What we Heard Report: Consultations on the Implementation of the Indigenous Languages Act — October 20, 2020 — Ontario

Context

The Government of Canada is undertaking a variety of consultation activities across Canada on the implementation of the Indigenous Languages Act, with a focus on the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages and Directors and the Indigenous Languages Funding Model.

These consultation sessions will help the Minister of Canadian Heritage make recommendations to the Governor in Council for the appointment of a Commissioner of Indigenous Languages and up to three Directors. Feedback from these sessions will also inform the development of the Indigenous Languages Funding Model.

For further details and information about the Indigenous Languages Act and current consultations, we invite you to read our Discussion guide: Consultations and Engagement on the Implementation of the Indigenous Languages Act.

A summary of the most recent consultation session is provided below. The summary is not a complete account of the discussions. Instead, it highlights the key themes that emerged from this consultation session. Please visit the online consultation portal and review the discussion guide to share your own and/or additional views.

Participants Overall Comments and Suggestions

Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages

The following considerations and themes were raised during the discussion on the Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages:

Roles and Responsibilities:

Participants indicated that it was important that the Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages:

Many participants expressed the importance of visiting communities to find out what’s working and what the challenges are.

Many also thought the Office could help develop simpler tools and methodologies for accessing federal funding for Indigenous language revitalization.

Plans and Priorities and Early Successes - Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages:

Many participants talked about the importance of focusing on:

Selection of a Commissioner and Directors:

Participants proposed that appointees to the Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages should be:

Participants often mentioned that appointees to the Office should have grounding in their own traditional Indigenous culture and knowledge, with the understanding that Indigenous languages reflect culture and identity.

Indigenous Languages Funding Model

The following considerations and themes were raised during the discussion on the proposed Indigenous Languages Funding Model:

Language Vitality and Governance Capacity:

According to participants, the Indigenous Languages Funding Model should be:

Participants also thought it was important that the Model strike the right balance between prioritizing the more endangered languages while also supporting other languages, as there is much critical work to be done for all Indigenous languages.

What to Fund:

According to participants, the funding model should be flexible enough to support a broad range of efforts, including: land-based learning; learning programs in early learning centres, cultural centres, and in the education system; language nests; learning by parents and other adults; and teacher training. Participants raised the importance of documenting languages, and making better use of technology for Indigenous language learning and teaching.

They also indicated that the model should support elevating Indigenous language speakers, and cited examples such as:

Many participants noted that adequate funding should flow immediately to those activities and programs that are already operating and demonstrating their effectiveness.

Funding Process:

According to participants, the funding model should provide for multi-year, core funding that flows directly to communities. Some participants thought that the model should establish a baseline amount of funding for Indigenous languages per community – as a starting point - and that the baseline amount would represent the floor of investments.

Defining and Measuring Success:

Participants expressed that markers of success could include the following:

Additional Comments

Participants frequently mentioned the value of Indigenous languages, that they are spiritual and are the most important thing about who Indigenous people are. Indigenous languages contain an important intellectual legacy that includes cultural, ecological, medical and other scientific knowledge that can inform Western scientific thought. This knowledge should be valued and treated fairly in the mainstream system.

Other participants spoke about the inherent right to Indigenous languages and the need to re-think the Western education model when undertaking this work. Many participants noted the urgency of the work ahead.

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