Je Speak Inuktitut (fwd link)

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Je Speak Inuktitut

by Zachary Kuehner
Political commentator; Researcher, Princess Margaret Hospital.
First Posted: Jan 28 2012 09:38 AM

The case for mandating aboriginal languages in Canadian public schools.

While the United States and the social democracies of Europe tend to
simplify matters by encouraging assimilation of new immigrants, Canada
likes to complicate things. We offer plurality and multiculturalism –
or, perhaps more accurately, interculturalism. Like an ever-expanding
circle, we accommodate, incorporate, and amalgamate other cultures.
But what we are less good at is accommodating – and, indeed,
understanding – the foundational diversity that makes us unique.

Former prime minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau understood that French and
English were more than just two languages spoken in a country – that
they were two fundamental elements of a nation. His government’s
Official Languages Act of 1969 – which officially made Canada a
bilingual country – cemented a cultural reality that had been there
all along.

In Ontario, we attempt to honour this reality by mandating French as a
Second Language (FSL) in public education (until Grade 9) and offering
French Immersion (FI) programs of varying intensity. Language, more
than anything, provides access to, and appreciation for, a culture.
For Canadians, learning French reinforces a sense that the French
culture is part of who we are. It is thus sad when, as a country,
Canada downplays the importance of the other non-Anglo foundation of
our prosperous nation – Aboriginal Peoples and their cultures.

Access full article below:
http://www.themarknews.com/articles/8085-je-speak-inuktitut