Evidence of meeting #94 for Procedure and House Affairs in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was dene.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

12:25 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Larry Bagnell

Thank you.

Go ahead, Mr. Stewart.

12:25 p.m.

NDP

Kennedy Stewart NDP Burnaby South, BC

Thank you very much, Dr. Ouellette. You give me a lot to think about, and about my own identity too.

I'm a Canadian. I believe in intrinsic equality, and I think that's reflected in our constitution, but what you're making me think about is that I thought forever of indigenous languages as your language. Now I'm thinking of it as my language; I just don't speak it. Since it's my language and I don't speak it, perhaps I should try to protect it.

That's really the value of what you're doing here. You're providing Canadians with a chance to reflect on who they are and what it means to be Canadian, that Canadians are people who speak indigenous languages, and they're part of that discussion. The state should reflect that, because that's what the state does. It's directed by the Constitution. It's directed by the will of the citizens. I think you're spot-on and I really support what you're doing here, as I have told Mr. Saganash as well.

I support investing in this, and I really like your idea of a CPAC channel. I think I'd probably watch that one, because as a Canadian I'd like to learn that language that is mine but that I just don't speak.

You talked about your elders who don't feel Canadian. They don't know that they've invented a word for MP now because you represent them. I think that's what Canada has to mean in the future if we're going to move ahead.

Could you elaborate on what you think are the first steps we have to take to recognize what you've expressed as your dream?

12:30 p.m.

Liberal

Robert-Falcon Ouellette Liberal Winnipeg Centre, MB

Well, obviously, you have to come up with a report to make a recommendation to the House. That's the important thing.

Then you need to submit it to a vote in some form of motion to the chamber, as in 1956, when they decided to have simultaneous translation or interpretation of the French and English languages in Parliament, and make sure that when we sit in the new West Block chamber, the people's House, the opportunity exists for interpretive services there.

Then the interpretive services need to get to work to convene tables where linguists in Cree, for instance, from across Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba, northern Ontario, and even Quebec sit down to see what the common terms are. If someone decides to say “health care”, how do we say it?

What is an MP?

How are we going to say it? How are we going to write it out? Are we going to use syllabics or are we going to use something else? Let them come up with a solution. That's, I think, the first step, and we must take the time to get it right.

12:30 p.m.

NDP

Kennedy Stewart NDP Burnaby South, BC

Could I ask if you think we should try it with one language first? Do you think that would be acceptable, almost as a pilot to see if we can move it through? Do you think that would be too offensive to others to do it that way?

12:30 p.m.

Liberal

Robert-Falcon Ouellette Liberal Winnipeg Centre, MB

Well, I'm not sure if there.... I'm sure I'm going to have a bunch of emails and texts from people who speak various languages, but if you look at the Michif language, the Métis language, there are very few speakers left. There are a couple. It's on its last legs, with 500 speakers. Many are very elderly. I'm not sure they have the time. Some might have the time to come up with some terms.

I think we really need to find a couple of languages—maybe three or four—and start to blaze the path with them. I would suggest Cree, Inuktitut, Dene, and Anishinaabemowin or Ojibwa, which is a common term used to describe Anishinaabemowin, to kind of blaze that path.

Then after that, as more MPs also become elected, that would serve as an incentive to people to become involved in the political process, to hear their voices in Parliament, to hear their language in Parliament. Someone might think, “We need a Salish speaker in Parliament. We want to hear the Salish language. Maybe we should become involved in the political process and get one of our people elected to the Conservatives, the NDP, the Green Party, the Liberals—pick a party.”

12:30 p.m.

NDP

Kennedy Stewart NDP Burnaby South, BC

Thank you.

The narrative you're suggesting is perhaps a four-language pilot?

12:30 p.m.

Liberal

Robert-Falcon Ouellette Liberal Winnipeg Centre, MB

I'm suggesting four, yes.

12:30 p.m.

NDP

Kennedy Stewart NDP Burnaby South, BC

Then what would be the first step we'd do with those? I know you started to touch on it, but perhaps you could elaborate a little more.

12:30 p.m.

Liberal

Robert-Falcon Ouellette Liberal Winnipeg Centre, MB

Well, I think you'd need to get a group of linguists together to sit down and come up with the terms. Then do some practice runs to find out how it would sound and how much it is requested.

Obviously we have a little bit of a practice run going here. I tried to do something here today. I spoke in French and in English, and I ensured that the gentleman was hopefully doing translation into Cree at the same time, and listening to the French translation into English and then into Cree, trying to find a way of coordinating that. These are the things that are going to have to start at some point, or could start.

