Evidence of meeting #145 for Canadian Heritage in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was within.
A video is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Gordie Hogg Liberal South Surrey—White Rock, BC
Thank you very much for your comments and testimony. Just so we are clear, the purpose of this process is to look at improvements that we can make. Certainly, we're most open to any types of suggestions you have.
One challenge we have is that there are often testimonies that are in conflict with each other, and so we have to make some judgments with respect to those. The values that some of you have highlighted in terms of the overall intent of the legislation are an important part of it. How we start to articulate that, hopefully, reinforces the things you're saying.
Clearly the role of the commissioner and the directors—who, as you've appropriately pointed out, should be indigenous people who have understanding of that knowledge. They will have a lot of the articulation responsibilities in terms of where that goes and what that looks like. Indigenous communities could start their own school boards, for instance. There are a number of things they can do to be able to carry out the actions they want from that.
Ms. McLeod made reference to British Columbia, which I think has given about $50 million to start looking at indigenous languages and actions around indigenous languages. How do you see that being allocated in British Columbia? Given that we have almost half of the indigenous languages from Canada in B.C., how do you see that being allocated? Do you have some principles or ideas around how that might be done?
Executive Director, Witsuwit'en Language and Culture Society
I think one really important thing, as we mentioned in our feedback, is that we're working on a nation-to-nation basis, and so each of those nations is determining who is representative of that nation.
For Wet'suwet'en people, I know we are a little bit special, a little bit distinct in British Columbia because we still have a very intact traditional governance system. The Witsuwit'en Language and Culture Society works very closely with our hereditary chiefs system, and with our clans and our houses that govern our territory. I think it's really important that it be written in here that when the money is being disbursed, it's not just disbursed to band councils, because those have a very limited geographic scope. We want all of our membership to have access to the language resources and the language programs. That would include people who are living on reserve, which is what currently the chief and council represent, just the reservation. We also want them to be available to our membership who are off reserve and possibly even off the territory.
At WLCS we have a lot of requests for online material or Skype classes, and we just don't have the capacity to do that. I think it's really important that, when you're looking at disbursement of funds, you're dealing with a group or an entity that is able to serve the entire nation and not just the reservation.
Liberal
Gordie Hogg Liberal South Surrey—White Rock, BC
My understanding is that the province has not yet decided how that allocation will take place, so there might be an assumption that it's as you're describing, that people could apply, that any individual, any council, any organization, or any school district could apply. Is that your understanding as well at this point?
Executive Director, Witsuwit'en Language and Culture Society
I'm not sure. I think it will be interesting to see. Hopefully, it will be available equitably among the nations.
Liberal
Gordie Hogg Liberal South Surrey—White Rock, BC
It will be interesting to see as well, with the federal money and the provincial money that may be coordinated across the country, whether or not there will be a set of values or principles that are reflected consistently so that they can augment the issues that are there. Do you have any thoughts around what those principles might be, other than what you've already outlined in terms of access for anybody?
Executive Director, Witsuwit'en Language and Culture Society
No. The only thing that's really coming to mind is that fair is not equal, or equal is not fair. As I already mentioned, there's such a disproportionate number of languages within British Columbia compared to the rest of the provinces. It's going to look quite different. Funding in B.C. would look quite different from how it would be in, say, Saskatchewan.
Liberal
Gordie Hogg Liberal South Surrey—White Rock, BC
Mr. Smith, can you help me to understand how your traditional territory differs or is similar to that of Nunavut Tunngavik so I can get a grasp of what the differences might be?
Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Inuvialuit Regional Corporation
The reason I'm here is to emphasize the dire situation of the language within my specific Inuit region compared to in the others.
In our area the language is dying much more quickly than it is in the other Inuit regions. At the very least they have tools available to them, through their own governments, which they can use to develop the proper revitalization processes, whereas our region has only a government that recognizes our language.
In relation to the question you are asking about funding, our territory got an increase in funding but our region received a cut. Tell me how it is that we have 19% of the overall territorial indigenous population in my region and we're receiving cuts. It doesn't make sense. That's why I'm also stressing that this revitalization and resources and capacity need to be developed directly with us so that we're maximizing the development of these programs and tools for the children as well as for every other Inuit person in my region to the extent that we can.
Conservative
Cathy McLeod Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC
Mr. Smith, I'd like to pick up where I left off by giving you the opportunity to illustrate your three recommendations in a more robust way, because I know you were limited with your 10 minutes. I want to try to understand them all a bit better.
Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Inuvialuit Regional Corporation
I'll try to be as clear and as short as I can.
The first one I was stressing was that Inuit Nunangat should be recognized as the linguistic region across Canada for Inuktut.
Conservative
Cathy McLeod Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC
Can I just interject there?
