EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
For those reasons, I would also like to congratulate all the individuals that James named earlier.
I’m proud of the steps we took and the Minister of Education since the legislation in Bill 7 will provide stepping stones for the students.
I wanted to thank all those individuals who assisted in this endeavour and publicly thank them.
First of all, it was a few years ago, even though it seems like only yesterday, and some of us were born recently, that the Legislative Assembly was first formed.
This individual from Arviat was really worked up about the protection of our language.
I happened to meet Mark Kalluak from Arviat at the airport and he was really concerned. If he’s not listening, please inform him that I thank him.
At that time, I wasn’t even considering a return to territorial politics. He stated at the airport with an earnest voice, “Tagak, you have to be involved in the Nunavut government!”
At that time, I was heavily into the business sector and I wasn’t even thinking about it. There were no territorial elections looming either, so I wasn’t even considering it.
However, I know that I have to thank Mark Kalluak for making that suggestion. I know that I have to thank him.
When the time ripened and I did indeed return to the Legislative Assembly, I kept recalling Mark Kalluak’s suggestion and that I had to thank him.
He understood Inuit and he stated that I had been fighting for Inuit rights for a long time and that I had to be involved.
Looking back, I started understanding why Mark Kalluak suggested that I go back to the government.
Our ancestors have brought us today through their perseverance and struggle for survival and their persistence has brought us to this day, so I would be bereft if I were not to thank all our ancestors.
Although our culture and language have undergone several dangerous passages, we have managed to reach this day and age without losing it entirely, so thank you to all of our elders.
We have learned a lot from the other communities from the other countries - Alaska and Greenland.
Alaskans especially went through extreme hardship and almost lost their language under the American government. We know a little bit more about the Americans and their policies now. They go through some extremely tough times with the American government.
First of all, I would like to mention when Inuit started the political fight for their rights. James Arvaluk has alluded to it from time to time. We started the land claims process, we found funding and started operating as an independent body, and regional Inuit bodies were finding their voice.
Even with all of this occurring, we were still in a precarious position.
I used to tell the board of directors that we had to look at more ways to fight for our rights even though we had created this body.
I used to tell them that the territory is too large and it may be best if we divide. If we divided up the territory, it would make our arguments stronger, and James was telling the truth.
At that time, the lawyers used to tell us that this is not part of our aboriginal right.
So we said, “Never mind.
Look at Quebec. They work very hard to exercise their rights and fight for their protection in law.”
So when James understood that, he became a supporter and things became a lot easier.
It’s like making a snowball. First, you scrunch it in your palms, then you roll it on the snow and it gets bigger and heavier as you go along. In that context, when we started getting concurrence or agreement, we started to move beyond just a land-for-cash deal and the idea of our own government was inserted into the land claims negotiations.
Elders, whom I respect, stated that Tagak Curley was going crazy and now regret that they blamed me as they now understand what we were trying to do there at the beginning.
For those reasons, I would like to thank everyone here for working towards this pivotal point and today.
In the beginning, many Inuit were ashamed of their language, as the minister knows, and many young Inuit refused to speak Inuktitut.
Those of us not ashamed of our language kept at it, primarily so that the elders would understand the process.
The meaning of this is now clear because ministers can choose to respond in Inuktitut and I’m proud of this.
We have many comments to make, but we will have to debate and vote on the bill. When we started working on this bill, I wanted to ensure that Inuit were listening and participating, including Inuit organizations.
I started getting emails during the discussions on Bill 6. Some of the younger people started emailing me and sending me documents, and it really improved their self-esteem, at least those who can use computers.
What I wanted to say is that as we start to debate Bill 6 again, these younger Inuit will listen to the proceedings. They are educated and for them, it will be a source of pride that a unilingual Inuktitut-speaking person is no longer at the bottom of the barrel.
They can serve in office and exercise the right to be served in the Inuit language; they will now be the priority.
I also know that the Language Commissioner will have more tools, so to speak. I know that this will make the job of the Language Commissioner easier as they now have more tools, along with a legislative foundation from which to conduct their duties and to concentrate on language protection.
Mr. Chairman, I will stop there for now.
I would like to thank our ancestors, although none are here today, and our elders who are listening to the proceedings in the communities.
It was for their benefit that Bill 7 has reached this stage.
Mr. Chairman, I, too, will support this bill.
I believe I still have two minutes, but I’ll stop here.
I also would like to make a very brief comment regarding Bill 7.
I am extremely pleased that we’re able to come to this stage and I believe that it can be enacted because the Inuit language is the majority language in Nunavut.
