EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
Can the minister provide information to the House on the frequency of visits by dental professionals to the Kivalliq region over the past 2 years.
Can the minister inform the House how many visits by dental professionals are planned for the current year.
Can the minister provide an update on the current contracting arrangement for dental services in the Kivalliq region.
Before we move on to Item 11.
I’ve been getting signals from the members that they would like to take a short health break.
So we will break for 15 minutes and return to the House.
Item 11. Reports of Standing & Special Committees.
Reports of Standing & Special Committees.
Item 11: Reports of Standing & Special Committees
Report 002 – 1(5): Review of the 1999-2000 Annual Report of the Languages Commissioner of Nunavut
On behalf of the Members of the Standing Committee on Culture, Education and Health, I have the honour of presenting English and Inuktitut copies of the Standing Committee's Review of the 1999-2000 Annual Report of the Languages Commissioner of Nunavut.
Inuinnaqtun and French versions of the Standing Committee’s Review are forthcoming and will be available shortly.
As members are aware, our capacity as a government to provide translation services for French and Inuinnaqtun is just one of the many language issues that needs to be addressed in the near future.
In cooperation with my colleagues, I would like to take some time to highlight the contents of the report.
Mr. Speaker, the Languages Commissioner’s 1999-2000 Annual Report was tabled in the House and referred to the Standing Committee on Culture, Education and Health in October 2000.
In November 2000, Ms. Eva Aariak, Nunavut’s first Languages Commissioner, presented her report to the Standing Committee.
Members of the Committee would like to thank Ms. Aariak for this presentation as it led to a very productive discussion and consideration of many key issues relating to language use and rights.
Some of the key issues identified by the Standing Committee through its review of the Languages Commissioner’s Report included:
· the standardization of languages spoken by Inuit and the importance of supporting dialects;
· the Languages Commissioner’s role as an independent officer of the Legislative Assembly;
· the importance of communication at all levels;
· the relationship between language and education; and
· the Official Languages Act.
The Languages Commissioner’s primary role is to ensure that the Government of Nunavut carries out its obligations to minority languages and respects language rights as they are established under legislation.
The Languages Commissioner made a number of recommendations in her Annual Report.
My fellow Members of the Standing Committee shall be presenting the Committee’s response to those recommendations.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask Mr. McLean to continue with the Committee Report.
I would like to present the Standing Committee’s response to the Languages Commissioner’s first two recommendations.
The Languages Commissioner’s first recommendation reads:
“That the Legislative Assembly, or the committee it designates to perform the review of the Official Languages Act, conduct a series of public hearings throughout Nunavut to solicit public input on the content and scope of the Act.”
The Committee agrees that public input and support will be crucial to long-term preservation and promotion of Inuktitut.
The Standing Committee also agrees that public input must be solicited and considered in the process of reviewing the Official Languages Act.
However, the Committee would like to emphasize at the outset that some issues raised in a broad review process may not be addressed within the specific context of amending the Act but could be addressed through other legislation, regulations or policies.
Establishing linguistic rights, and protecting them through legislation, is but one step towards making linguistic communities secure.
Ensuring that languages are preserved and promoted will require the effort and commitment of many organizations, groups, individuals and the public as a whole.
The Languages Commissioner’s second recommendation reads:
“That the Legislative Assembly allow the Office of the Languages Commissioner to participate fully in any public hearings that are held.”
The Committee agrees that the Languages Commissioner will play an important role during public hearings, as well as in other deliberations on legislation or policy relating to language.
The Languages Commissioner’s activities in relation to the Review will be established under such Terms of Reference as the Legislative Assembly may determine for carrying out the Review.
I will now ask my Standing Committee colleague, Mr. Havioyak, to read the next part.
I would like to present the Standing Committee’s response to the Languages Commissioner’s next two recommendations.
The Languages Commissioner’s third recommendation reads:
“That the Languages Commissioner be allowed to review any proposed changes to the Official Languages Act and provide comments to the Legislative Assembly.”
The Committee agrees that the Languages Commissioner will be closely involved in the process of reviewing and proposing amendments to the Official Languages Act.
In addition, under the current legislation the Languages Commissioner has a regular opportunity to make her own recommendations for proposed changes to the Act with the tabling of her Annual Report in the Legislative Assembly.
(interpretation ends) The Languages Commissioner’s fourth recommendation reads:
“That the process of reviewing and amending the Official Languages Act include the development of a Government of Nunavut language policy to direct its departments, boards and agencies in implementing the new Act.”
The Committee also believes that a government-wide language policy is necessary to ensure that the Official Languages Act is implemented accordingly.
