Mr. Speaker, Canada is a country of many cultures and languages. Our diversity strengthens and enriches us. In Canada we have values of respect for one another and accommodation of our differences. In Canada we do not have to be the same as everyone else. We do not all have to have the same roots or the same mother tongue to be Canadian, to love this country and to work for its betterment.
My mother tongue, Inuktitut, has been spoken in this country for thousands of years, long before European languages were spoken here. Along with other aboriginal languages, Inuktitut is an original language of Canada. Inuktitut belongs in the House of Commons.