I would like thank my fellow committee members, the minister and his staff. It’s obvious that they had to scramble to get responses because of the standing committee’s demands and amendments to the bill.
As chair of this committee, I almost gave up hope at times with seemingly no light at the end of the tunnel for the completion of the legislation, but we have passed those episodes.
Even though it seemed like we would never agree on the provisions, we came to an agreement along the way.
I wish to express my immense gratitude to the Members of the Standing Committee Ajauqtiit, who worked very hard during the discussions on Bill 7. I know that they worked hard because I was there during the deliberations as the chairperson.
We have noted that the minister is very supportive.
He speaks mainly in Inuktitut in the House during proceedings, Committee of the Whole, or any kind of meeting.
This is highly visible in his efforts to finish the work required to complete the Inuit Language Protection Act.
In regard to the Inuit authority, who will be responsible for the legislation that I mentioned earlier in my opening comments, when dealing with Bill 6 and 7, many Inuit expressed concerns verbally and made written submissions to the committee to strengthen its role in the legislation. I would like to thank them all for their input.
I’m very proud of our efforts.
Another reason for it is that many Nunavummiut that speak Inuktitut never apply for job opportunities because of their lack of fluency in English.
When this bill is enacted, what I visualize in the future is that this will no longer be the case and it will now be that if you can’t speak Inuktitut, then you are unable to apply for management positions.
This is something which we can be proud of and it’s good news for our people.
Mr. Chairman, I stated earlier that I would make a very brief comment and I have already touched upon my main point. So I’m very pleased with this bill and I expect its passage primarily due to its beneficial aspects to the Inuit language.
I will definitely support the bill when it comes time to vote.
We, the people of Baker Lake, are quite pleased with the passage of the Language Bill. It’s obvious that the protection of the Inuit language is a big topic in Baker Lake as I have dealt with concerns for many years.
Personally, I recall the challenges we faced when the local radio station was just starting up in the 1970s. An elder would call in practically every day to correct my spoken Inuktitut as I was the announcer in those days.
That was one of the most pleasurable times of my life.
Just recently, my sister-in-law went on the radio to discuss terminology, especially to try and collect the traditional words used by our ancestors and define these purely traditional terms, as well as to try and retain those words.
This was an event that captured the attention of Baker Lake residents. Many of us who had never heard those terms found out the words and the definitions.
This was one of the most listened-to topics in Baker Lake and it was a very delightful event, Mr. Chairman.
Further, when they open the cultural school in Baker Lake, it will really assist the protection of the Inuit language. Many elders in Baker Lake correct mistakes when someone is talking during a public meeting and they do this so that our dialect doesn’t become watered down. This has been a very beneficial practice, especially for younger people in Baker Lake.
In the short-term, Baker Lake has more elders who are bilingual and they speak to their grandchildren in English, even some speak to their children in English.
The elders who speak to their grandchildren in English have produced children or grandchildren who have a tendency to speak mostly in English and not very much Inuktitut.
With the emerging prevalence of English in Baker Lake today, the creation of the legislation will assist us tremendously in terms of our dialect and the usage of our dialect in our community by our residents.
For those reasons, Mr. Chairman, we are very happy as residents of Baker Lake and we will be in support of the bill.
At this time, I have no more names on my list for general comments.
As the minister indicated in his opening comments, he indicated that he is honoured to be here today with this bill and I think not only should he be honoured but we all should be honoured to be here dealing with the legislation before the House that we’re seeing today.
I think it’s a testament to the fact that in Nunavut, we’re masters of our destiny, rulers of our own House, or however you want to put it, we’re looking after our affairs the way we think they should be looked after, and I think this piece of legislation is a good step in that direction.
As a couple of my other colleagues mentioned, I, too, would want to take this opportunity to express gratitude and thanks, I’m sure, for a lot of sleepless nights and rushing around by not only the minister and the staff, I know Ms. Hainnu, sitting over there, was always at the meetings, and Stéphane and Ms. Hardy, for all the work that they have put into this.
And also, my other committee members had indicated that there was a lot of work put in by the committee, as well from our staff, and that includes our Clerk for the committee for this bill, John Quirke, and also Sue Cooper, our Law Clerk.
There was a lot of work by everybody and I think there was a lot of time to sit down and listen and hear out each other’s concerns respectfully and think about what each other’s concerns were that were raised. I think, as the minister also pointed out in his comments, that some of those concerns had been taken into consideration and helped.
I think that almost everything that the committee brought up were good issues and in some way or another, helped all of us understand the legislation and helped provide more clarity in the legislation for people that it’s going to be there to serve.
