Tough Nunavut language laws could be on the way: minister

Nunavut's minister of culture, language, elders and youth says the territory is on the brink of enacting the toughest protection yet for an aboriginal language in Canada.

Louis Tapardjuk said Bills 6 and 7, the proposed official languages act and Inuit language protection act, would be powerful legislation if made into law.

"I think it's pretty darn good, I mean, it's as strong as the French-language bill [in Quebec]," Tapardjuk said Wednesday.

"There's something unique, I'm quite happy with those two pieces of legislation."

The minister told the Ajauqtiit standing committee that the Inuit languages must be protected as a majority language in Nunavut, while English and French speakers' rights must also be protected.

Tapardjuk said the bills are not perfect, as they are based on what the government is able to do and afford, but will be reviewed every five years if enacted.

MLAs urgeenforcement to protect languages

Speaking in Inuktitut, Tapardjuk told the committee that elders and other Nunavummiut are frustrated that children are communicating more and more in English and not Inuktitut or Inuinnaqtun.

Pond Inlet MLA James Arvaluk echoed the minister's concern, saying that more residents in his traditional community are using English on the streets and in stores. And these days, all of the correspondence he receives dailyis in English, he added.

Arvaluk said the government has to make sure the legislation is properly enforced for it to work.

"You cannot just have a piece of legislation sitting in the legislative assembly, in the libraries, and do nothing about it," he said. "It's not going to protect the language that way."

Government officials say that under the federal Nunavut Act, the territory's legislative assembly can create laws to preserve, use and promote the Inuit languages, as well as make sure the public and private sectors comply.

But Iqaluit Centre MLA Hunter Tootoo said the government also has to put pressure on federal bodies, such as the RCMP, Canada Post and the federal Revenue Department, to include Inuit languages in their forms and documents.

The Ajauqtiit standing committee is currently working on a final report on its review ofthe proposed laws, which were introduced earlier this year.