Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Participants also identified shortcomings within the education and school systems; for example:
•
aboriginal languages curriculum development and implementation is slow and under-resourced;
•
providing 30 minutes of language instruction per day is insufficient, particularly when all other subjects are taught in English only;
•
language instruction often does not extend
beyond elementary school grades;
•
lack of accountability to ensure language
funding for schools is used for language activities; and
•
insufficient support, resources and training for aboriginal language and cultural instructors.
This being said, people also acknowledged that some progress has been made; for example, in the development of aboriginal language curricula and with the start of some language nest programs. At the same time, participants repeatedly expressed that if government is serious about its role in aboriginal language revitalization, then the implementation of such programs needs to be accelerated and resourced adequately in order to counteract the language decline, particularly among children and younger adults.
While some people had heard of the Official Languages Board and the Aboriginal Languages Revitalization Board, most did not understand their roles and mandates or why two language boards exist. Participants also did not know who the board representatives are and are generally critical about the boards’ capacity to develop on-going relationships and communication with the community language groups, frontline workers and advocates. In addition, the appointment process for the boards, their dependent relationship with the Minister’s office and the lack of powers and resources were questioned frequently. Participants also found the absence of any reporting mechanism or any publicly available information relating to the activities of the boards inconsistent with their mandate and intended purpose.
Mr. Speaker, I will now pass the report back to the Chair of the Committee, Mr. Menicoche.