Thank you, Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Ms. Harnum, you have answered the question. Given that there is a fair amount of work done under the commission, I think it is very important that you outline the requirement for more staff within the Languages Commission's office.

Since you have been appointed to the commission, you and I, on two occasions I think, talked about things that are in the report. If I recall correctly, you mentioned that some time you would like to travel to Kitikmeot; Pelly Bay, Gjoa Haven, Spence Bay and other communities within the region.

I see the Languages Commission is a very important division within this government and the parents are encouraging their kids to learn the Inuktitut language which, unfortunately, is being lost in some of the communities. You know that, and we know that. Given that aspect, Mr. Chairman, I wonder if you have already consulted with the education council. Perhaps talking to the parents is important as well, and working with the regional education council. Have you had anyone approach you from these different groups of educators requesting or requiring some educational materials that can be used in the classroom? Has anyone approached you on working together with the community education council to come up with the materials that can be used by Inuktitut teachers in the classroom? Has that ever come up when you talk to people who are interested in preserving and promoting the language? Thank you.

Thank you. Languages Commissioner.

Without stating specifically any individuals or any schools that have approached me, I can say that, yes, that has been brought up many times. There is a general feeling that there are not enough materials, particularly for certain dialects. There is a feeling that there are some materials being developed for certain dialects for certain languages but that other dialects do not have nearly as much material. I have had some requests about why certain languages have so much more than others.

I have visited a couple of the teaching and learning centres that are responsible for the development of materials for the schools, not for all of the development of materials, but they do quite a bit and I know that the staff in those centres are feeling very pressed. They feel they do not have enough people to do the job that needs to be done. So, yes, that has been brought up a number of times to me as a concern.

Thank you. Are there any further questions? Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My final question. There is a diversity of dialects within our jurisdiction and there have been talks in the past, but not in this Legislature, about perhaps coming up with a uniform language within this system. Now, different dialects are unique in their own way and there are many people who have said they would like to retain their own dialect within their community.

Has anyone approached you on whether the education system should be working with the uniform language, especially in the eastern Arctic? The eastern Arctic language is the only form because you can understand and communicate and maybe debate within the same room from different regions. There are words that are different and the dialects are unique given the region. What is your position on this? Do you think that having a uniform language for the eastern Arctic is a priority for your commission, or do you think that retaining different dialects is more important? Thank you.

Thank you. Languages Commissioner.

I understand your question well because it has been brought to my attention many times in all the years that I have worked with native languages in the north. I know that people are very concerned about being able to maintain their own dialect. At the same time there is a concern that, for example in the production of materials for schools, to produce one book in every dialect is going to be a lot more costly than having only one book in one dialect and circulating it to all the schools. What I have suggested to a lot of the people working in the materials development area is, if they could share materials so that one group does one story, another group does another story and then they trade. Then all they would have to do is adjust the text to the dialect.

What they did in the Katavik School Board was print books without any words in them. They had sticky labels in the back that you could pull out and put the proper words in for your dialect. There is a sheet with the text for each dialect and you put them in. The cost of printing in every single dialect is expensive. I have talked to people quite a bit about that sort of thing and how they can have enough materials available in every single dialect but still try to manage to save some costs. I think this is the big factor. You have to try to accomplish what you can with the dollars that are available. I have talked to them about the possibility of exchanging materials, or having a book printed without the text in and using labels. Whatever they can possibly do to exchange materials to help each other out in the developmental costs would be a benefit.

I am aware people want to preserve their own dialect. I think it is good for people from one dialect to read things in another dialect so that they become a bit more familiar with it. More and more people are coming together in meetings where they have to understand each other from different dialects. At the same time you can maintain your dialect but still become familiar with other dialects. It is not always possible to find one translation that suits every dialect. Having worked with the interpreters and translators, they try to find, if possible, one word that everybody can use but it is not always possible. Then you need separate versions for each dialect.

The other thing I did for groups such as the teaching and learning centres, was put together a list. I did a lot of research on sources of funding outside the G.N.W.T. because there are limited funds available from G.N.W.T. or through the Secretary of State agreement for materials, development or teaching courses. I did a fair amount of research this year on finding sources of funding from foundations, the federal government, Canada Council and other sources of funding that might help them to be able to publish some of the materials. In one teaching and learning centre they told me that they have a lot of materials ready, but they do not have the money to print them. They have a lot of material ready to go but the problem is that they do not have the funding to print or publish it and make a lot of copies. I was trying to help them find extra sources of funding to make that possible.

Thank you. General comments. Mr. Arvaluk.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is my understanding that the Languages Commissioner is responsible for languages, whether they be written or oral, to make sure that the official languages are used where applicable. For example, that the Inuktitut language is used in the government offices. From the beginning I did not see that the Languages Commissioner was to be responsible for producing materials for people to read, but rather to promote it in a way that the government departments and non-governmental agencies comply with the Languages Act. Can I get clarification on this before I go on and ask a second question?

Languages Commissioner.

To respond to that, there are two sections of the Official Languages Act that I would point out. One is in the preamble that says that this government being committed to the preservation, development and enhancement of aboriginal languages does pass this act with all of its provisions. I am looking at any service which is provided by this government through any of its departments and looking at whether it meets those criteria. Does it assist to preserve, develop and enhance aboriginal languages?

