“The federal government has a direct responsibility to redress the Inuit language situation in Nunavut”

Federal money for the promotion of French and Inuit languages in Nunavut, recently renewed by a ratified agreement between Ottawa and the Government of Nunavut for the 2014-15 fiscal year, does not reflect Nunavut’s population or needs, the territory’s languages commissioner said in a May 8 news release.

“These amounts have not substantially changed in over 10 years, funds for Inuit language have stayed the same,” Sandra Inutiq said in the release.

“We need more equitable funding for the Inuit language, and funding for the French language that reflects the needs of that community.”

Leona Aglukkaq, minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Development Agency, announced May 6 that an agreement had been ratified giving Nunavut about $2.7-million for language promotion this year: $1.625-million for the French language, and $1.1-million for Inuit languages.

That amounts to $4,000 per French-speaking person in Nunavut, and only $40 per Inuit-language speakers in Nunavut, Inutiq told Nunatsiaq News May 11.

“If the majority of the population… speaks the Inuit language, why do we not receive the same per capita amount of funding?” Inutiq said. More.

See: Nunatsiaq News

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