GN appeals court decision allowing school language lawsuit to proceed
Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. sued GN in 2021 claiming it failed to ensure availability of Inuktut language in schools
The GN is appealing the Nunavut Court of Justice’s decision to allow the Inuktut Education Discrimination lawsuit from Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. to proceed to trial. NTI filed the lawsuit against the territorial government in October 2021, alleging the government has a legal obligation to provide Inuktut education throughout the public school system. (File photo)
The Government of Nunavut is appealing the Nunavut Court of Justice’s decision to allow a language discrimination lawsuit launched by Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. to proceed.
NTI announced Tuesday that the GN has filed to appeal the court’s decision to allow the Inuktut Education Discrimination lawsuit to proceed to trial.
The Inuit organization filed the lawsuit against the GN in October 2021, claiming the government has failed its legal obligation to ensure Inuktut language education is available throughout the territory’s public school system.
In March, a judge dismissed the GN’s application to strike down the lawsuit.
“NTI is dismayed by the GN’s continuing efforts and dedication of public resources to fight Nunavut Inuit in court,” NTI representative Kevin Kablutsiak said in a message posted to the organization’s website.
At the core of the lawsuit is NTI’s claim that section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which grants equal protection and equal benefit of the law, also protects Inuktut language rights.
NTI argues that since the section applies to race and discrimination, it therefore also applies to language rights.
It alleges in its suit that the GN is discriminating against Inuit by not providing fully Inuktut education in the curriculum, despite Inuktut being the dominant language in Nunavut.
However, in its appeal the GN argues section 15 “does not include within its scope the protection of language rights and, in particular, it does not include language of instruction rights.”
“Rather, the framers of the Nunavut Territory elected to leave decisions over Inuit language education and its implementation to Nunavummiut themselves, through their elected Assembly. As such, the claim discloses no reasonable cause of action and it must fail,” reads the appeal.
In a statement, NTI president Aluki Kotierk said “NTI remains steadfast in our commitment to protecting Inuit and pursuing all avenues to end the discrimination of Inuit students in the Nunavut education system.
“To not be given any choice but to learn in English or French and not have the option to receive Inuit language of instruction past grade 3 harms the future of our children, our culture, and our language, in our own Inuit homeland.”
Nunavut’s Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent late Tuesday afternoon.
The government took away thousands and thousands of children and placed them into residential school. Residential school that tried to wipe out Indigenous languages and cultures and it still continuing by removing Inuktitut from Nunavut schools. The government of CANADA is still trying to colonize Nunavut and it’s people.
The idea that the Government of Canada is “removing Inuktitut from Nunavut schools” falls somewhere between astounding ignorance and pure delusion.
you as a settlers have very limited knowledge and understanding of what us Inuit and other indigenous people experience is with the government.
Funny thing to tell everyone you know things, Johnny, but never risk telling what it is you know.
Here’s a thought, I know a few non-Inuit whom I bet know more about Inuit history and the Nunavut agreement than you.
hunava, ok, Nicky, what ever, So which secession of the Nunavut Agreement fall under? Johnny Tookalook,
I, as a native-born Canadian, (not a settler) am interested in hearing what you, a descendant of those who displaced Nunavut’s original inhabitants (dare we say a settler descendent?) thinks should be done to encourage more Inuit to learn how to become Inuktut teachers.
Native and you call yourself Canadian, where your sense of pride in your nation and sovereignty?
Why don’t you answer the question oh ima? You’re comments are so routinely unserious. Show us how insightful you really are?
Better try re-reading Thoughts’ comment again as you’ve misunderstood.
There are two types of Canadians – native-born and immigrant. A native-born Canadian is one who is not an immigrant – you know, those people who receive settler services when they come to Canada and make up about 30% of the population. Everyone else is considered to be native-born.
Inujunga, you win the award for most off-base and ill conceived comment to this story (and given some of the comments … that’s saying something). Give your head a shake!
“In its appeal the GN argues section 15 “does not include within its scope the protection of language rights and, in particular, it does not include language of instruction rights.”
I agree with the GN on this, but we will likely have to wait for the Supreme Court’s interpretation.
If the Supreme Court sides with NTI it will be a very progressive, even radical interpretation of section 15. I can’t see it happening, nor do I think it should.
That does not mean I do not support the preservation of Inuktitut or its place in our schools.
