Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

RESTORE INDIGENOUS-LANGUAGE TERMS AND SPELLINGS

Committee was disappointed that Bill 63 did not update colonial terms used in the law like "North Slavey" and "South Slavey." The Minister said that language communities did not agree on new terms, so the terms stayed the same. Committee shares the Minister's hope that the terms can be changed during the next review. Committee therefore recommends:

Recommendation 12: That the Government of the Northwest Territories restore Indigenous language terms and spellings to refer to languages and communities. The GNWT should update all legislation, regulations, policies, guidelines, standards, and communications within the life of the 20th Assembly. The GNWT should also consult Indigenous communities on the changes.

CONCLUSION

This concludes the Standing Committee on Government Operations' Report on the 2021-2022 Review of the Official Languages Act. Committee looks forward to the government's response to these recommendations.

Recommendation 13: The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories respond to this report within 120 days.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.