[Witness spoke in Inuktitut]
[English]
Thank you for the question.
As Mr. Vollant indicated, there are many factors why there is low voter turnout. I indicated in my remarks that the ability to vote is still something fairly new—since the 1960s—that we've been exercising. As Commissioner Aariak has indicated, Inuit expect to be able to participate in the democratic process in Inuktut. Any efforts to ensure that Inuktut is available on the ballots will help to make it less intimidating and make it something that we feel we're a part of.
There have been instances where I've heard candidates say on the community radio, for instance, “When you go to vote, my name will be in the middle,” if there are three candidates, or “If you go to vote, my name will be the last one.” They do that because it's not in Inuktut, and to give people the confidence that they're going to vote for the person that they want to vote for.
To me, that's adapting to a system that is not serving our needs.