Agreed. It would set a very problematic precedent that would open the door to hundreds of Indigenous groups claiming similar rights to education in their languages.
Good I hope it will set a precedent for all indigenous groups, and it will be a great thing!
As long as you are willing to see the Chinese and other minority language groups get the same consideration. Equity is an important thing in our society.
other ethnic groups including Europeans Canadians are not the same as Indigenous groups like Inuit, so no comparison and are not treated the same. Nunavut Agreement is a modern day treaty! Jenius
Your commitment to racial and ethnic diversity and equity is…impossible to see.
There is more to this great country than just navel-gazing and thinking of your own ethnic group.
oh ima, you are embarrassing yourself. This lawsuit has nothing to do with the Nunavut agreement, it is based on Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Exacty, so it’d apply to all language groups, not just Inuit. What a can of worms that’d be. I’m sure you’d be happy with your tax money supporting Farsi speakers in Toronto.
Does NTI do anything other than sue?? I’d be interested to know what they’ve spent in legal fees. That money could be used to actually fund some worth while projects
No they’re too incompetent to do anything that involves rational thought. Instead, keep expensive lawyers on retainer to fulfill radical agenda while keeping the people happy by handing out gas vouchers and doing snowmachine raffles.
This story is about the GN prolonging the lawsuit.
The GN is defending itself. That you chose to frame that as ‘prolonging’ is a disingenuous interpretation of what is happening.
Prolonging sounds about right, the GN is probably running around in circles trying to figure out how to defend itself.
Doesn’t look good on the GN.
You are correct, since creation of Nunavut, NTI has been in court and spending millions..they should be asked to open thier books and provide justification for those cost..the President of NTI is trigger happy if she don’t agree with you ..court..sad
Maybe but it is a valid tactic for an advocacy organization that represents the interests of Inuit, to force government to take action. Suing is a negotiation tactic. It may force parties to negotiate an ambitious or reasonable plan, a plan that really should have been in place in 1999.
Have these lawsuits ever changed an outcome though?
NTI are expert finger pointers but do little in terms of offering solutions. I guess you could say they’re more in the business of redistributing tax dollars in the form of gas vouchers.
You have no legs to stand on GN, like the other lawsuits you will lose this one too, dragging your heels for two decades and watering down the education act making it nearly impossible to have Inuktut in the school system you will lose the case.
Time to make the changes at the department of education that have been there for far too long.
Its sort of a joke. Where are the teachers for this vast undertaking? Anyways what NTI wants is Federal consitutional recognition just like Quebec and the cash that goes along with that. Only problem was that Pierre Trudeau was cornered as Quebec soverignists wanted to leave Canada. Nunavut cant stand on one foot let alone two.
It’s not just that program, the GN has known for many years the NTEP needs changes and more support, they haven’t done anything, on top of that when you are a teacher especially a Inuktitut teacher you have to spend more time compared to the other teachers to come up with what your are going to teach, long evenings and weekends spent doing this, there’s no curriculum to follow so each teacher does their own thing and depending on the teacher the standards can be very low, like colouring for the afternoon instead of learning the language or other subjects in Inuktitut. Other classes have all the teaching resources such as test books while for Inuktitut you have to create your own.
I know NTI has been trying to get this improved with the department of education for many years but it always falls on deaf ears. This is a long time coming, pretty much since Nunavut was created 24 years ago.
With no effort made by the GN to make the improvements needed NTI has no choice left but to Sue the GN.
Of course that’s the case – each DEA can decide on its own curriculum; so every school needs to develop its own materials.
Years ago (Most recently 2019 with Bill 25) the GN wanted to standardize education, particularly language instruction, in the territory – that would have let the Department of Education develop curriculum resources for across the territory.
However, that means that each community’s Education Authority would lose power – so it died; with a big helping hand from NTI. Decide which community’s version of the Inuit Language will be the region-wide ‘standard’ and suddenly curriculum can be developed centrally and shared; keep it at the school level and you’re reliant on each school to do its own thing.
That is nonsense! Twice now the GN has watered down and delayed having Inuktitut in the education act, GN went ahead with its watered down education act even without any real consultations and the DEAs did not agree with, NTI continued to try and work with the GN to make the changes needed but the GN would not have any of it.
It’s really surprising to see all the comments on here that are so misinformed and supportive of the current situation with our education system, but I guess we shouldn’t be too surprised at the same time as this has been going on for a long time.
