Evidence of meeting #146 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 centres.
A video is available from Parliament.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Julie Dabrusin
Ms. Shmon, I'm really sorry. I've let you go a little over the time allotted. If you could try to wrap it up, that would be great.
Director of Publishing, Culture and Heritage, Gabriel Dumont Institute
Okay.
I'm here to advocate for the bill to be passed. The majority of speakers are in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Manitoba has seen a decline in the last decade of 50% of its Michif speakers, and we're nearing that in Saskatchewan. Those who speak the language are all between 65 and 85 years old, so it's time that we get on it or we will lose our language.
Thank you.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Julie Dabrusin
Thank you very much.
We will now go to the National Association of Friendship Centres, please.
Jocelyn Formsma Executive Director, National Association of Friendship Centres
Thank you very much.
Before we begin our presentation, we'd also like to acknowledge the unceded Algonquin territory on which we are meeting today.
My name is Jocelyn Formsma and I am the Executive Director of the National Association of Friendship Centres.
[Witness spoke in Cree]
[English]
I'm from Moose Cree First Nation.
Christopher Sheppard Board President, National Association of Friendship Centres
Good day.
My name is Christopher Sheppard. I'm the President of the National Association of Friendship Centres. I'm an Inuk. I am a beneficiary of the Nunatsiavut government in Labrador.
We have submitted two copies of both French and English versions of the NAFC discussion paper entitled “Our Languages, Our Stories: Towards the Revitalization and Retention of Indigenous Languages in Urban Environments”.
I will start with some information about the NAFC.
The National Association of Friendship Centres is a network of over 100 members that are friendship centres and six members that are provincial and territorial associations from coast to coast to coast. Friendship centres are Canada's most significant off-reserve, indigenous, civil society network service delivery infrastructure and are the primary providers of culturally relevant programs for indigenous people living in urban environments.
For over 70 years, friendship centres have facilitated the transition of indigenous people from rural, remote and reserve life to an urban environment, and they increasingly support those who were born and raised in the urban environment. For many indigenous people, friendship centres are the first and main point of contact to find community, receive support and obtain referrals to culturally based socio-economic programs and services, which include indigenous language programs.
As NAFC president, I reported on May 9, 2018 to the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples that in 2015 alone, NAFC friendship centres saw over 2.3 million client contacts, and provided over 1,800 different programs and services in many areas, including language.
For example, at First Light St. John's Friendship Centre, there is language programming in Mi'kmaq offered to anyone in the community. The classrooms and conversations were also recorded and broadcast, and made available through Webex so that anyone could join in person or online. The proposal we initially put forward was for three indigenous languages—Mi'kmaq, Inuktitut and Innu-aimun. However, it seemed like it was too complex for the department to understand the delivery of three indigenous languages, so they asked us to scale it to one.
Under One Sky Friendship Centre in Fredericton has a “take it outside” head start project that takes children on the land to learn Maliseet in all seasons. The Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre in Halifax is a partner in an indigenous-centred training program that promotes bringing language and culture into early childhood education. Native Montréal has for three years held free weekly language classes in Innu, Cree, Anishinawbemowin, Atikamekw, Wendat and Inuktitut for both children and adults. The Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary offers Cree, Michif and Blackfoot classes funded by the province, and the Canadian Native Friendship Centre in Edmonton provides Cree classes.
The Dauphin Friendship Centre provided Michif language, and the BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres received $6 million for language programming under the provincial government.
The NAFC is here to speak about Bill C-91, because we are in it right now. We are providing language programming, and we will continue to do it because we are accountable to the indigenous communities that own and operate our centres on shoestring budgets.
Since 1972, the NAFC has built this deep, grass-rooted foundation that forms the very fabric of the urban indigenous population in Canada. We have leadership and a national network that reaches deep into urban indigenous communities that are asking for support for further use and revitalization of indigenous languages.
