Bill C-91 (Historical)

Indigenous Languages Act

An Act respecting Indigenous languages

This enactment provides, among other things, that
(a) the Government of Canada recognizes that the rights of Indigenous peoples recognized and affirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 include rights related to Indigenous languages;
(b) the Minister of Canadian Heritage may enter into different types of agreements or arrangements in respect of Indigenous languages with Indigenous governments or other Indigenous governing bodies or Indigenous organizations, taking into account the unique circumstances and needs of Indigenous groups, communities and peoples; and
(c) federal institutions may cause documents to be translated into an Indigenous language or provide interpretation services to facilitate the use of an Indigenous language.
The enactment also establishes the Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages and sets out its composition. The Office’s mandate and powers, duties and functions include
(a) supporting the efforts of Indigenous peoples to reclaim, revitalize, maintain and strengthen Indigenous languages;
(b) promoting public awareness of, among other things, the richness and diversity of Indigenous languages;
(c) undertaking research or studies in respect of the provision of funding for the purposes of supporting Indigenous languages and in respect of the use of Indigenous languages in Canada;
(d) providing services, including mediation or other culturally appropriate services, to facilitate the resolution of disputes; and
(e) submitting to the Minister of Canadian Heritage an annual report on, among other things, the use and vitality of Indigenous languages in Canada and the adequacy of funding provided by the Government of Canada for initiatives related to Indigenous languages.

Indigenous Languages Act

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

Madam Speaker, I have a very brief response for my learned colleague who has much history in this building. I agree 100% with what she has just said.

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Madam Speaker, thank you for giving me the opportunity to rise in the House and applaud the excellent speech by my colleague from Bow River, as well as his knowledge of and commitment to indigenous issues in Canada.

I would also like to acknowledge the work of my colleague from Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, our indigenous affairs critic. She is doing very important work on a very sensitive file.

Before rising, I listened to several speeches. I would like to come back to something said by a colleague from Vancouver Island, the member for Courtenay—Alberni. He said something that was very important and, in my view, in keeping with the the tone set today. He said that language defines our identity. That is the very crux of the bill introduced today. We are talking about the identity of not just anyone, but of the people who lived here before the arrival of Europeans.

As my colleague mentioned, this debate is taking place in the new House of Commons located in the West Block.

On June 11, 2008, I was in the House and I had the opportunity and privilege to listen to Prime Minister Stephen Harper offer a full apology to residential school survivors on behalf of all Canadians.

What is the link between that apology and the bill before us today?

The bill before us today draws on the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, established by the Conservative government in 2008.

A six-year study was conducted. During that time, we gathered a lot of testimony that at times was very emotional from indigenous people who attended these schools.

Prime Minister Harper said that for more than a century, residential schools separated more than 150,000 indigenous children from their families and their communities. Nearly seven generations of young people were in some way uprooted from their culture and language while they were attending school. As my colleague from Vancouver Island said, language is an essential part of identity.

Remarkably, the hon. member for Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs delivered his speech in the Mohawk language. He said that when we learn a language, we become open to a new culture. He has opened himself up to the Mohawk culture.

As someone with an Irish-sounding name who was lucky enough to learn French growing up, I am keenly aware of linguistic issues. That is why, as a Conservative and a Quebecker, I am proud of our party's position. Our party will support the bill since we want it to go even further.

I also want to revisit one of the points raised by Mr. Harper. He stated, and I quote:

Two primary objectives of the residential school system were to remove and isolate children from the influence of their homes, families, traditions and cultures, and to assimilate them into the dominant culture.

That sends a shiver down my spine.

He also said, “It has taken extraordinary courage for the thousands of survivors that have come forward to speak publicly about the abuse they suffered.”

As everyone knows, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and a support program for aboriginal people affected by the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement were put in place.

I would actually like to come back to the recommendations that were made. Three calls to action in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada report relate to the subject we are discussing here today. Calls to action 13, 14 and 15 call on the federal government to recognize that aboriginal rights include aboriginal language rights.

