions and usage, diversity and modern needs of the Inuit Language, standardized terminology or expressions in the Inuit Language;
publish, promote and maintain a database of all the standardized terminology or expressions in the Inuit Language;
develop and publish competency levels or standards of Inuit Language use or correctness, including with respect to any dialect of the Inuit Language in local use;
on receiving a request from the Minister, the Languages Commissioner or an organization, consider proposed terminology, expressions, documents, standards, competency levels or communications in the Inuit Language and provide recommendations in response; and
establish and administer, in accordance with applicable law, an award program to recognize outstanding achievement by an organization or individual in implementing the requirements of this Act or in contributing to the development, promotion or protection of the Inuit Language.
Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit shall undertake and supervise research to support the work and performance of its duties, and shall
document and preserve traditional or historic terminology, regional variants or dialects, expressions and accounts of the Inuit Language;
identify research requirements and deficiencies relating to the use, development, learning, linguistic structure, vitality or standardization of the Inuit Language;
undertake or supervise and publish research to address the requirements and overcome the deficiencies identified;
promote quality, coherence, balance, accessibility and the avoidance of duplication in the research;
share information with an organization, academic institution or individual, within or outside Nunavut, with the objective of expanding the available knowledge about and expertise in the Inuit Language, language development or standardization more generally; and
undertake or supervise research that the Minister or Executive Council may request.
Without limiting the generality of subsections (1) and (3), the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit may collaborate with, promote or contribute to the work of an organization, academic institution or individual capable of expanding the knowledge and expertise available with respect to the Inuit Language, or supporting the work or any special projects of the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit.
The Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit may
designate standard terminology, expressions, orthography, language or usage in the Inuit Language for (i) use by an organization or in an area of activity to which this Act and the regulations apply, and (ii) the communications of a department of the Government of Nunavut or public agency;
direct a department of the Government of Nunavut or public agency to implement standard terminology, expressions, orthography or another standard language or usage in the Inuit Language that the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit has recommended; and
undertake or supervise additional projects consistent with the duties of the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit that the Minister or Executive Council may request.
Section 17 of the Inuit Language Protection Act provides that:
In order to perform its duties under this Act, the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit may
establish committees composed wholly or partly of its members, under the terms and conditions that the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit considers appropriate;
conduct the reviews, hearings or meetings and receive the submissions or reports that the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit considers appropriate;
develop, review, recommend or administer surveys or tests that evaluate Inuit Language proficiency for purposes including the certification of an individual's educational or employment skill or competency level in the Inuit Language;
collaborate with an organization, the Languages Commissioner and any other person exercising powers or having duties under this Act;
index or publish information concerning any matter within the authority of the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit; and
advise or submit reports or recommendations to the Minister at its own initiative, concerning any matter within the authority of the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit.
Subject to this Act, the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit may establish rules and procedures
applying to the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit, or to the Minister or Government of Nunavut or to organizations dealing with the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit; and
governing the work, priorities and business of the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit and the manner in which its duties will be exercised and its powers will be performed.
Rules and procedures established under subsection (2) are not statutory instruments or regulations within the meaning of the Statutory Instruments Act.
It is important to acknowledge that the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit has made efforts to demonstrate in its 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 annual reports the manner in which its activities during these periods of time have allowed it to fulfil a number of its duties and powers, as mandated under sections 16 and 17 of the Inuit Language Protection Act, respectively.
However, the standing committee notes that an ongoing concern has been the extent to which the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit has been successful in promoting its role, activities, plans and the availability of its resources throughout the territory, despite efforts to collaborate with the Offices of the Languages Commissioner and the Minister of Languages to raise public awareness on the division of roles between each entity.
Testimony provided during the standing committee’s November 24-25, 2015 hearing indicated that:
“There are various language entities and we know there’s confusion.
Some concerns are expressed to the Languages Commissioner, even though it’s our responsibility.
Due to the confusion by the public, a couple of years ago, we developed a poster to define and publicize the roles and responsibilities of the Languages Commissioner, the Minister of Languages, and the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit, and to indicate the differences between the roles and responsibilities of these three language entities.
We provided that poster to the public.”
In its 2014-2015 annual report, the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit indicated that it had provided assistance to a number of departments and the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation in reviewing and developing terminology in the Inuit language.
