This is page numbers 6089 - 6140 of the Hansard for the 19th Assembly, 2nd Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was know.

Topics

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 6107

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Does committee agree?

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 6107

Some Hon. Members

Agreed.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 6107

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you, committee. We'll take a five-minute break.

---SHORT RECESS

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 6107

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

I now call Committee of the Whole to order. Committee, we've agreed to consider Committee Report 49-19(2), Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the 2021-2022 Review of the Official Languages Act. I will go to the chair of Standing Committee on Government Operations for any opening marks. Member for Yellowknife North

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 6107

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Thank you, Madam Chair. The Standing Committee on Government Operations has been reviewing the Official Languages Act over the last two years. The committee's report was read into the record on March 27th, 2023. Since the act had not been changed since 2003, it was the committee's goal to

  • Collect input from Northerners on the effectiveness of the Official Languages Act;
  • To recommend changes to better protect and revitalize official languages; and,
  • To ensure changes are implemented.
  • The committee heard the desire for change during its outreach with the public as well as from past reports on this legislation. During the committee's statutory review, Bill 63 was brought forward by the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment to address some of the known issues in the Official Languages Act.
  • Bill 63 received third reading on March 28th, 2023. While the committee was glad to see some changes to the Official Languages Act in Bill 63, the committee believes that those changes do not go far enough. In the feedback the committee heard, it was clear that participants across the Northwest Territories want and need more change.
  • The committee has made 13 recommendations to further transform the way the Official Languages Act serves and protects official languages in the Northwest Territories. These recommendations strive to
  • Implement the right to receive services in your official language of choice;
  • Implement the right to K to 12 immersion education in your local language;
  • Doubling resource to support and revitalize Indigenous languages; and,
  • Support of official language speakers in the public service. The committee looks forward to the government's response to these recommendations.

The committee would like to thank everyone who participated in the review. The committee was inspired by Northwest Territories residents doing amazing things to reclaim their languages, teach young people with limited resources, and advocate changes to help their language communities survive and thrive. I would like to thank the committee for their work on this review. Individual Members may have additional comments. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters

Page 6107

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you. I will now open the floor to general comments on Committee Report 49-19(2). Do any Members have any general comments? Seeing none. Member for Yellowknife North.

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories double funding for Indigenous language education, services, and revitalization. Thank you, Madam Chair.

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Some Hon. Members

Question.

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Abstentions? The motion is carried.

---Carried

Member for Yellowknife North.

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories reimburse use of an Indigenous official language as an eligible expense for all programs, grants, and contributions;

And further, these funding agreements should be multi-year to reduce administrative burden and improve sustainability. Thank you, Madam Chair.

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Some Hon. Members

Question.

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Abstentions? The motion is carried.

---Carried

Member for Yellowknife North.

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Madam Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment set up a creative commons for Indigenous-language resource materials;

And further, that the creative commons should build on the Our Languages NWT platform and offer an accessible digital space;

And furthermore, it should allow creators and users to share and collaborate on educational materials, language-learning apps, curricula, grant applications, and other resources. Thank you, Madam Chair.

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you. The motion is in order. To the motion. Member for Yellowknife North.

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Yeah, thank you, Madam Chair. I'm going to just want to speak directly to the Minister of education on this one. We heard one of the teachers say that they spent $30,000 to create a textbook in an official language and then someone else actually owns the copyright to that and they can't, you know, share that with other language resources, they can't use the same kind of standard textbook formatting and get it translated. So the solution we heard to doing that was that there needs to be a creative commons for Indigenous language resource materials so that those are not copyrighted. This seems like a pretty easy ask, to make sure that those teachers could all share resources without concerns for copyright. Thank you, Madam Chair.

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you. To the motion. Member for Great Slave.

Katrina Nokleby

Katrina Nokleby Great Slave

Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to just thank the committee for the work on this. That's not one that I sit on. And I think this just comes back to, I think, two years ago asking the Minister if we were going to get some of our languages on, like, Google and Google Translate. And I have to say, actually, since that time I've noticed there are more resources online that I can look up certain words in Inuktitut or Inuvialuit -- sorry, I'm not getting any -- I won't even try today. And so therefore, you know, I just see that this is such a great thing. Teachers are very collaborative. They're very about, you know, not reinventing the wheel and sharing their information. And I think just having this kind of a resource is amazing, even as a person who doesn't speak an Indigenous language, just the ability to go somewhere and look it up would be great. So I think this is a wonderful recommendation from the committee. Thank you.

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

To the motion.

Some Hon. Members

Question.

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Abstentions? The motion is carried.

---Carried

Member for Yellowknife North.

Rylund Johnson

Rylund Johnson Yellowknife North

Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that this committee recommends that each department and agency be required to have an annual official languages action plan to improve and revitalize the language skills of its Indigenous employees. Thank you, Madam Chair.

The Chair

The Chair Lesa Semmler

Thank you. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Some Hon. Members

Question.