Nunavut government asks judge to throw out Inuktut education lawsuit

The Government of Nunavut is asking a judge to throw out a lawsuit over the rights of students to be educated in Inuktut. 

Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI), which represents Inuit in Nunavut, filed a statement of claim in October, accusing the territorial government of discriminating against Inuit by not offering education in Inuktut to the same degrees as English and French — despite Inuktut being the dominant language in Nunavut. 

On April 4, the government filed a motion to have the case dismissed, saying the basis of NTI's challenge — which hinges on Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms — is flawed. 

Section 15 is about equality rights. The government says NTI's lawsuit is trying to use it to "expand" on education and language rights set out in other parts of the charter — which it says is not allowed. 

"Language rights, including rights in relation to language of instruction, do not come within the scope of, and are not protected by, Section 15 of the Charter," the motion said. 

"Constitutional authority in relation to education, as well as the preservation, use and promotion of Inuit languages, lies within the exclusive purview of the Nunavut Legislative Assembly," the motion said. 

Aluki Kotierk, the president of NTI, said the government's motion to have the case dismissed felt like a punch to her stomach.

"It made me realize how pervasive the colonial approach continues to be within our territory," she said. "Inuit children have to leave who they are when they're going into the school system, and at the door have to speak English and have to excel in the curriculum not based on their culture." 

Kotierk says it's the reason students aren't finishing high school. 

"These children are not dropping out … they're being pushed out by a system that does not meet them where they are." 

Kotierk says the Government of Nunavut's interpretation of the Charter is "flawed," and that the Legislative Assembly has a "duty and a responsibility to provide services and programs that meet the needs of the public." A public that, she pointed out, is mostly Inuit.

NTI is asking the Nunavut Court of Justice to step in and force the territorial government to offer a full slate of subjects and classes in Inuktut, across all grade levels, and to do it within five years of the end of the litigation. 

Right now, education in Inuktut is mostly available up to Grade 4 only, with subject matter taught primarily in English and French after that.

The lawsuit comes on the heels of the passing of Bill 25 in Nunavut's Legislature last year, which NTI argues "further diminished Inuit language education in Nunavut schools."