[Witness spoke in Inuktitut as follows:]
ᖁᔭᓐᓇᒦᒃ ᐊᐱᕆᒐᕕᑦ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᖁᔭᓐᓇᒦᕐᐳᖓ ᐅᖃᓪᓚᒋᐊᕐᑐᕈᓐᓇᕐᑎᑕᐅᒐᑦᑕ ᑲᔪᓯᓂᐊᕐᐳᒍ ᓱᓕ....
[Inuktitut text translated as follows:]
Thank you for the question, Lori, and thanks for the opportunity to answer your question.
[English]
I'd like to actually get to another article in UNDRIP, which is article 5. It provides that indigenous peoples have the right “to participate fully, if they so choose, in the political, economic, social and cultural life of the State.”
While Canada is making plans to implement UNDRIP, article 5 and article 13 should be focused on. As you mentioned, article 13 requires subscribing states to take effective measures to ensure language rights are protected and also to ensure that indigenous peoples “can understand and be understood in political, legal and administrative proceedings”.
While the government and Canada are committed to UNDRIP's implementation, going through this, making sure that the Inuit language is on the ballot would definitely help in the right direction. More needs to be done. I think we should especially take Nunavut as a priority. Why? Because we already have language rights in Nunavut. It's a unique jurisdiction. Why? Because Nunavummiut are expecting ballots in the Inuit language and getting information and being involved in this political process inclusively in our language. Why? Because my office is still receiving concerns regarding the electoral process, the fact that there is not Inuit language material or that the ballots are not in Inuktut.
There needs to be more done, but I think focusing on Nunavut because of its unique legal rights, language rights, jurisdiction would be definitely a positive move.