Recommendation 14 calls on the federal government to enact an aboriginal languages act that incorporates the following principles.

i. Aboriginal languages are a fundamental and valued element of Canadian culture and society, and there is an urgency to preserve them; ii. Aboriginal language rights are reinforced by the Treaties; iii. The federal government has a responsibility to provide sufficient funds for Aboriginal-language revitalization and preservation; iv. The preservation, revitalization, and strengthening of Aboriginal languages and cultures are best managed by Aboriginal people and communities; v. Funding for Aboriginal language initiatives must reflect the diversity of Aboriginal languages.

These recommendations were made by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2015, if I remember correctly. It is now 2019. As my colleague from Bow River said, the government waited a long time. We are now approaching the end of this Parliament, and the Liberals seem to be steamrolling through this, even though the Prime Minister promised to address the issue more than two years ago.

In essence, we support this bill. As my colleague just said, we want to do a thorough job, to make sure this bill achieves its objectives. The Assembly of First Nations supports the bill, as does the Métis Nation, but the Inuit are quite dissatisfied, so we need to give this bill careful consideration. Like my colleague from Bow River, I am privileged to be a member of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. We want to examine this bill to ensure that it both meets these communities' needs and achieves the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's objectives.

That brings me to an important point. I just mentioned it briefly, and my colleague talked about it too. The problem is that we currently have a government that knows how to talk the talk but takes far too long to walk the walk. Drawing things out like this could strain the trust between indigenous peoples and the Government of Canada. My colleague shared some examples of that.

I want to share a quote from Chantal Hébert:

By taking important but essentially symbolic steps that capture the attention of Canadian voters but ultimately do nothing to fundamentally change the reality that indigenous peoples face, the Trudeau government is risking creating an even wider divide between the dashed expectations of the first nations and the public's openness towards them.

We have a responsibility to do things right in a reasonable amount of time. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission made its recommendations more than three years ago. The government has introduced a bill at the end of this Parliament. Trust between the Canadian government and the first nations is fragile, and we plan to work seriously and diligently to maintain that trust.

[Gary Anandasangaree, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism (Multiculturalism), Lib.]

Madam Speaker, I am a little perplexed by the member's comments at the end of his speech. He indicated that movement has not been substantive with respect to indigenous issues. I note that in the past three years, $16.8 billion has been invested in different programs and initiatives with respect to indigenous peoples, which has resulted in more then 250,000 people benefiting from 157 school projects, more than 450,000 people benefiting from 490 water projects and more than 200,000 approved requests under Jordan's principle. I note that the opposition, particularly the Conservative Party, voted against virtually every one of these initiatives to advance reconciliation.

It is a little rich when the member opposite suggests that movement has been slow. It has been slow, in part, because support from the opposition has been very slow. I would like some indication from the member as to whether he is willing to send this to committee today, where there could be a more robust discussion of the issues he identified.

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague, the parliamentary secretary, who is doing important work.

However, he shares a fault with his boss, the Prime Minister: whenever something goes wrong, he blames everyone else. We can see this happening with the indigenous file. I had a chance to go into communities like Pakuashipi, where residents have major concerns about health and access to clean drinking water. Our colleagues are constantly challenging the government on these issues.

I have two things to say to my colleague. The first is about the money that is being invested, and the second is about the way it is being invested. Our Conservative government established a principle of transparency, because it is important for members of indigenous communities to know where federal money is going and how it is being shared among communities. Sadly, and this is another example of what I was saying, this government says one thing and does another. It advocates transparency, but it hid the way federal funds are transferred to communities. That shows a lack of transparency.

It is the government that decides when to table bills. We have no say over that. However, it is tabling this bill at the eleventh hour. We are ready to put in the work, but we do not want to mess this up, because the relationship between first nations and the Canadian government is too important.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Madam Speaker, the member talked about the Liberals doing things that are mainly and mostly symbolic. I would agree. This needs to be backed with funding and a real commitment that demonstrates a sense of urgency.