The standing committee recognizes that the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit may decide to publish developed material and resources jointly with a department, public agency, or organization with which the authority develops such publications.
However, given that the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit is statutorily mandated to publish, promote and maintain a database of all the standardized terminology or expressions in the Inuit language, the standing committee emphasizes the importance of ensuring that the authority makes any materials and resources that it has developed publicly available on a permanent basis.
Testimony provided during the standing committee’s November 24-25, 2015, hearing indicated that:
“As we indicated earlier, we are compiling this database of terminology.
We’re currently working on the website and we have requested Pirurvik to put the website together.
Once we have compiled the terminology, we are going to make it available to the public and to the people of Nunavut as soon as it’s completed.”
The standing committee recognizes the importance of providing online resources such as databases, publications and language training materials.
However, during the standing committee’s November 24-25, 2015, hearing, Members raised concerns that not all residents of Nunavut may have easy access to the internet and that these individuals should not be restricted from accessing such important resources and materials.
It is important to acknowledge that the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit has made efforts to communicate its roles and activities to the communities during meetings that it holds in various communities.
“When we go to the communities, we usually go on the local radio station to talk about our roles and responsibilities as the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit.
If anyone wants further information, they can call our office.
We try to provide all that information when we go to the communities.”
The standing committee recognizes that travel to communities within Nunavut often involves high costs related to transportation and accommodation.
However, the standing committee emphasizes the importance of providing information on, and access to, the entities responsible for the administration of the territory’s language legislation to communities, to ensure that the public is aware of their rights and obligations and the resources that are available to individuals and organizations regarding language services.
Issue: Travel of the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit
In its 2014-2015 annual report, the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit indicates that representatives of the authority participated in a number of conferences and meetings during the 2014-2015 fiscal year in order to identify research needs and gaps relating to the Inuit language, including an Inuit studies conference in Quebec City and a meeting with the language secretariat of Greenland in Nuuk, Greenland.
During the standing committee’s November 24-25, 2015, hearing, Members asked a number of questions regarding the specific research initiatives and outcomes of the meeting that took place in Nuuk, Greenland.
In response, testimony provided indicated that:
“They went over there to do fact-finding, but sometime in the future, we believe that if we have to travel to a conference, we want to take from them and also provide something to them.
That’s one of the areas we want to improve upon because this was not set up properly due to a high turnover of our staff… In the future, we would like to get further information from other meetings and do some fact-finding and provide our information to them and give our position to them.”
The standing committee recognizes that the field of Inuit language studies may be considered relatively new and that accumulating a comprehensive library on current and developing research initiatives related to the Inuit language may require the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit to pursue partnerships and consultations outside of Nunavut, nationally and internationally.
The standing committee also recognizes that the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit is an arm’s length body and has the mandate to make decisions regarding Inuit language use, development and standardization independently of the government's administration.
However, given that the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit operates entirely on contribution funding provided by the Government of Nunavut, the standing committee maintains that the authority must provide the highest level of transparency possible when disclosing the purpose and outcome of its expenditures.
Issue: Annual Reports of the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit
It is important to acknowledge that the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit provided in its 2012-2013, 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 annual reports a list of activities that it had undertaken and resources that it had developed during these periods of time.
However, the standing committee observed that these annual reports did not provide detailed information on the timelines in which these resources were developed, how these resources were distributed throughout the territory, or the authority’s future plans to use its resources to fulfil its mandate.
For example, the standing committee observed that the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit did not provide in its most recent annual reports detailed information on how it plans to distribute, use and record the results of the surveys that it had developed.
In its 2013-2014 annual report, the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit indicated that it had “developed a comprehensive language use survey that can be conducted with Inuktut speakers in government, private businesses and the general public.”
In its 2013-2014 annual report, the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit also indicated that:
“A dialectal attitudes survey was developed to research the attitudes of Inuktut speaking teachers across Nunavut.
This survey can also be used to assess dialectal attitudes among employees in the government and the private sector, interpreters and translators, youth and the general public.”
However, the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit did not provide in its 2013-2014 annual report any further clarification on whether these surveys were distributed or conducted.
In fact, the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit did not provide in its 2014-2015 annual report any follow-up on its “language use survey” or its “dialectal attitudes survey.”