I think that’s a very important process, especially with, you could call it, a historic piece of legislation like this. We want to and I believe that everybody involved wanted to make sure we did it as best as we could right now, right off the bat.
I think we all recognize again that nobody is perfect and as things move along and implementation happens, there will be situations and circumstances that weren’t taken into consideration and they can be addressed at that time.
And as the chairman said, the review process will allow a mechanism to adapt if necessary and that’s one of the reasons, I could say that none of us Inuit would be here today if we weren’t able to adapt. It says it has been incorporated into law now, I think, and I think that’s another important thing to point out.
One of the other issues that was brought up in the committee, and I think it ties into the review process, is the committee felt very strongly that they wanted to ensure that the legislation achieved its goals and objectives. I think a lot of those issues have been addressed and with the review process and things like that, too, ensure that there are ways that the government monitors and evaluates to make sure that the legislation is achieving what we want it to achieve.
There’s another area of concern that just needs clarification. I will forewarn you right now that I’m going to have a bunch of questions because I know that once this legislation is in place, we’re all going to get bombarded with questions from people in our communities of what does it mean to me, what does this mean for me.
And I think it’s important, as much as possible, in a public forum like this, to have those questions and answers put out there so that people have a better understanding of what this legislation means and what it means to them, and I think that will help. The more people understand something, the more comfortable they are with it.
There are also some questions I know that will come up in regard to who is bound by this legislation.
I know that there have been comments made in the media by the government in the past on this legislation and its authority to… or it’s the federal government and public federal bodies and agencies.
I think we need to have those comments clarified on the record, in the air, so that everybody knows where things are at in that aspect.
I think it’s important that all of those things get out there so that people don’t have false expectations.
The whole principle and the concept behind this bill, I don’t think anybody in this room or anyone in Nunavut disagrees with it, I think we all support it.
In order to make sure that people aren’t disappointed with it, that they have a clear understanding of what this does and I think that’s important, that people actually understand what it will do and what it will do for them as it relates to the federal government and everyone else.
There are no surprises for anybody if they all know.
There are a lot of other things that could be mentioned, but I think the biggest thing is, as our Chairman said, there were times when we thought, “Okay, this isn’t going to work,” I think the determination of everybody involved to want to make it work made it work and got it to where we are today.
I will be first one to admit that I had the issues earlier on with the previous drafts, I mean there have been a number of amendments to clarify and change things.
For the most part, out of those issues, concerns have been addressed and again, I want to commend the minister for listening and understanding, and taking the time to do that in a respectful way.
I think, from everybody’s viewpoint, that that type of approach to accomplishing something goes a long ways in making sure it gets accomplished.
I think that’s what we have done here.
Like I said, I look forward to going through the bill clause-by-clause and getting information out there for everyone to hear, for Nunavut to understand some of what’s in here, and I also look forward to supporting and I will be supporting this piece of legislation.
Again, just thanks to everyone involved for doing, I think, something that, as far as I know, this is a pretty historic piece of legislation.
Like you said, you are honoured, I am honoured and I am proud to have been included in the process of getting it established and getting it to where it is today, and being here and proving it in this Assembly and actually making it law. With that, I’ll stop there.
We will now proceed to Bill 7 in your legislation binders.
If you have found the page, we will begin.
Inuit Language Protection Act.
Just in clause 1, it’s the definitions and under Definitions, I guess they’re not page-numbered, but under the first page is “‘private sector body means,’ except as otherwise stated in or prescribed in accordance with this Act, a corporation, partnership, sole-proprietorship, society, association, cooperative, union or other non-government entity…” operating in Nunavut.
I’m just wondering if that means church groups, AA, Soccer Associations in each community, the Minor Hockey Association, all those types of bodies and organizations, if that’s what’s captured in that.
This provision outlines which groups would be included if they operate in Nunavut, whether it be an agency or co-ops, unions, non-profit organizations such as church groups. Organizations that are outside of the government are the ones that would be impacted by this provision, Mr. Chairman.
I guess a good example this weekend is they had the mass registration here in Iqaluit.
I’m just wondering if all those organizations and groups that do things in the community would be covered under this definition. I’m just wondering if the minister can clarify that.
Hon. Louis Tapardjuk (interpretation): The ones that would be under that definition are the ones that the member just mentioned, Mr. Chairman.
The next definition I want to get on the record is the public sector body. In here it says, “… means a department of the Government of Nunavut or public agency, or a federal department, agency or institution.”
Would that include the Canada Post Corporation or any federal government office or department?