The Committee feels that such a policy will be important to protect and promote the use of Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun, French and English languages.
The review of the Official Languages Act will raise a broad spectrum of issues and the Committee feels that a government-wide language policy reflecting the spirit and intent of the newly amended Act will be a product of the review process.
The Languages Commissioner indicated in her opening remarks to the Standing Committee that her Office has initiated a review of government services in the Official Languages and that a report with the findings of this investigation would be issued to the Legislative Assembly.
The Languages Commissioner also committed to a study of language policies in other jurisdictions.
The results of these studies will be important to the process of developing a made-in-Nunavut government language policy.
I will now ask my Standing Committee colleague, Mr. Alakannuark, to read the next part.
I would like to present the Standing Committee’s response to the Languages Commissioner’s fifth recommendation.
The Languages Commissioner’s fifth recommendation reads:
“As the Official Languages Act will be reviewed concurrently in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, we recommend that representatives from the Legislative Assembly confer with their counterparts in the NWT on the changes to the Act they are proposing.”
The Committee agrees with this recommendation.
I will now ask my Standing Committee colleague, Mr. Puqiqnak, to read the next part.
I would like to present the Standing Committee’s response to the Languages Commissioner’s last two recommendations.
The Languages Commissioner’s sixth recommendation reads:
“Given that the Official Languages Act cannot be amended without the approval of the Parliament of Canada, we recommend that representatives of the Legislative Assembly make a formal presentation to federal parliamentarians of any changes they propose to the Act.”
The Committee feels that an amended Official Languages Act should be presented to the Parliament of Canada only in the event that the amendments “have the effect of diminishing rights or services provided for in ordinance.”
The Languages Commissioner’s last recommendation reads:
“As it is likely that the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories will also propose changes to the Act, we recommend that Nunavut and the NWT attempt to present their proposed changes to Parliament at the same time.
This will help ensure that federal parliamentarians understand and recognize the different needs and aspirations of the two territories.”
The Committee feels that the respective committees should address this issue during the consultation process articulated in Recommendation 6.
Mr. Speaker, I would now like to turn the presentation back to the Chair of the Standing Committee, Mr. Nutarak.
I would now like to present the additional recommendations brought forward by the Standing Committee of Culture, Education, and Health during their review of the Languages Commissioner’s Annual Report.
That the Languages Commissioner includes in her next Annual Report information on specific and measurable goals and objectives for the upcoming year, so that a single Standing Committee may review the Office’s activities, both past and proposed;
That the Languages Commissioner’s proposed budget be reviewed by the Management and Services Board of the Legislative Assembly;
That the Languages Commissioner address the issue of which language services should be provided by Government as well as addressing how the Government provides the various services currently mandated;
That the Languages Commissioner establish strong working relationships with the Nunavut Social Development Council and other Nunavut organizations which deal with issues of language;
That the Languages Commissioner submits the results of her Office’s studies on the status of Government language services and language policies to the Legislative Assembly in a timely manner;
That a Special Committee of the Legislative Assembly be established during the 5th Session of the Legislative Assembly to carry out the 10-year Review of the Official Languages Act.
Recognizing that the scope of the review will be broad and far-reaching, it should involve the full participation of the Languages Commissioner, departmental officials, stakeholder groups, expert witnesses and the public.
That the Special Committee pay particular attention to the status and needs of English, French, Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun-language speakers as it considers the objectives and provisions of the Official Languages Act.
This first year has seen some important steps towards addressing language issues, rights and responsibilities.
The Committee looks forward to continuing our work with the Languages Commissioner in the future.
With that, Mr. Speaker, this concludes our overview of the report and I move that the Report be received by the Assembly.
The member has moved that the report be received by the Assembly.
Standing Committee on Culture, Education and Health - Review of the 1999-2000 Annual Report of the Languages Commissioner of Nunavut
Nunavut’s first Languages Commissioner, Eva Aariak, was appointed by motion in the Legislative Assembly on October 28, 1999, to a four-year term.
The Languages Commissioner is an independent officer of the Legislative Assembly, but is required under Section 23 of the Official Languages Act to prepare and submit an Annual Report on her activities to the Legislative Assembly.
The Languages Commissioner’s First Annual Report covers her Office’s activities since November of 1999 to the end of the fiscal year.
The Annual Report was tabled on October 27, 2000, and referred to the Standing Committee on Culture, Education and Health on October 31, 2000.
The Languages Commissioner presented her Annual Report to the Standing Committee during a public meeting on November 20, 2000.
The majority of Nunavut’s population is Inuit and, like many aboriginal peoples, Inuit have a unique culture.