The other section that I would draw attention to is 22.1 which says, "the Languages Commissioner shall investigate any reasonable complaint made to the Languages Commissioner arising from any act or omission to the effect that in any particular instance or case in the administration of the affairs of any government institution:

a)the status of an official language was, or is not being recognized; and

b)any provision of any act or regulation relating to the status or use of the official languages was not, or is not being complied with."

I would say that even as far as the Education Act is concerned, or any other act, if there are services that are not being provided, if they are not being used in such a way as to preserve, develop and enhance native languages then it is my jurisdiction to be involved in attempting to resolve complaints in that area.

Thank you. Mr. Arvaluk.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Ms. Harnum, for that good answer. On page two of the report, section three, it says "began conducting an investigation to the language programs in one region." Do you relay the complaint to the government or non-governmental agency that the complaint is being made about, or do you investigate it yourself? What method do you use to enforce that?

Languages Commissioner.

In response to that question, when I say investigation, what I have been doing in my own mind and in the practice in the office is distinguishing between large and small investigations. When I say I am doing an investigation into the language programs in one region, that particular one is a major investigation that I was asked to do by a number of organizations in that particular region. It is taking a long time to gather the information that is required.

I do a lot of other very short investigations. I prefer to call them inquiries, they are small investigations. It does not take as much time. I might get a specific complaint or inquiry and then I can get the information very quickly and resolve it or provide the person with the answer.

This particular one that I am referring to is a full blown investigation, looking at every aspect I possibly can, related to the language programs in that region. Yes, I do inform the departments that are involved. This is one of the first things I do. As soon as I get a complaint or an inquiry I send a letter to the government department and ask them about it. I give them a chance to respond to me and I inform them of the fact that I am looking into this. In this particular one it deals with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment Programs, and I contacted the previous Minister and deputy minister and met with them. I received their permission to go ahead and investigate with regard to things from within their department.

One of the interesting questions that arose from that particular investigation was the reporting relationship of boards to the Languages Commissioner. This act applies to all institutions of government. There were questions raised about if I wanted information from an education board, or health board and what is the proper procedure for them to provide the information to me. Should it be going through the deputy minister or Minister, or should it be coming directly to me? Those are the kinds of questions that are tying things up sometimes. It takes a while to get the information. I do all of those investigations and inquiries myself. Gwen provides the administrative support and we have had other staff in the office who have been doing the surveys and gathering of information from the communities on what services and programs are available, and what some of the issues are. With regard to any of these inquiries or complaints I do all of that work myself. Again, this is another reason why it takes a while to get the answers or to finally wrap some of these things up. There are sections in the act that grant the Languages Commissioner the powers to conduct investigations.

In section 21, it says that I will take all actions and measures within the authority of the Languages Commissioner. I have asked for a legal opinion on what the authority is of the Languages Commissioner with a view to ensuring recognition of the status and privilege of each official language, etc. In section 22, in carrying out the duties set out in subsection 1, the Languages Commissioner may conduct and carry out investigations either on his/her own initiative or pursuant to a complaint. If I perceive a problem, I can investigate it. The procedure is that I have been informing the department through a letter to the deputy minister.

Most recently, we have set up a situation whereby I inform the official languages unit as well as the Government Leader's office of any inquiries and whether I receive responses by a certain time and whether it is a sufficient reply. I do have the powers of investigation. Section 21, goes a little bit farther into that. There are a number of sections in there about doing investigations. Some major questions have arisen about what authority the Languages Commissioner has to get information.

Can I demand any document from a government office? That is something that we are still working on. I think, under the powers of this act, I do have fairly broad powers to obtain documents. When I have asked for them, sometimes the G.N.W.T. needed time to find out whether or not I should be given that information. This first year a lot of these major questions are being addressed. I hope that answers your question.

Thank you. Mr. Arvaluk.

This is my last question, Mr. Chairman. It is related more to the enforcement of these. After the investigation, if it is found that there is a violation of the Official Languages Act, what is the method for enforcing it? The hotel in Iqaluit has a sign at the door about fire safety, in case of fire, how to get out, sound the alarm, etc., which is not translated. There is also a notice saying that no visitors are allowed in after 11:00 p.m. These are both only in English. There are also menus in public restaurants that are printed in English only. They should have Inuktitut as the official language in that area. What is the method of enforcing that?

Thank you. Languages Commissioner.

Thank you. The next time you go to a restaurant, bring your own interpreter. Is that it for general comments and questions? Mr. Gargan.

Mr. Chairman, under section 23 of the Languages Commissioner's duties, it says that you have to do a report at the termination of each year. What is your

interpretation of "termination of each year?" Is that in fiscal or calendar years?

Thank you. Languages Commissioner.

Because the act is not specific, it has given me some discretion. I have had legal counsel on this particular issue. It has given me some discretion in determining what that year is. Because my actual one year term falls in February, and it is also very close to the end of the fiscal year, I have decided to submit my report in the February/March session. It says, "in a reasonable time after the termination of each year." That would be the end of my working year, but it will also be close to the end of a fiscal year. I plan to table the report in the February/March session. That is my interpretation of it. I thought that was a reasonable method of reporting.