Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment and following up on both his statement and my statement today.
The Official Languages Act made the enormous contribution of making ancestral languages real in the law. We have seen some progress on the basis of that law, but we shouldn’t assume the 1998 law was the last word on what is and isn’t an official language in the Northwest Territories.
Can the Minister state this government’s position on recognizing further official languages under the act? That is, what are the standards and arguments used for or against recognizing other official languages? Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. As it stands, we recognize 11 official languages in the Northwest Territories. The federal government recognizes English and French, so we are very proud of our Northwest Territories jurisdiction language recognition.
I have heard on several occasions of a language that could be integrated or added to the existing 11 official languages. There are comprehensive steps that have to be undertaken, public consultation. Members would have to be involved in that. The Legislative Assembly would have to be involved in that. It would take some form of consultation with the communities and the people of the Northwest Territories before it goes to the next level. Those are the areas of discussion that we need to undertake.
Mr. Speaker, as it stands, we have 11 official languages. Mahsi.
Mr. Speaker, for the record, I, too, am very proud of those 11 official languages. I thank the Minister for those remarks on the process to get this done.
As the Minister knows, the true test of support programs is the ability to deliver timely support to the place where it can be used best. For a grassroots program, we know that it is really at the community level. I have described a situation where funding for the Yellowknives Dene Community Language Program is filtered through the Tlicho and Akaitcho governments’ administrative structures and there have been several problems described. The Minister has spoken to me of taking steps to make better arrangements to deal with those difficulties. Can the Minister tell me what the status is on those improvements? Mahsi.
Mr. Speaker, I did meet with the Member on identifying the funds that are being distributed through teaching and learning centres. There have been some concerns in that respect. We are currently rolling out the Aboriginal Languages Plan. It will be tabled in the House today. From there, that does cover the aspects of what the Member is referring to. It is broad. It is just not one region, Mr. Speaker. So I am glad that the Member is referring to that, because it is an important piece of work that we need to start talking and making those changes.
We currently provide this approximately $12 million that we need to relook at as well, a profile of that, how it has been distributed to the communities and to language groups. Mr. Speaker, it is general. We are seriously looking at those areas. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Minister’s comments again. I will be looking for those remarks in the plan.
Today I also re-emphasized the long-standing problems of the lack of evaluators certified to approved credentials for interpreters/translators and the need to reduce the time it takes for course work from the current 10-year haul.
These problems have been pointed out in language reviews, Mr. Speaker, since the 1900s. Can the Minister tell me what progress is being made meeting these basic but crucial needs and perhaps where that’s addressed in the Languages Strategy? Thank you.
What the Member is referring to is captured in the 70-plus recommendations that will be brought forward and we’ve also initiated a summer institute for language this past summer. It was very successful and was part of the development stages pertaining to certification, possibly diploma or degree. So the Member has already shared his concern and we are looking at that as part of the strategy that’s before us, and there are also talks about the interpretation and translation training program. So that is part of the strategy as well. It is a comprehensive document and we are in the process of implementing it expeditiously. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Your final supplementary, Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That’s good to hear. My last question, which you might be able to guess here, is: Will the Minister commit to -- I’m harking back to my first question on beginning perhaps the long process to consider recognition of an additional language -- sitting down and meeting with the chiefs of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation and myself to discuss what a process might look like? Thank you.
Mahsi. I did receive an invitation from the Akaitcho Government and I’d be more than glad to meet with the leadership, along with the Member, to discuss the process of initiating this process. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