I have to go back to the Harper government. It cut over $60 million for indigenous organizations. John Duncan, from Vancouver Island, was the then aboriginal affairs minister. When he was put in that position in 2012, he said the Conservatives would change the funding model for aboriginal organizations and tribal councils, focusing on the areas that matched the Harper government's priorities. They were basically dictating the priorities of indigenous people instead of allowing them to define their own priorities.

I received a message from a councillor from the Tseshaht Nation, which I read this morning. In it he said that we need to send funding directly to communities. He said that he respects the work of some organizations but that the communities know what is best for their nations' languages. I have to agree with the councillor and indigenous organizations.

If the Conservatives were in government, would they retreat back to the Harper way of doing business and dictate to first nations how they should be doing business?

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

I want to come back to something that I witnessed here in the House of Commons. I was here when prime minister Harper issued a heartfelt apology to residential school survivors on behalf of the Canadian government. At the time, that was really something, because it initiated the broader reconciliation process, which is a long and difficult road given the harm that has been done and its lasting effects.

I am very proud of Prime Minister Harper and Minister Duncan for beginning the process of transferring the responsibility for education to first nations. That is a critical issue and it also affects what we are talking about today. That work is under way, and I am very proud of that.

I hope that the bill that we are examining today will help strengthen the pride that indigenous peoples have in their culture and their languages.

[Gary Anandasangaree, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism (Multiculturalism), Lib.]

Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time with my friend from Surrey Centre.

I am deeply honoured to speak this afternoon in support of Bill C-91, the indigenous languages act. I want to start by acknowledging that we are gathered here on the traditional unceded lands of the Algonquin people.

Our language is at the core of who we are as a people, as a community and as a nation.

Before I speak to the important aspects of the bill, I would like to explain to the House the major challenges that I face as a first-generation immigrant to Canada.

Every day, I struggle to make sure that my two daughters understand and speak their mother tongue, Tamil, at home.

For me, the ability to be part of this community is at my core. The ability to understand this language allows me to understand this community. I want my two children to be able to have the opportunity and the right to understand the language and be connected to the people. Likewise, all families want their language to be spoken and understood, be it English, French, Finnish or Tamil. It is who we are as a people.

However, these languages are not at risk of extinction, nor are the speakers and keepers of these languages dying. Most indigenous language speakers do not have the privilege and protection that is available to other languages in Canada. Sadly, the legacy for indigenous people in Canada is that every one of the 90 languages spoken here prior to colonization is at threat of being lost. According to UNESCO, 75% of these languages are in danger of becoming extinct. Imagine the languages, dialects and voices of many communities lost forever. I cannot fathom it. We cannot fathom it, and we cannot understand it.

This happened because successive governments undertook the process of colonization that Madam Justice McLachlin has called “cultural genocide”. This meant that the government took children from their homes and their communities and put them in residential schools. The children were forbidden from speaking their languages and practising their spirituality and were often abused for practising who they were.

Some communities were forceably moved from one geographical location to another. Some children from indigenous homes were taken and placed in foster homes or put up for adoption through the sixties scoop. We have a modern-day version of the sixties scoop, whereby children are taken by child welfare agencies and put in foster care.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission report outlined many experiences of residential school survivors, and I want to share two such stories.

One is from William Herney, who spoke Mi'kmaq with his brother at residential school. He said:

And she says, “What are you two boys doing?” “Nothing, Sister.” “Oh, yes, I heard you. You were talking that language, weren't you?” “Yes, Sister.” “Come here,” she said. I went over. She took a stick. She leaned me over to the bathtub, the bathtub, grabbed me by the neck, and I don't know how many whacks she gave me over my bum, and I was crying like I don't know what. Then, she took a piece of soap, and she washed my mouth in it. I can still even taste that lye soap. All my life I tasted that taste. And she said, “You don't talk that language here. That's a no, no, no, you don't, you understand?” Looks at me straight in the eye. She said, “Do you understand that?” And I said, “Yes, Sister, I understand.”