The standing committee notes that the mandate of the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit includes identifying research requirements and deficiencies relating to the use, development, and standardisation of the Inuit Language.
While the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit has indicated that it had developed surveys concerning the use and development of the Inuit language, the standing committee remains concerned that the authority did not provide further information in its annual reports to clarify the manner in which these surveys would be, or have been, used to produce research results on the use of the Inuit language.
During its November 23-24, 2015, televised hearings, testimony provided did clarify the status of these two surveys.
Testimony provided during the standing committee’s November 24-25, 2015, televised hearing indicated that:
“In the report, it states that the survey questionnaire has been completed on the language use in the government, private businesses, and the general public.
The questionnaire has been drafted, but we haven’t initiated the survey.
I believe that we will start off with the government employees and which language they use in the workplace according to their roles, responsibilities, and duties.
The questionnaire has already been drafted and I believe that we will start off with the government employees.”
In response to questions concerning the “dialectal attitudes survey,” testimony provided during the standing committee’s November 24-25, 2015, hearing indicated that:
“I’ve done surveys with the teachers and we will do a survey with the government.
Employees, private interpreter/translators, the general public and the private sector and we’ll use various means to get survey perhaps use Survey Monkey and use the fax survey, although the survey questionnaire are the exact same.
We’ll provide an opportunity to the public or other entities so that they can use any means that they like, whether it would be computer or fax.”
The standing committee also notes with concern that the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 annual reports of the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit were note tabled in the Legislative Assembly until November 5, 2015.
The standing committee emphasises that, as a publicly-funded entity, the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit must be held to the same standard that any other territorial institution or public agency is expected to meet in relation to reporting standards.
To ensure transparency in the allocation of public funds, the annual reports of the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit should provide, to the greatest extent possible, comprehensive information on its completed, ongoing, and planned initiatives.
Issue: Language Proficiency Assessment in the Public Service
In its 2014-2015 annual report, the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit indicated the following:
“Taiguusiliuqtiit has collaborated with the Government of Nunavut’s Department of Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs and the Pirurvik Centre on developing Inuktut competency levels for the government’s proposed language incentive.”
In response to Member’s questions concerning this “proposed language incentive,” testimony provided during the standing committee’s November 24-25, 2015 televised hearing indicated that:
“There have been a lot of concerns about the government bilingual bonus and we hear about this issue.
That’s why we’re working on the competency levels so that we can identify which stage an employee is at.
Although some of us can speak Inuktitut, some of us can’t work on the written component of it, and there are different levels of proficiency.
Once we find out that a certain level of Inuktitut proficiency has been reached by an employee and once they have learned, then according to the level of Inuktitut, a bonus will be given.
This could happen over a period of a year or more.
There are incentives we are trying to provide so that people will take Inuktitut language training that can be reflected in their pay.
Their level of proficiency will determine which pay level they would be at.
That is how we would like to set it up…
We will work with the Department of Finance to determine how many staff work within the government that are eligible for the bilingual bonus and once all of this work is complete, our goal is to make sure we provide incentives for employees to take more training.”
In its 2014-2015 annual report, the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit also indicated the following:
“A preliminary language assessment test was developed to evaluate the language skills of employees and, where necessary, to help pace them in an Inuktut training program.”
During the standing committee’s November 24-25, 2015, televised hearings, Members asked a number of questions concerning this “preliminary language assessment test.”
“We just completed the assessment on the Quttiktuq language … If we need to make an improvement on the assessment test, we will do so because we will have to do assessments on the government staff.
I’m talking about the North Baffin dialects.
We will change the dialect and develop another assessment test on the South Baffin dialects and Inuinnaqtun.
Those will be next.
Next year, this will be set and we will expand our assessment test to other regions for different dialects.
At this time, we just initiated the work and we haven’t started the assessment test on the public.
We just did an assessment test yesterday on our staff and we will do more work on that.”
While the standing committee agrees with the intent and spirit of a language incentive for the territorial public service that is based on adequate assessment, it is important to consider the variance amongst various regional Inuit language dialects throughout the territory.
It is also important to note that an ongoing concern for employers in Nunavut’s public and private sectors is the apparent lack of professionals that are qualified to educate and conduct assessments in the Inuit language.