Evidence of meeting #58 for Indigenous and Northern Affairs in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was inuktitut.
A video is available from Parliament.
Clinical Supervisor, Kiuna College
They do. They come from various communities in Quebec and from First Nations Educational Council member communities. Some are also our members' children.
Bloc
Sylvie Bérubé Bloc Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC
You talk about the good things your college does. What would inspire other institutions to follow suit?
Clinical Supervisor, Kiuna College
For us, having a psychosocial team as strong as ours, despite the lack of funding, has always been an investment, not an expense. Having a psychologist on site for several years is a luxury they don't have in the communities. We're very proud to have a highly specialized neuropsychologist working in the communities who knows the challenges related to learning a second language and to working with multiple service providers. One of those people, who studied at Kiuna College, is an Innu from Pessamit who speaks the language.
When Mr. Gros‑Louis says that psychosocial services are the foundation of our success, it's because they are integrated with academic success.
Director General, First Nations Education Council, Kiuna College
Ms. Bérubé, I would complete our presentation with a simple statement. Canada has just invested $1.1 billion in an agreement for elementary and secondary schools. All Kiuna College needs to succeed is $3 million to cover operating costs. It's a small amount, but it would make a huge difference in shaping the next generation of leaders in our communities.
Liberal
NDP
Lori Idlout NDP Nunavut, NU
[Member spoke in Inuktitut, interpreted as follows:]
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I want to thank all the witnesses who have come to give their statements here today. I am liking what I am hearing.
Ella Estey, I thank you and I am proud of you.
To the students who are here from Nunavut Sivuniksavut, welcome. Education is very important to all of us here. I am glad to see you present here today, especially when we are dealing with a bill that pertains to education.
I'm proud of you for using two languages—the first language. You stated that, if Inuit are going to succeed in graduating from classes and if we want to see more graduates, we have to include the mother tongue in the education curriculum. This is something that has been a concern for us for a very long time. I'm listening to what you are saying today: The education system is from the Alberta education system. The words you said are very strong.
Now, I want to ask you this: While you are still going to school, do you have an idea of which needs have to be met? Do you have resources in place, or do you need more resources to ensure we see more graduates? Has the Department of Education been approached about the need for resources? What is there? Are you able to answer this question?
Thank you.
Student, As an Individual
Thank you for the question.
There are multiple resources available within Nunavut, but they are not officially in the curriculum. To give you a couple of examples, in 2007, Pirurvik created a program called “Tusaalanga”, which is a website where people can learn Inuktitut in a variety of dialects with 24 levels. They've divided those 24 levels into three books called “Inuktitut Second Language Foundations”, which were used optionally in my grade 10 Inuktitut class. If anything, my Inuktitut is not very strong. That was the most Inuktitut I have ever learned in my lifetime.
Alongside that, for a younger audience, Inhabit Media create many educational books and have their 17 reading level Nunavummi series, which I believe can be an amazing resource for younger children—anywhere from kindergarten up to grade 5 or 6. However, they are not being used officially within the curriculum, and they're an optional resource. I believe it should not be optional.
NDP
Lori Idlout NDP Nunavut, NU
[Member spoke in Inuktitut, interpreted as follows:]
Thank you.
I understand the word “optional”. If there were to be a vote about this, what would you want people to vote for, or what would you be looking for in terms of strengthening Inuktitut?
[English]
Do you have any recommendations for how to make improvements? For example, you just outlined the fact that optional is not enough. What would you do to strengthen it so that we actually see improvements in the system? Do you have any recommendations you can share with us?
Student, As an Individual
Thank you. Alongside either partnering with Pirurvik or Inhabit Media to have their resources within our curriculum....
I'm sorry. Chair, can the question be repeated, if that's okay?
NDP
Lori Idlout NDP Nunavut, NU
[Member spoke in Inuktitut, interpreted as follows:]
Do you have a recommendation in place to ensure that this is not optional anymore but is an actual resource for learning?
Student, As an Individual
Thank you. That was a better understanding.
A great example of this would be both the Aulajaaqtut and Inuktitut classes. Like I mentioned before, there's not a huge requirement within an academic degree. The only “academic” class needed to graduate in Nunavut's system is a grade 12 English class. All the rest would have to add up to 100 credits. They can be any combination of classes to achieve those credits.