Urban indigenous people hold a strong connection to their identity while navigating ways to maintain cultural connections outside of their communities. This reality of our urban indigenous issues is ignored or forgotten. This is our critical hour to ensure the urban indigenous voice is heard and upheld in the establishment of Bill C-91, and respecting indigenous languages includes respecting where indigenous language is needed, and this includes Canada's urban landscape.
With the staggering increase of over 60% in the urban indigenous population in just 10 years, it is clear that a national mandate to revitalize indigenous languages must include urban indigenous communities.
Executive Director, National Association of Friendship Centres
I'll speak a little bit to what's in our language discussion paper and some of our review of Bill C-91, before we wrap up for questions.
In March 2018, the NAFC held a two-day, “Our Languages, Our Stories” forum, with representation from all parts of Canada, to discuss and contribute input into the development of indigenous language legislation; in particular, to discuss the urban perspective on the state of indigenous languages.
There were several recommendations and highlights from the gathering that directly speak to the intent of Bill C-91. Participants shared the challenge of learning their language as a second language and the importance of immersive language learning. To quote the discussion paper:
...it must be incorporated into every aspect of peoples' lives in a wholistic way and there must be opportunities to speak the language, at every age, through the cycle of life.
Strong support was expressed for friendship centres themselves acting as central hubs for language revitalization, including providing safe and culturally relevant spaces for language learning.
This gathering provided further affirmation of how proud indigenous people are of their languages and ways of knowing and being. The youth shared how integral language is to their pride and understanding of where they come from.
Our recommendations were to create a national institute of indigenous languages; conduct a national indigenous languages needs assessment and research project; advocate to make all indigenous languages official languages in Canada; support indigenous language signage in urban centres across Canada; establish a federal department of indigenous languages and education; and support friendship centres to be indigenous language learning hubs.
I'll now speak to some of the clauses in Bill C-91 that affect friendship centres and urban indigenous communities.
Reflected in Bill C-91 is the commitment to providing adequate, sustainable and long-term funding for the reclamation, revitalization, maintenance and strengthening of indigenous languages. The Government of Canada realizes indigenous peoples are best placed to take the leading role in reclaiming, revitalizing, maintaining and strengthening indigenous languages.
Friendship centres are indigenous-owned and -operated civil society organizations, operating in urban settings. This is an opportunity to draw upon the extensive NAFC network and expertise in program delivery throughout Canada. There are friendship centres in every province and territory, except for P.E.I., and each of them provides direct services to reach the urban indigenous population.
The definition of “Indigenous organization” in the bill is unclear as to whether friendship centres are considered. “Indigenous organization” is defined as an “entity that represents the interests of an indigenous group”. Friendship centres do not claim to represent the interests of any one indigenous group or its members. In fact, we represent an urban perspective and serve all indigenous groups and all members, whether they are recognized by their communities or not.
What about indigenous media organizations? Many indigenous communication organizations that have provided radio and television in indigenous languages for decades are nowhere reflected in the act.
Under the definition of “Indigenous peoples”, there is reference to subsection 35(2), which is “Indian, Inuit and Métis”. The NAFC would encourage that the definition be expanded to ensure the inclusion of all indigenous people, including non-status Indians and non-beneficiary Inuit, and be clear about what is meant by Métis. Indigenous language revitalization should not be tied to a political affiliation.
Under paragraph 5(b)(iii), under the “Purposes of Act”, it mentions supporting indigenous peoples to “create technological tools, educational materials and permanent records of Indigenous languages”. The NAFC would like to encourage that the purposes be expanded to support the technological tools, educational materials and permanent records that have already been developed. There are indigenous organizations that have databases, tapes, documents, materials and apps that have already been developed.
There are indigenous media organizations that have worked for decades and have reels of language material. If they were able to access funding and support, they would be able to mobilize and, for example, digitize these materials and make them more readily available to the public and indigenous communities and organizations, such as friendship centres.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Julie Dabrusin
I'm just checking in, because I've let you go over by a little bit. I know that you're right in the heart of it. I don't know how much more you have.
Executive Director, National Association of Friendship Centres
I have one more point, and then it's our conclusion. We can forgo our conclusion.
