Preserving Indigenous languages, promoting French priorities for new languages minister
CBC
New Official Languages Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor says protecting Indigenous languages to make sure they are taught to future generations is a priority for the Liberal government, alongside promoting French throughout Canada.
She said although Indigenous languages are not recognized as "official" like English and French, she will work with other ministers to make sure they receive support and resources so they "don't become extinct."
In an interview with The Canadian Press to discuss her new role, Petitpas Taylor says she wants to make sure that Indigenous languages, such as Cree and Inuktitut, are not "erased."
Petitpas Taylor, who represents a New Brunswick riding and is fluently bilingual, said modernizing the Official Languages Act to preserve and promote French is also a key aim for the first 100 days of the new Liberal minority government.
The Liberals introduced a bill to overhaul the Official Languages Act in June, which died on the order paper when Parliament was dissolved for the Sept. 20 election.
Petitpas Taylor said she is concerned about the decline of French across Canada and said a key part of her role is to make sure people have a chance to speak and read the language — and not just at school.
The minister, who spoke French at home and attended the francophone Universite de Moncton, said "part of my role is to ensure that we promote the French language and do all we can (to make sure) more people have access."
She said protecting the rights of anglophones in French-speaking areas is also part of her job.
Petitpas Taylor said she supports Indigenous MPs who want to speak in the House of Commons in their mother tongues.
Her remarks follow the decision of Nunavut MP Lori Idlout to take her parliamentary oath in Inuktitut. Idlout indicated in an interview with The Canadian Press that she would address the House of Commons in Inuktitut on occasion.
Petitpas Taylor said it's "really, really important, as a part of reconciliation, that we do the hard work that is needed."
She said "we have to make sure that when it comes to language, it is not just French and English when we talk about languages, our mother tongue. It is a part of our identity, it is about who we are, our culture."
While she was health minister, Petitpas Taylor ensured official communications on issues such as health screening and even the Canada Food Guide were available in First Nations languages.
She said much progress had been made in 2019 with a bill, known as C-91, which provided funding to support Indigenous languages and introduced a commissioner for those languages. But she said she and other ministers would keep working to "make sure that Indigenous languages don't become extinct."
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