I believe that the Aulajaaqtut class or Inuktitut class should not be set aside as an option. To value Inuit culture and language and to have that learning aspect, it should be at the same level as English in that you need to take a grade 12 Inuktitut class or Aulajaaqtut class to have that official requirement to graduate.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Jenica Atwin
Qujannamiik.
We'll now go to a condensed second round, starting with Mr. Shields for five minutes.
Conservative
Martin Shields Conservative Bow River, AB
Thank you, Madam Chair. It's nice to see you in the chair.
Conservative
Martin Shields Conservative Bow River, AB
It's good to be back.
Thank you to the witnesses for being here.
As a former public educator and university educator, it's a very interesting topic. Thank you for your input.
You made one comment. Are there a number of students who move into the school for just the high school, or are they moving from out of community into a different community for high school?
Student, As an Individual
I personally know a couple of students within my high school who go to Iqaluit. It could be the option of their parents going there for work, and they then would go to school there. There is an inflow of students from smaller communities who go there for school. Yes, that is true.
Conservative
Martin Shields Conservative Bow River, AB
I think you suggested that some of those were having more challenges than those who live there. That's a challenge in itself, outside of this one.
I'll go back to the teachers in a sense, because it comes back to the teachers. I think it's the fundamental piece. Concerning outreach education for teachers from universities from elsewhere, San Diego was running university graduate courses by distance 40 years ago.
Is there a possibility that people who would be interested in being teachers who know the language, connecting and working with both an on-campus and off-campus curriculum for them to learn, could be accredited as teachers?
Student, As an Individual
The NTEP, Nunavut teachers education program, is affiliated with the Nunavut Arctic College in Iqaluit, where they do learn to become Inuktitut educators. The thing with that is that NTEP is affiliated with an outside university to get that official Bachelor of Education. I would believe that the NTEP program should have that Bachelor of Education available within Nunavut, and you should be able to get it there.
Conservative
Martin Shields Conservative Bow River, AB
You need to get that there.
The University of Lethbridge started four years ago with the Blackfoot to develop education teachers. They developed this four years ago and developed a curriculum for them to be involved. Also, now the language is being developed and taught in Blackfoot, not teaching Blackfoot. You can teach the language of Blackfoot, but they're teaching the curriculum in Blackfoot. We're talking like French immersion, and Alberta has more French immersion classes than anywhere in this country, but you have to teach the course in the language. That's the next step, but you have to have teachers to be able to do that. That's the critical piece here to get that connected. If you don't get that connected, then you're teaching the language by itself and not teaching curriculum in the language.
Now, the next part is to get those courses accepted as credits. I'm a former high school principal, and there are ways to do that. You need to get that out of the optional category and into the mandatory. That it needs to be mandatory is part of it. Get it out of the optional. That has to be a recommendation. It has to be followed up. It can't be optional.
Have you been talking about that? It needs to be done.
I'll throw in university and talk about wraparound services. Is there outreach school for those who fall out? Is there an opportunity for them to come back? Is there any outreach school developed for high school students who left and then want to come back to an education? Is there any possibility of that?
Student, As an Individual
Chair, I would like it if that question can be rephrased.
Conservative
Martin Shields Conservative Bow River, AB
Is there an opportunity for adults who dropped out of high school to come back in and look to get their high school in your community?
Student, As an Individual
That, I am not a hundred per cent sure on, but I believe there is a high capability.
Conservative
Martin Shields Conservative Bow River, AB
In the Blackfoot nations on the reserve, that has been probably the most successful piece. They are having more students come back into the education system through their outreach, with high schools on the reservations bringing back those students who failed and dropped out.
They have provided them a wraparound service that gets them into secondary education. They do the wraparound to ensure that they not only get their high school but they find a secondary education level to go to. If you have a dropout rate, you need to have a mechanism to find a solution for those who are dropping out, but if they still drop out, how can you get them back in?
Student, As an Individual
Thank you.
This just reminded me that there is actually a wraparound process, where I believe that at the age of 21 you are able to take high school courses within the Nunavut Arctic College, instead of being an adult walking into the high school. They can complete courses within the Arctic College in a more mature and adult environment for them, to complete the high school degree, and then can go on to post-secondary, so yes, that is an option.