The language spoken by Inuit is an integral part of that culture and is an important affirmation of self, community and society.
The Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, which resulted in the creation of the territory of Nunavut, leads to many underlying commitments to promote, preserve and protect Inuit society and culture.
Although the Government of Nunavut is new and many challenges lie ahead, there is steady progress towards reaching the goal of providing representative government for this culturally unique jurisdiction.
As legislation and policy is reviewed or developed with the goal of achieving made-in-Nunavut solutions, Nunavut’s language issues and rights must always be taken into consideration.
Efforts in this area will progressively meet the Government’s Bathurst Mandate commitment to have Inuktitut as the working language of government by the year 2020.
Nunavut’s Official Languages Act was inherited from the Northwest Territories upon division.
This Act, modeled on the federal Act, was first passed in the NWT’s Legislative Assembly in 1984 with a dual purpose: to guarantee equal status for the use of English and French in public access to government programs and services; and also to formally recognize the aboriginal languages used across what was the entire Northwest Territories.
Those languages are Chipewyan, Cree, Dogrib, Gwich’in, Slavey and Inuktitut (which includes, according to the Act, Inuinnaqtun and Inuvialuktun).
In 1990, the Act was amended to give official status to these aboriginal languages as a means of preserving and promoting the aboriginal cultures of the Territories.
Another amendment was to create the position of Languages Commissioner.
When Nunavut inherited the NWT legislation, this included the ability to appoint a Languages Commissioner for Nunavut.
The selection of the Languages Commissioner was undertaken by the Standing Committee Ajauqtiit as part of that Committee’s mandate to recommend appointments to positions that are made, by statutory authority, by the Legislative Assembly.
In keeping with the Government of Nunavut’s commitment to accountability, the selection of the Languages Commissioner was an open, competitive and transparent process.
At the end of October 1999, the Committee unanimously recommended to the Legislative Assembly that Eva Qamaniq Aariak be appointed as Nunavut’s Languages Commissioner.
Members of the Standing Committee on Culture, Education and Health would like to thank Ms. Eva Aariak, Languages Commissioner of Nunavut, for appearing before us to present and discuss her First Annual Report.
We would also like to thank Chris Douglas from the Languages Commissioner’s Office for attending and contributing to the proceedings.
We were pleased that members of the public and media were able to join us to observe this meeting.
Comments on the First Annual Report of the Languages Commissioner of Nunavut
Recognizing that the Languages Commissioner’s First Annual Report relates to a mere four months of activity, the Standing Committee was generally pleased with the contents of the Report.
Highlights of the Report
The Languages Commissioner’s opening message provides some important views on the uniqueness of Nunavut’s situation and needs, on the various organizational roles that relate to language issues, and emphasizes the urgency of addressing these issues.
The second section of the Report, entitled, “Talking the Same Language”, addresses three language-specific issues: the status of Inuinnaqtun; different systems used to write Inuktitut; and the standardization of Inuktitut writing systems.
Each of these issues is multi-faceted and inter-related and consideration of them raises further issues.
Committee members had a number of questions regarding the conclusions drawn by the Languages Commissioner in this section.
During discussions with the Languages Commissioner it was apparent that interpretations of ‘language’, ‘dialect’ and ‘mutually intelligible’ varied considerably and that the related conclusions were far from being unanimously accepted.
Key Issue: Standardization of Inuktitut
One of the primary challenges facing any individual or organization addressing language issues in Nunavut is to establish acceptable and workable definitions of “Inuktitut”.
From one Member’s perspective, “Inuktitut” is the language spoken by an Inuk and, as such, is an affirmation of self and one’s heritage.
From another’s perspective, “Inuktitut” is the language shared by a group of individuals, such as a family or a community, and is an affirmation of social ties and a source of pride.
As the number of individuals sharing the common language grows, the unifying features of the shared language give way to the differences in wording, pronunciation or other features which define dialects or, eventually, distinct languages.
Inuinnaqtun and Inuvialuktun, for example, unify specific groups of Inuit and are used predominantly in certain communities and areas.
The Committee believes that Nunavut’s languages and dialects cannot not be standardized into one universal form.
The success of program and service delivery, the dissemination of public information and the process of public consultation in Nunavut will be determined by the ability to communicate in both written and spoken contexts across the Territory.
Ensuring this success will require careful and effective allocations of financial, human and administrative resources for activities such as translation, interpretation, and publication.
While meeting the territory-wide communication needs, the richness and diversity of dialects must always be respected.
The status of Innuinaqtun in Nunavut will need to be addressed in depth.
