Qujannamiik.
First off, Madam Chair, I also am disappointed. I was hoping to speak in my mother tongue of Inuktitut today, but I also recognize the challenges. I appreciate the challenges and the efforts that you guys went through to make sure I was able to speak in Inuktitut.
Madam Chair, honourable members of the committee, qujannamiik for inviting me today. It's an honour for me to appear before you.
Nunavut is a jurisdiction like no other. It has three official languages: Inuktut, which includes Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun; English; and French. The majority of Nunavut residents speak Inuktut as their mother tongue. In fact, a majority of Nunavut Inuit speak primarily Inuktut, despite significant declines in its use.
Election ballots used in municipal and territorial elections across Nunavut include Inuktut. I think there is no reason for the Government of Canada to adhere to a lesser standard. At a minimum, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples requires Canada to ensure that interpretation is available to electors who prefer to use Inuktut when casting their ballot. However, the secrecy of the vote will be compromised if we rely solely on interpretation services to facilitate an elector's participation in the democratic process.
This is especially true of small fly-in communities where Inuit electors could have concerns about others knowing how they voted. This is why it is vital to use interpretation services only when strictly necessary and when there are no other options. In this case, there is a clearly viable option of using Inuktut on ballots in federal elections, just as it is used in municipal and territorial elections across Nunavut.
The Inuit Language Protection Act requires the use of Inuktut in public signs, posters, reception and client services. The ILPA applies to federal agencies, departments and institutions. Despite this, Elections Canada has failed to implement its Inuit-language obligations to comply with ILPA in Nunavut. My office advised Elections Canada of its ILPA obligations, since Nunavummiut had filed concerns which attracted significant media attention.
I'd like to give you five examples of admissible concerns that our office has received. In example one, Inuktitut was missing on posters directing voters where to vote during advance polls. In example two, the dates and hours of operation for advance polling were not available in Inuktitut. In example three, information at the advance polling stations and information regarding special ballot instructions were not available in Inuktitut. In example four, the name of the organization, Elections Canada, was not provided in Inuktut on the voter information card. In example five, we are experiencing COVID, and the “mask required” sign posted on a door during election day was only in English. My office has also received concerns that syllabics were not printed on the federal ballots, even though the current laws do not require this.
I therefore recommend the following to encourage the inclusion of all Nunavummiut in the federal electoral process. Recommendation number one is to amend the Canada Elections Act to include both Roman orthography and Inuktitut syllabics on federal election ballots. Recommendation two is to amend the Canada Elections Act to use Inuit-language text in Elections Canada public signs and posters that is at least as prominent as English and French. Recommendation three is to create and implement a policy and procedure specific to Nunavut to ensure that Elections Canada complies with its obligations as set out in the Inuit Language Protection Act. Elections Canada must take effective measures to remove all barriers to participation of Nunavut Inuit electors in the democratic process.
UNESCO marked 2022 as the beginning of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages to ensure indigenous peoples' rights to preserve, revitalize and promote their languages.
I also want to quote what is stated in the preamble to Nunavut's Inuit Language Protection Act:
Deploring the past government actions and policies of assimilation and the existence of government and societal attitudes that cast the Inuit Language and culture as inferior and unequal, and acknowledging that these actions, policies and attitudes have had a persistent negative and destructive impact on the Inuit Language and on Inuit;
It is imperative for federal agencies, departments and institutions such as Elections Canada to commit to taking all necessary steps for the usage, preservation, revitalization and promotion of the Inuit language in Nunavut.
Qujannamiik, merci, and thanks for the opportunity.