We've had other people suggest that the legislation should have an addendum to it with some clarity around the different languages.
Do you see that as the place where you would have that notified or acknowledged?
Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Inuvialuit Regional Corporation
Part of the earlier discussion we had was that if that was the extent to which we could have it recognized at this time, then yes, for that part.
With regard to the commissioner, I think I've already answered in relation to the response I gave Mr. Hogg about how the government of my region conducts its language affairs. That's why I was stressing the concern we have with yet another commissioner. We've seen a commissioner in our region who has no teeth, no ability, no authority, etc. The person is actually French now, I think, and we're seeing a revitalization of French in a region where fewer than 5% are speaking it, so they're doing a good job in that area but there's nothing with regard to indigenous languages. If we're going to have a commissioner at the federal level, then we want to see a direct relationship with him so that we're ensuring that Inuktut is recognized and provided the proper tools for implementation.
My other point is in regard to the funding and to developing a direct working relationship. I just emphasized how the government of my area received an increase in funds while the indigenous peoples, not only us but also the different first nations south of me, received cuts. There is a disconnect between a government—the federal government in this case—providing funds and not meeting their obligations, or developing their intents without proper collaboration and input from us, as an example.
Conservative
Cathy McLeod Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC
Ms. Wickham, you raised a very good point about who gets recognized. That's going to be changing too, of course, as nations perhaps reconstitute or become stronger. You suggested that we be careful around our language in that area to ensure we met the needs of the different communities across the country. Could you talk to that particular piece a little further; where you see that happening within this legislation?
Executive Director, Witsuwit'en Language and Culture Society
I'm here representing the Wet'suwet'en. As I said, we have a unique position in British Columbia. I've heard that within B.C. only three nations have an intact traditional governance system. That means they have been practising their governance since before contact, and continued to practise their governance throughout the potlatch ban, when Canada made it illegal for them to practise. The Wet'suwet'en are one of those nations. We still practise our bathlats or our potlatches, our feast system, to this day. I have a bathlat this weekend with my clan.
I think that historically and currently our governance system hasn't been affirmed by this government. Places like the Witsuwit'en Language and Culture Society haven't been able to apply for language funding. We've been denied federal funding because we aren't recognized as representing the nation, and only reserves are recognized. We would like to see the wording around that changed so it's fair to nations like ours that aren't dependent on the chief and council band system.
Wayne Long Saint John—Rothesay, Lib.
Good morning to my colleagues.
Good morning to our witnesses, and thank you very much.
Ms. Wickham, you mentioned, and it stuck with me because I've heard it in previous testimony, making sure that minority children are captured in this, or looked after. Obviously, some of the indigenous territories, communities, are vast, as I think all three witnesses mentioned. How does this bill get to those children who aren't in a community that would have the infrastructure, the government, that kind of thing? Can you elaborate on how you see Bill C-91 capturing and covering them?
Executive Director, Witsuwit'en Language and Culture Society
I'm trying to think of an example, because I am prepared to answer on Wet'suwet'en territory.
Saint John—Rothesay, Lib.
That's fine. You can answer in respect to that, or just generally.
Executive Director, Witsuwit'en Language and Culture Society
I think it's really important for our children to have access to the language and within the school system. I am a trained teacher so I'll speak a little bit to our curriculum.
In British Columbia specifically we have more of a focus now on traditional knowledge, so certainly language could fall under that.
I think the issue we really want to see is to have indigenous languages protected and made official within their territories. For example, in Wet'suwet'en territory, which covers Burns Lake, Houston and Smithers—those are the municipalities within our territory—we would want to see Wet'suwet'en traditional place names recognized with signage.
I know in other places in British Columbia they have the local indigenous languages on their stop signs, for example, much the same way you would see French and English. Driving through Ottawa from the airport on the way here we saw that. I think that's really what we want to emphasize, that we need to have our indigenous languages protected and made official within their respective territories.
In Ottawa, it would be Anishinabe. In Kamloops, it would be Secwepemctsin. Really making that a community focus, and having the language available within the school systems would not only make it available to Wet'suwet'en students, but it would make it available to all students.
I know within the high school in Smithers, for example, when they teach the B.C. first nations studies 12 class, it's predominantly non-Wet'suwet'en students who are taking that class and it creates very rich opportunities for reconciliation to happen on that level. That's what we're hoping to see within our own territories as well.
Saint John—Rothesay, Lib.
Thank you very much, that's a great answer.
You also mentioned three phases that I found very interesting. You mentioned revitalization, stabilization and then extension.
Can you elaborate briefly on how you see Bill C-91 with respect to the extension part of that phase?
Executive Director, Witsuwit'en Language and Culture Society
Extension, I'll just quickly say, is very far in the future for us right now.