Rose Dorothy Charlie, who was at an Anglican school in Carcross, said:

They took my language. They took it right out of my mouth. I never spoke it again. My mother asked me why, why you could hear me, she’s, like, “I could teach you.” I said, “No.” And she said, “Why?” I said, “I’m tired of getting hit in the mouth, tired of it. I’m just tired of it, that’s all.” Then I tried it, I went to Yukon College, I tried it, and then my own auntie laugh at me because I didn’t say...the words right, she laughed at me, so I quit. “No more,” I said. Then people bothered me, and say, “How come you don’t speak your language?” And I said, “You wouldn't want to know why.” So, I never speak, speak it again.

The depth of the loss of indigenous languages cannot be quantified. The eternal links to language, and by extension culture, have been broken. Generations of indigenous people in Canada have been shamed into losing their language and culture because of the policies and practices of successive Canadian governments and many institutions.

A patchwork of programs and initiatives exist to support the preservation, protection and revitalization of indigenous languages.

Not all languages face the same risk of extinction. Some have better odds of survival than others, but it is all relative. We need to do more to protect, preserve and revitalize all indigenous languages.

We cannot change the past. The past is done. However, we can and must change the course of the future.

In this moment in time, the 42nd Parliament has made enormous strides in advancing equality, human rights and indigenous rights. In 2015, our government committed to implementing all 94 calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Calls to action 13, 14 and 15 require the entrenchment of legislation and a framework that will ensure the protection, preservation and revitalization of indigenous languages.

Our government adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and this past year, this House adopted Bill C-262 to ensure that the laws of Canada are in harmony with UNDRIP. UNDRIP requires state parties to take effective measures to support indigenous languages.

In 1981, section 35 of the Canadian Constitution enshrined a full box of rights to first nations, Métis and Inuit peoples. Such rights include the right to language.

Our Prime Minister affirmed that Canada would move forward on a relationship that nation to nation, Inuit to Crown and government to government, all based on the recognition of the rights framework. Bill C-91 does this, and this year, as we mark the United Nations Year of Indigenous Languages, we bring this bill forward to change the trajectory of indigenous languages and, once and for all, commit to ensuring the long-term protection, preservation and revitalization of these languages.

Permit me to outline some major features of Bill C-91. This bill was codeveloped with the national indigenous organizations, including the AFN, ITK and the MNC. This bill offers a distinction-based approach to languages. That is, it recognizes that not all languages are in need of the same level of protection. It respects the principle of self-determination. It envisions a national framework and commission that will monitor and report on the progress made.

Let me offer one additional reason for the urgency in passing this legislation. Three weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit Prince George, British Columbia. I met with members of the Lheidli T'enneh first nation. There were five fluent speakers of Lheidli T'enneh with the dialect of Dakelh. I met the chief and several members of council, none of whom spoke the language, but all were striving to preserve the language itself. The loss of this language is imminent if a concerted effort is not made to preserve it.

Last week, elder Mary Gouchie, one of the native speakers, died. In marking her passing, the MP for Cariboo—Prince George said this of elder Mary Gouchie:

Mary understood that our words connect us to our past. Our words and our music are two of the foundations of the human experience. Without them, we have no past. Without them, we have no future, and without them, we have no awareness of who we might be.

In closing, I want to conclude by recognizing the keepers and teachers of all indigenous languages like elder Mary Gouchie. Notwithstanding that so many indigenous languages are endangered in Canada, the mere fact that so many of these languages still exist is due to the brave unsung heroes who have worked so hard to protect and preserve these languages.

Let us do right by them. Let us do right by future generations, and let us just do this.

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the parliamentary secretary's speech. He sort of verifies why I believe this is a significant piece of legislation and why it is important. He may not remember that there are many languages in the world that have disappeared. This is happening all over the world. The United Nations, which was referred to, in a misguided way developed one language that it wanted us all to speak. Some of my colleagues may not remember that, and I am glad it disappeared.

However, the point of understanding is that we need to work with indigenous peoples, and this has to take time. It has to be done right. It cannot be rushed through, saying that tomorrow it will be at committee and we want a report and recommendations in weeks. That does not work. This has to take time. That is why I am objecting to doing this, this late in the mandate. We cannot.

This is important for the culture of indigenous people. They have a number of orders for sweetgrass and a number of orders for sage. This is being lost. This takes time. We cannot do it this quickly. It is too late in the mandate to get this done right.