Establishing standard definitions of Nunavut’s official languages will likely be a critical issue when considering legislated language services such as those specified in the Official Languages Act or the Education Act, as well as in establishing policies relating to language use.
The Languages Commissioner’s Annual Report describes her current roles and responsibilities in three general areas: protective activities involving the investigation of complaints, monitoring government activities and advising the Government of its responsibilities to linguistic minorities; consultation, promotion and education activities relating to Nunavut’s official languages; and reporting and recommending to the Legislative Assembly.
Committee members felt that the Languages Commissioner’s role needs to be strengthened within the system or process of addressing language issues.
This could occur through a revision of the Languages Commissioner’s mandate within the context of the Official Languages Act.
In the meantime, Committee members encourage the Languages Commissioner to continue to take a pro-active role in addressing Nunavut’s language issues.
The Languages Commissioner’s Report describes several activities undertaken in 1999-2000.
The Committee congratulates the Languages Commissioner on the establishment and staffing of her Office.
The Languages Commissioner’s website is also a significant achievement as it provides an important source of information to the public.
The Committee feels that greater effort could be made in promoting and publicizing the website as it will be an important avenue for members of the public to inform themselves of their language rights as well as to submit complaints or enquiries should they feel that their rights are not being protected.
The website is at: www.assembly.nu.ca/langcom/ The Committee does note, however, that many people do not have internet access and looks forward to seeing other informational and promotional materials from the Languages Commissioner’s Office.
Key Issue: Languages Commissioner as an Independent Officer
The Languages Commissioner’s role puts her in a position to measure the Government’s success in meeting expectations that have been raised through the Land Claims Agreement, through the Nunavut Act and by the Government of Nunavut to preserve, protect and promote the language of Inuit.
The Languages Commissioner also has a role with respect to other languages such as English and French.
The Standing Committee supports such initiatives as community tours, the development of an inquiry/complaint protocol, internet presence and the publication of a 1-800-number as important tools for the Languages Commissioner to carry out this function.
Committee Members look forward to seeing the results of the Languages Commissioner’s ombuds activities and anticipates that her first “report card" will show progress in this area.
The Report lists a number of meetings with, presentations to and dialogues with language-issue officials and representatives of stakeholder groups.
Committee members were disappointed that the Report did not provide much detail on the outcome of those meetings, information on the topics discussed or what kinds of working relationships or initiatives resulted.
Committee members suggested that, in future, the Languages Commissioner provide more detail about these activities in order to inform the public on the status of the various language issues addressed.
Members also felt that the Languages Commissioner could take more of a lead role in coordinating language-related activities.
The Government of Nunavut’s Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth also has language issues as a strong component of its mandate.
The Committee felt that there is confusion between the Department’s role, which is linked to programming and funding for language related activities, and the Languages Commissioner’s role, which focuses on the promotion and protection of language rights.
The Committee anticipates that the working relationship between the Department and the Languages Commissioner’s Office will make these roles more clear to the public.
Key Issue: Communication on all levels
Currently, many different departments and organizations are addressing various aspects of language use in Nunavut and a number of positive suggestions, initiatives and proposals have been brought forward.
The lack of communication or co-ordination between these diverse groups means that there is a great risk of duplication of effort or, worse, the loss of valuable resources and potential.
Elders must be included in all language-related initiatives.
The contribution of Elders is essential to the preservation of language.
The Committee was pleased to hear of the various projects being undertaken by the Languages Commissioner’s Office, such as the development of a logo; the development of an Inquiry/Complaint protocol and a review of language services offered by departments, boards and agencies of the Government of Nunavut.
Key Issue: Education
The relationship between education and language is rich and complex.
The Committee is very pleased that the Languages Commissioner has, and continues to have, input in the development of a new, made-in-Nunavut Education Act and on special projects such as the current “Language of Instruction” study.
Although the Committee approves of the intent, it is not clear how the Languages Commissioner envisions her statutorily defined role with respect to language of instruction in years to come.
The Committee firmly believes that the use of language in an educational environment helps to preserve it, promote it and provide youth with a link to their culture and identity.
Suggestions regarding the use of Inuit language within the education system included supporting Inuit educators through certification and recognition, providing adequate and appropriate curriculum materials and exploring options for using dialects as well as universally accepted and standardized forms of language.
The Languages Commissioner’s 1999-2000 Budget and Expenditures Summary notes a surplus due to the fact that the office was only functioning for one-third of the last fiscal year.
As the Report does not include plans, objectives or projections for the upcoming year, Committee members could not evaluate the Budget’s adequacy.