Executive Director, National Association of Friendship Centres
Through Bill C-91, a commissioner position will lead the implementation and oversight. What is not clear is how it will be rolled out into Canada. It lacks assurance of accountability to indigenous people.
This gap leads to the potential implications for key stakeholders in the community, including friendship centres. NAFC will want to see direct measures clearly outlined to connect impacts of Bill C-91 to the urban indigenous population, including equitable access to resources.
Further, we recommend that the commissioner and three directors be given a special mandate to consider language revitalization within urban indigenous communities, or establish a fourth director whose mandate would be solely focused on urban perspectives.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Julie Dabrusin
Thank you very much.
We'll now go directly to questions and answers, beginning with Mr. Vandal, for seven minutes.
Liberal
Dan Vandal Liberal Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB
Thank you very much to both of you for your presentations. They were very good presentations.
I'll start with Karon.
What, in your opinion, are the greatest challenges in protecting and promoting the Michif language?
Director of Publishing, Culture and Heritage, Gabriel Dumont Institute
I think the greatest challenge is the lack of speakers and the age of the speakers, because we can't use some of the strategies of other indigenous peoples where they have language nests or where they have people of teaching age who can spend all day with students.
Another great challenge is how quickly can we “capture a bank and cash the language” before we lose all of the speakers, because we're really looking at a critical timing element as being the greatest challenge.
Liberal
Dan Vandal Liberal Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB
If I want to learn Michif, are there any schools or language institutes other than Gabriel Dumont Institute, which I know of?
Director of Publishing, Culture and Heritage, Gabriel Dumont Institute
The Louis Riel Institute in Winnipeg is doing a lot as well. We have an app in two different Michif languages, which is available for both android and Mac.
We have a lot of online tools.
We know technology will be a big helper, given the low number of speakers and the lack of proximity for them to collaborate.
Liberal
Director of Publishing, Culture and Heritage, Gabriel Dumont Institute
Yes, there are different groups. I know Kelowna has a group that is doing some Michif language work. There are two schools in Saskatoon that have Métis-focused schools that implement Michif.
Director of Publishing, Culture and Heritage, Gabriel Dumont Institute
But again, they're doing it with non-Michif speakers who are interested in Michif.
Liberal
Dan Vandal Liberal Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB
If this bill passes, there is a budget, and you are able to access some support from the federal government, where would it go?
Director of Publishing, Culture and Heritage, Gabriel Dumont Institute
I think a big portion of it would have to go into this language banking. And the second part would be the creation of resources, bringing the speakers together because some of the phrases and terminology used are things that people have forgotten about. If you bring the speakers together they say, I remember hearing that. You'll find out that they call something a different term in different communities, but when they get together they remember them. So it's both depth and breadth that we're looking for in conserving the language.
A second arm of that would be in language teacher development. We have the Métis teacher programs already. Many of them are interested in becoming Michif language teachers.
The U of S has a Michif language certificate in the making.
Liberal
Director of Publishing, Culture and Heritage, Gabriel Dumont Institute
Yes, it just means preserving it because if we lose them, we'll have something to go back to.
Liberal
Dan Vandal Liberal Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB
I understand.
Jocelyn and Christopher, you mentioned a number of language programs in your friendship centres across the country. There was a lot of information very quickly.
Do you have the approximate number of language programs, and is there any particular model or practice that stands out for its results or its quality?
Executive Director, National Association of Friendship Centres
I wouldn't say we have an accurate sense of how many language programs are operating within friendship centres. These are just the ones that we know about.
We do capture the data. However, on a separate issue we haven't been able to mobilize the data that we collect from friendship centres to be able to get a good sense of where our programming is.
I couldn't give you a number of how many friendship centres there are. We just know that they're doing it and where they're getting the funding for it, we're not sure. For example, in Montreal they have been offering these language classes for a number of years for a number of different languages. It's not clear to us where the funding is coming from. I don't think it would be from the friendship centre core programming, but it's a possibility.
We know in some cases that the provincial governments are providing some funds to support indigenous languages.