[Gary Anandasangaree]

Madam Speaker, I note that there are 13 weeks, as the member opposite said, that the House will sit. If this logic were to be followed through, we might as well rise today and wait until the election in October.

The fact is that, as parliamentarians, we have an obligation. We actually have the opportunity right now in the remaining weeks of this mandate to work hard, to work together and to work collaboratively on something that is so fundamental to this country, so fundamental to so many language speakers. I think it would be a failure on our part if we were to give up right now and say that we do not have enough time. I do believe we have enough time, and I believe that we collectively can get this done.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Madam Speaker, I heard the member say in his remarks that this legislation was codeveloped with ITK, of all people. I want to share with the member a quote from Natan Obed, the president of ITK. He said:

Despite being characterized as a reconciliation and co-development initiative, the Government of Canada engaged Inuit in bad faith throughout this legislative initiative....

ITK wanted nothing more than to truly co-develop a bill that we could champion with other indigenous peoples and the Government of Canada.... In no way was this bill co-developed with Inuit.

If the president of ITK obviously feels very strongly that this was not a codeveloped initiative, I am wondering on what basis the member is saying that this is codeveloped. Is it not in keeping with the spirit of reconciliation that, if indigenous peoples are saying that this was not genuine codevelopment, the government would not seek to override that claim and claim that it was codeveloped when the Inuit clearly do not feel that way?

[Gary Anandasangaree]

Madam Speaker, we are in new territory. In fact, codevelopment has taken place over the last couple of years with the three national indigenous organizations. Codevelopment does not mean co-drafting. A lot of work went into, for example, developing the 12 principles that were developed together with the Government of Canada and the three national indigenous organizations, which formed the basis of this bill. During this time, all three national organizations were supportive.

With respect to ITK, I have seen the comments from ITK, and once this matter goes to committee, greater clarity will be sought, and that will be incorporated into the final bill when it comes back for third reading.

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech, and especially for giving part of it in French.

The Bloc Québécois agrees with the principle of the bill and will definitely vote for it at second reading.

In my riding, members of the Manawan Atikamekw community speak Atikamekw. However, there is not enough funding at present to teach Atikamekw or French at the primary and secondary levels.

Could my colleague tell us if the bill provides for adequate funding for the teaching of these languages?

[Gary Anandasangaree]

Madam Speaker, the bill itself does not allocate funding at this point. However, it is the framework that would ensure that indigenous communities across Canada, based on their need and on their ability to determine what are the priorities for them and what mode and method of teaching and preserving and revitalization is important, will be able to secure funding through the government.

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

Madam Speaker, I rise to speak on Bill C-91, an act respecting indigenous languages.

I come from the land of the Coast Salish people, namely the Kwantlen, Katzie and Tsawwassen first nations.

For me language is like one's mother. It nourishes, heals, embraces and caresses us. For this country, language has been one of its defining legacies, both good and bad. When it comes to French and English, the protection of these languages is part of our Constitution, and debates on how to protect them, particularly where either speaker is in a minority, have been robust. For French and English language rights, we have become a beacon, an example and a standard for others to use and see.

However, our history is not so great when it comes to the indigenous languages of this nation. This country took young children from their parents, incarcerated them in prison-like environments, took away their names and re-named them, punished them for speaking in the language of their peoples, and stole their identities from them.

This was done in full sight of the governments of the day and with the blessings of both church and state. However, this was a much more sinister plan, one designed and concocted to eliminate and exterminate a people, a culture, a society that was rich, humane and in harmony with the land.

Civilizations and societies, however great, do this from time to time. They commit to actions that they see as right and justified, and do heinous crimes because they usually fail to see how their actions will affect the people they are created for. Sometimes it is deliberate, and sometimes it is out of ignorance, but at no time is it acceptable.

However, Canada, and to some degree the world, has come a long way from the days of forced assimilation and residential schools to, now, truth and reconciliation, and recognizing indigenous languages as a right.