It's up to you. Obviously I don't want to presage your—

12:30 p.m.

NDP

Kennedy Stewart NDP Burnaby South, BC

Could I ask you one more question?

You're saying we have to narrow it to perhaps four languages to begin with. Could we start with a certain procedure, such as the S. O. 31s, and try it out through that, or would you suggest we have to do a much broader swath of interpretive...?

12:30 p.m.

Liberal

Robert-Falcon Ouellette Liberal Winnipeg Centre, MB

If someone is going to speak in Cree, I think they should probably come up with the speech a little bit beforehand as well. They'd sit down with some of the interpreters and perhaps a linguist and say, “What are the terms you would like to use? What is an appropriate term if I said this and then talked about this? What would you be able to say? Would you understand what I'm saying?” Give some appropriate lead time to people to have those discussions, because it is brand new and it's not been done, and take the time to get it right.

12:35 p.m.

NDP

Kennedy Stewart NDP Burnaby South, BC

Okay. Thank you.

Do I still have some time? Okay.

I'd like to be at the first speech. If you give us a little leeway, we can all sit there and listen, which would be great—and respond, I would hope.

12:35 p.m.

Liberal

Robert-Falcon Ouellette Liberal Winnipeg Centre, MB

Yes, an S. O. 31 sounds interesting.

12:35 p.m.

NDP

Kennedy Stewart NDP Burnaby South, BC

Okay. You're suggesting an S. O. 31 and an advance lead on a speech for a government bill or something. You'd be able to say, “I will speak next week to this”, or something like that.

Do you have any other suggestions for how we might practically try this?

12:35 p.m.

Liberal

Robert-Falcon Ouellette Liberal Winnipeg Centre, MB

I think you have to give a certain.... I think the Senate right now has a nice system, the 48 hours' notice. Obviously interpreter services still have to compile a list of approved interpreters who can offer this service and who are around to offer this service.

You also want it to be cost-effective in some way. It's good to fly people in from different parts of the country for a few moments, but you want it to be done in a way that is also good on the public purse. This is not a....

12:35 p.m.

NDP

Kennedy Stewart NDP Burnaby South, BC

Perhaps we could have a question period when we use all indigenous languages to ask the Prime Minister a question—which he knows well in advance, of course.

12:35 p.m.

Liberal

Robert-Falcon Ouellette Liberal Winnipeg Centre, MB

Perhaps someday. You never know. That might be very interesting. Take the dream even further.

12:35 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Larry Bagnell

Thank you very much.

As you said, in different languages it's different. The people of the Arctic have a whole bunch of different words for “snow” in Inuktitut. It's not a simple procedure, but you've opened a very important discussion for this nation, and we really appreciate it.

We also appreciate your interpreter, Darren Okemaysim. Mahsi cho. Meegwetch.

12:35 p.m.

Liberal

Robert-Falcon Ouellette Liberal Winnipeg Centre, MB

He's from Beardy's and Okemasis First Nation, and from the First Nations University in Saskatchewan.

12:35 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Larry Bagnell

He's from Beardy's and Okemasis First Nation and the First Nations University. Great. Thank you for being here on this historic day. Meegwetch.

12:35 p.m.

Liberal

Robert-Falcon Ouellette Liberal Winnipeg Centre, MB

[Member speaks in Cree]

12:35 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Larry Bagnell

Do you have any closing remarks?

12:35 p.m.

Liberal

Robert-Falcon Ouellette Liberal Winnipeg Centre, MB

I just appreciate everything that you're doing.

I must say you probably didn't expect to be dealing with this at the PROC committee, and I apologize for that. I appreciate the Speaker trying to find a path forward for it. You know there were lots of things I could have done. I could have challenged the Speaker's ruling and tried to push a vote in the House, which would have been dramatic and perhaps burned a lot of bridges at the same time.

I really appreciate all of you and the work that you're doing in trying to help make this country a very inclusive and better place for all of us.

Thank you very much.

[Member speaks in Cree]

12:35 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Larry Bagnell

And reconciled.

Merci. We will suspend for a minute while we change witnesses.

12:40 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Larry Bagnell

Good afternoon and welcome. We now resume the 94th meeting of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. This afternoon, we are going to examine Bill C-377, An Act to change the name of the electoral district of Châteauguay—Lacolle. The sponsor of the bill, and the hon. member for Châteauguay—Lacolle, Brenda Shanahan, is with us today.

Thank you for joining us. After your presentation, there will be a period for questions from members of the committee. Thereafter, the committee will study the bill clause by clause.

Mrs. Shanahan now has the floor for her presentation.