Inuktitut should be third Cdn. language: Nunavut (fwd)

[phil cash cash]

Inuktitut should be third Cdn. language: Nunavut

Canadian Press
Updated: Sun. Feb. 20 2005 3:11 PM ET
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1108930370628_6?hub=Canada

Frustrated by what it calls poor funding for Nunavut's mother tongue,
the territorial government says it is negotiating with Ottawa to have
Inuktitut declared Canada's third official language.

That would force the federal government to correct an imbalance that has
it spending more than $3,500 per francophone on French services in
Nunavut and nothing on the language most residents actually speak, said
territorial Culture Minister Louis Tapardjuk.

"We're hoping if we can get the federal government to recognize
Inuktitut as an official language, then we can use that to serve
Nunavummiut in their own language," Tapardjuk said.

Under the Official Languages Act, Ottawa is obliged to provide
translations of laws and documents in both official languages
everywhere in Canada.

Last year, the federal government spent $1.45 million providing such
services to Nunavut's 410 francophones.

However, Nunavut is the only jurisdiction in Canada where neither French
nor English is the majority language.

Statistics Canada figures show more than 70 per cent of Nunavut's 25,500
Inuit speak Inuktitut, a figure that holds across all age groups.

"Our language is still thriving and still strong," Tapardjuk said.

Although Ottawa spends about $1.1 million on Inuktitut language
programs, that money is only available for community-based projects
such as dictionaries or curriculum materials.

The federal government won't pay for translations of official debates,
laws or other government documents. Tapardjuk's department estimates
that costs the territory an extra $5 million a year.

A recent survey done for the territory showed that 42 per cent of Inuit
had trouble getting service in Inuktitut from the federal government.

Louis Chagnon of Canadian Heritage said Nunavut has slipped through a
hole in the Official Languages Act.

"It kind of falls between the cracks," he said from Winnipeg. "We are
sensitive to the quandary before us."

Chagnon, who expressed surprise to hear of Tapardjuk's push to get
Inuktitut recognized as an official language, said the move would
require an act of Parliament.

Tapardjuk couldn't say how official language status for Inuktitut could
affect the roughly 23,000 Inuit who live outside Nunavut. Inuktitut is
already considered an official language within the territory.

The federal and territorial governments have been trying without success
to negotiate a deal since Nunavut was created five years ago and talks
are continuing. The old Canada-Nunavut Co-operation Agreement expired
in 2004 and French services are being maintained under an interim
agreement.

Chagnon said Ottawa does fund other language-related programs in
Nunavut, including the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation and CBC North.

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