This bill will put into place actions 13, 14 and 15 of the Truth And Reconciliation Commission of Canada and put the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples into effect. It will require the federal government to fund indigenous languages and create an office of the commissioner of indigenous languages. This is very important, as currently only 20% of indigenous people can converse in their language, and in B.C. that number is even less, with only one in 27 being able to converse in an indigenous language.

If one doubts the value and power of language, then just look to how it affects youth suicide rates. With those who spoke their indigenous language, the rates were one-sixth of those who did not. Those with no ability to speak their language had a rate of suicide that was six times higher. Today all 90 indigenous languages are in danger of extinction.

This is only the beginning. Languages help people understand the richness of their culture and the history of their peoples, and see the world through a different and more colourful lens. It helps people appreciate their ancestry, history and lineage. While this country has had its fair share of shortfalls and misdeeds when it comes to language, culture and people, it has also learned from them and created some of the greatest policies on diversity and human rights, both of which have shaped me and who I am.

In 1978, this country adopted a policy of multiculturalism, which for me was going to be one of the most defining pieces of legislation, along with the charter, that would allow me to grow up and be the person I am today. Let me tell the House why.

When I was in kindergarten in 1980, I was a child of an immigrant. I was brown, had long hair, which was tied in a bun on the top of my head, and I looked nothing like other people in my class. All I wanted to do was look like everyone else. I wanted to be Canadian. Little did I know that, under multiculturalism, being Canadian was exactly what I was and how I should be.

I was lucky enough to have a teacher who knew this legislation, the timing and appropriateness of it. She decided to share this with me and my family. She called my parents, brought them over and, for me, at first, it was a dreadful moment. I thought this was when I was going to be put into ESL, English as a second language, that dreadful place from where one never got out. However, it was different. She spoke to my parents and said, “It seems you are teaching him Punjabi at home, and I want you to know that this is going to be an asset and a gift, something you should cherish and even do more of. Let me take care of the English at school, and I will make sure he does not lag behind.”

It stuck with me. My white Caucasian teacher was telling me to learn the language of my parents. She also said to make sure that I learned to read and write it, because it would be an asset in the future. I had no idea, because at that time, everyone was under pressure to change their names to make them more anglicized and to learn English and forget about their ancestral languages. However, it stuck with me.

In grade seven, I registered in an evening Punjabi school at the Khalsa Diwan Society in Vancouver, and I learned to read and write the language. In grade eight, I fell in love with the language and started listening to British Punjabi bhangra and hip hop, and from there, there was no stopping. I loved reading newspapers, history and sometimes literature and listening to Punjabi poetry. It helped me understand what my parents went through, what my aunts and uncles appreciated and listened to and how flavours of foods really tasted. Today it gives me great honour when people tell me my Punjabi is great and ask when I came to Canada. I say I was born and raised in Canada. It is the reason I speak this language and can read and write it.

Fast-track to 35 years later. I serve in a government led by a Prime Minister who himself was brought up in a home with a similar language upbringing. I read at one point that his father made a rule in the household that if they were on the main floor, they were to speak French with their friends and parents. If they were upstairs in their bedrooms or downstairs in the rec room, they could speak English with their friends, but on the main floor they were to speak French. That is why the Prime Minister is fully bilingual and cherishes that right. It was very encouraging for me to read that it was not only my parents who had those rules at home. Other people across this country also shared those same rules.

I sometimes feel like a failure when it comes to my home, because I probably breach a lot of those rules. I speak English to my kids when I should be teaching them other languages at the same time. For that, I am sorry. However, I have given them the gift of learning Punjabi at evening school and at day school as well.

I hope this act will give our indigenous children the same right, the same sense of pride and belonging and the same tools to preserve their languages, joke in their languages and dialects and sing in their beautiful rhythms. I hope the House quickly ratifies this legislation so that never again will our indigenous people have to fight for their right to preserve their languages. May they always be able to cherish and speak their languages, and may Canada become a beacon for indigenous languages around the world.

[Sonia Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton South, ON]

Madam Speaker, I would ask my colleague, can you tell us how this act fits into the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report, and what role would an agreement with our provincial counterparts play in implementing this act?