Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to provide its Report on the Review of the Office of the Northwest Territories Languages Commissioner Annual Report 2010-2011 and commends it to the House.

Introduction

The Standing Committee on Government Operations met on May 24, 2012, to review the Northwest Territories Language Commissioner’s Annual Report for 2010-2011. The committee thanks the Languages Commissioner, Ms. Sarah Jerome, and the former Languages Commissioner, Ms. Shannon Gullberg, for their attendance at the public hearing.

2010-2011 Annual Report

Complaints and Inquiries

In 2010-2011 the Languages Commissioner received approximately 100 inquiries and dealt with three complaints under the Northwest Territories Official Languages Act. The standing committee was concerned that the continuing low number of formal complaints may be due to residents’ lack of awareness of their official languages rights and of the complaints process.

However, the committee notes that the report lists several additional concerns brought to the Commissioner which she either referred as outside her mandate or resolved through mediation. The committee encourages the Commissioner to provide more detailed information on complaints

and concerns dealt with that did not go through the complaints process and inquiries in her next report, including information for past years so that trends can be tracked over time.

In view of her experience with complaints and concerns the Languages Commissioner recommended that the government should ensure that members of the public service understand, honour and respect provisions of the Official Languages Act. The committee concurs.

Recommendation 1

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories report to this House on measures taken in 2011-2012 and plan actions for 2012-2013 to ensure that the public service understands, respects and honours the provisions of the Official Languages Act.

The committee further encourages the government to use the services of the Languages Commissioner to make presentations and promote her office within the public service.

At the public hearing, Members asked the Commissioner to expand on a statement in her previous report that many of our Dene people are not comfortable in dealing with the complaints. The Commissioner suggested that this attitude might be the result of silencing the Aboriginal people during the residential school era, especially where Dene and Inuvialuit children were forbidden to speak their languages.

The committee recognizes that a legislative complaints process may be intimidating, and encourages the Commissioner to make the process as user friendly and culturally sensitive as possible. Members agree with a further recommendation from the Commissioner, regarding sensitivity to terminology such as the word regime that may have negative connotations for residential school survivors.

Recommendation 2

The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends:

• that the Government of the Northwest

Territories refrain from the use of the word regime in documents concerning official languages;

• that the Government of the Northwest

Territories consult with residential school survivors and Aboriginal language communities on other terminology that may act as a barrier for Aboriginal people in asserting their rights under the Official Languages Act; and

• that the Government of the Northwest

Territories ensure that public servants are

aware of sensitive terminology in speaking and writing in the area of official languages.

Now I will pass the floor to my colleague, the deputy chair of the committee and Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.