Mr. Speaker, it is an honour today to table a petition on behalf of constituents from my riding. It is signed by members of the Tseshaht and Hupačasath nations in Nuu-chah-nulth territory. They highlight that an essential part of reconciliation is addressing the harms first nations have experienced, including the devastating loss of language and culture; that there is a growing number of indigenous language learners, but the number of remaining fluent speakers is falling; that the changes to federal funding for indigenous language programming, especially in British Columbia, have put the preservation and revitalization of first nation languages and cultural heritage at risk; and that there is an urgent need to invest in indigenous language revitalization before it is too late.
The petitioners are calling on the government to ensure that there is fair, adequate, long-term funding to protect indigenous languages and for indigenous language programming.