Hon. Louis Tapardjuk (interpretation): With respect to the definition, all bodies operating in Nunavut, even those that operate for all of Canada, such as the federal government and its departments, would be impacted by this legislation, Mr. Chairman.
Again, just to get things on the record, clause 3 talks about “Duties of every organization” and here it says, “Every organization shall,” in accordance with this section and the regulations, if any, which I’m sure there will be, “(d) provide, in the Inuit Language, its reception services and any customer or client services that are available to the general public.” I guess under the definition of organization that’s in here, it means all of the public sector bodies. Does that include the private sector bodies as well that were asked about earlier?
This provision is directed at all bodies operating in Nunavut, whether they are independent or dependent on the government, and all other organizations that will be operating in Nunavut.
This is the foundation of the provision that the member is asking about, Mr. Chairman.
Again, I just want to get it on the record because I know the people are going to be asking us these questions after today.
So any business or any organization that has an office or a claim line, or anything like that, that is dealing with the public will be required to provide its reception services, if they don’t already but most of them do, they will be required to provide those services in the Inuit language.
That was the type of scenario we envisioned and this is one of our goals, to have all organizations operating in Nunavut to implement the legislation.
However, we have to remember that there may be problems or some issues when we are trying to enforce the legislation.
Due to this reason, we have empowered the Languages Commissioner to deal with any issues that may surface when this legislation is being enforced.
If there were any problems or hurdles faced by an organization, then the Languages Commissioner can deliberate on the options for the organization having the problems.
Alternatively, the commissioner could meet with the organization to discuss the problems associated with implementing the legislation, whether that’s through planning or training. It would be up to the Languages Commissioner.
The next question I have deals with, I think it’s on the next page in clause 3, it says, “Particular services to be delivered in the Inuit Language” and “An organization shall communicate with the public in the Inuit Language when delivering the following particular services:” (b) indicates, “household, residential or hospitality services, including,” it goes on to, “restaurant, hotel, lodging, ... housing services.”
I just want to get a clear definition again on what is meant or intended in (b) there by “housing services.”
It applies to all items. As an example, we rent houses and some individuals rent units from the Nunavut Housing Corporation.
All rental units’ services or goods, such as fire extinguisher instructions, are currently in English only.
If the NHC owns the unit, then they would have to implement it for items such as that.
This would apply to rental units, as well as private homes that are being rented. Any services that they provide to the renters, such as emergency procedures, would have to be translated if they were only available in English or French.
Any emergency procedures, fire protection procedures, or anything that can assist the tenants have to be available in Inuktitut.
The definition here applies to all the different services that would require adherence to the legislation.
However, private homeowners who rent out their units would have to be able to provide services in Inuktitut, Mr. Chairman.
The next part of that clause is (ii).
It talks about “basic services to a household, including the supply of electricity, fuel, water and telecommunications.”
I assume they do it already, but for example, if NorthwesTel sent out their phone bills to everybody, everything that’s on there in English would have to be in the Inuit language as well.
Would that be correct?
Exactly, any services that are provided have to comply with the legislation if the organization offering them operates in Nunavut. As an example, the telephone company provides services and they are in business to make money.
As well, any telephone, water, and electricity bills will have to be in Inuktitut because unilingual people still need to understand the bills.
Those are the types of services that are to be provided in Inuktitut, Mr. Chairman.
I want to thank the minister for that response and I agree with him.
But I’ll just say NorthwesTel, for example, that that service here and everyone that gets their phone bills here, if their bills are sent out of their Whitehorse office, would there be a requirement for them to comply with this legislation?
In regard to the telephone company, they have operators that answer the phone.
For example, if anyone had a question or an issue about their phone bill or is requesting to have their phone service cut, the service providers need to have someone who can speak Inuktitut. Further, bills or anything that would impact the lives of the people of Nunavut would have to be translated.
The provision of the telephone services here in Nunavut will obviously impact the telephone company, Mr. Chairman.
I agree with the minister, but I know that they’re providing a service to the people of Nunavut.
If I’m interpreting this correctly, if they send their bills out of their Whitehorse office or their office out of Yellowknife, NWT, which is not in Nunavut, because it’s being sent in from outside the jurisdiction, would they be required to comply with this legislation?
If that, in fact, was the case where any billings, for example, are coming from an office outside of Nunavut to come into Nunavut, would they be required to comply with the legislation?
In regard to the question, there’s a difference in the companies. Using the telephone company as an example, they operate and provide services within the boundaries of Nunavut.
They offer the services in all the communities of Nunavut and they do have a head office in Whitehorse.