Procedure and House Affairs Committee on March 20th, 2018

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL]

It seems logical, then, to do this through translation here from an audio perspective. Certainly it would be a logical next step.

[Romeo Saganash, NDP, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

That's the easy part.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL]

That's the easy part, yes, but yet it doesn't really exist in format.

[Romeo Saganash, NDP, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

That's what I said in Cree. We've been waiting for this for a long time, for the last 150 years. I think it should have happened long before. In New Zealand, it happened in the late 1800s.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL]

With the Maori.

[Romeo Saganash, NDP, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

The Maori. The first Maori elected to Parliament in New Zealand only spoke Maori.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL]

I'm going to turn to David Graham because he has a question, I think, that talks about the next step.

You're on the spot.

[David Graham, Liberal, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Yes, apparently.

What's the stepped approach that you see? How do we build towards where we need to be? Obviously we're not going to have all indigenous languages translated in both directions starting tomorrow, so what is the stepped process that you would see?

[Romeo Saganash, NDP, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

I don't think it will be that difficult. There are some 50 indigenous languages still spoken in this country. Today we have about 10 indigenous MPs. I don't think all of them speak their language—fluently at least. My colleague Georgina speaks her language fluently. It won't be that massive an entrance of indigenous MPs, although I wish there were. I wish there were more of us in the House of Commons. I think it's going to be easy.

I haven't visited the West Block and seen how it's going to look in terms of the technology there, or if that would be possible when we move there, but we shouldn't be afraid of the fact that there are still 52 indigenous languages spoken. That's why I'm suggesting that for indigenous people who wish to speak their language in the House of Commons, the collaboration will always be there.

We know there are many interpreters. I know the ones who can interpret from Cree to English and from Cree to French. Those interpreters exist, and we know all of them, so that part needs to be developed jointly with the MPs.

[David Graham, Liberal, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Larry Bagnell]

Thank you. Meegwetch.

Now we'll go to Mr. Richards.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

Thank you.

I appreciate your being here, too.

I have several questions, but I'll start with this. You mentioned in your opening remarks—and I might be paraphrasing them slightly—that you would always tell us ahead of time when you were looking to use your Cree language. I guess that lines up pretty well with what you said back in June, when this question of privilege came up, which led us essentially to where we are now. You said that you had tried to negotiate a solution where there would be 24 hours' or maybe 48 hours' notice to allow for an interpreter to be arranged.

Is that your feeling on this? Do you think the best approach would be to provide some kind of advance notice that would allow for an interpreter to be arranged for a pre-determined time?

[Romeo Saganash, NDP, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

I think the principle is the notice, and from there we have to determine how much time is required. If the interpreters are way up in James Bay or Nunavik, there are travel costs and travel time involved. If they're in Ottawa, then that's another story, but those are the kinds of considerations that need to be looked at.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

Okay. I just wanted to make sure you were comfortable with that—

[Romeo Saganash, NDP, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

The principle of notice is the element here.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

Okay. Can you just tell me a little bit more about the Cree language? Is Cree your mother tongue?

[Romeo Saganash, NDP, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Yes.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

I think there are a number of different dialects. That's not necessarily the correct terminology, but is that accurate? Do you know how many there are?

[Romeo Saganash, NDP, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

I think it's a question that's been brought forward by anthropologists and ethnologists. I spent 23 years at the UN, negotiating the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and whenever we were meeting with the Canadian delegation and did not want them to understand us, my brother from Alberta—Wilton Littlechild, who is Cree—and I would speak in Cree. He would perfectly understand what I was saying and I would perfectly understand what he was saying. He supposedly speaks Plains Cree, but there is not much difference.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

Okay, so that might answer my next question. Would there ever be a need for interpretation between the different dialects of Cree? It sounds like you're saying probably that wouldn't be required.

[Romeo Saganash, NDP, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Well, I think that's a privilege that belongs to the MP.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

Okay, so there is no real definite answer to that question?

[Romeo Saganash, NDP, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

No.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

Okay. Maybe you can tell me a little bit about your experiences in your constituency. This has been touched on a little bit, but how often do you communicate with your constituents in Cree? What about other indigenous languages? Do you utilize those, whether it be in spoken or in written communications, or things like that?

[Romeo Saganash, NDP, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

In any Cree meeting, assembly, or speech, I use Cree entirely. Mind you, when the Innu or Algonquin or Tkemec speak, I can understand more than half of what they're saying.