So how do you see Inuktitut better represented in our education system? How can we improve Inuktitut in our education system? Serious question, any answers that don’t include the narrative of diminishing Inuktitut please.
Maybe you can start? How do you see it being improved?
Having followed these discussions over the years a common belief is that educational outcomes are too low, we don’t have enough Inuktitut speaking people willing or able to complete their teacher training. Added to that there seems to be almost no support materials or curriculum to help those who can and are in place.
Is that true? if so, what can be done?
I’ll give it a try, while most of you look for ways to not support Inuktitut and not have it in our schools.
First off, the GN needs to review the NTEP program, see what is working and what needs to be adjusted or changed, while other programs such as the law school and ETP have very good support in place, the NTEP needs the same level of support and urgency.
Having a standard for Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun, the GN needs to bite the bullet and come up with a standardized Inuktut to follow similar to how it’s done in Greenland.
Having a Inuktut curriculum to use along with teaching resources not watered down and up to proper teaching standards would really go a long way, having this to guide the teachers instead of every class for itself.
Just improving on those alone would greatly improve having Inuktut in our Nunavut schools.
We speak Inuktitut at home, we are trying to keep our language but for most of the day our kids are being taught in another language which it is making it very difficult to hold onto our language, the way it is going next generation of kids will be having a more difficult time with learning and using our own language in our own territory.
Studies have shown that when you have a strong foundation in your mother tongue you can learn any language, this would not take away from English for the minority that move up here, it would improve it.
Studies also show it only takes one generation to lose a language.
Not all southerners / non-Inuit are hostile or opposed to Inuktitut language instruction. For the most part we can’t help but observe the process from the outside.
Thanks for the interesting post.
Yes there is a few that get it, not enough through and it’s a constant battle trying to explain why we want our language in our schools.
It doesn’t help with the revolving door of GN staff that do not stay here long enough to appreciate our concerns and want change and improvements.
It is very frustrating to watch our very own government go against us in almost every way possible. Frankly I’m surprised the GN doesn’t get sued more.
It will never happen unless Inuktut is standardized; where is NTI on this issue?
I agree, standardization is the key. We have a language authority that can make that strong recommendation however, they don’t seem to do anything. They are responsible to develop new terminology and document old terms. We also need Teacher to develop curriculum who are open to standardization. We really need bodies to get all this work done. Hopefully the new teacher education program in partnership with Memorial will create successful teacher who will deliver Inuktut education.
For some reason this reminds me of residential schools in the 60s only without the churches but similar policies in place to only learn in school not using Inuktitut.
Things have changed but then again things have stayed the same.
I agree, Inuktitut should be available throughout the school system. But who teaches Inuktitut? Inuktitut teachers. Where are they?
Even if NTI wins this expensive lawsuit, will it provide one more Inuktitut teacher for the schools? The only winners here are the lawyers on both sides. NTI should spend its time and money on trying to persuade more people to become Inuktitut teachers. Perhaps even some people from its own staff…they all speak Inuktitut, don’t they?
Say the law suit gets heard in court, and NTI wins…then what?
NTI won a $255M settlement on Inuit Employment almost 10 years ago. Today, Inuit Employment in government is up an amazing 2 whole %.
Won or ceded lawsuits do not seem to make a big difference in our lives.
NTI could be right. GN could owe Inuit money. GN could be court ordered to do many things, obviously, short of forcing Inuit to attend NTEP, and forcing Inuit into teaching jobs.
None of this gets us anywhere closer to Inuktun language instruction for our kids.
You hit on the deeper truth here, these lawsuits keep the money flowing into NTI’s pockets. That is all they accomplish. It is not hard to wonder if that is the real motivation here.
In this case, however, the ground beneath their feet is not too firm. I don’t think they will win.
Exactly right! The one thing you forgot to mention was the entirely new level of bureaucracy that was created as a result of the NTI lawsuit. Literally dozens of new NTI employees whose only job is to monitor Article 23 implementation. What better way to build an empire than to do it on the backs of tax paying Canadians?
More specifically, to take it out of the pockets of our public government. The burden falls on the people of Nunavut.
It is NTI’s elected representatives that have failed Inuit – and in every manner. There are no benefits that have accrued to 99% of Nunavut Inuit through NTI since 1992 – when NTI’s reps signed the Nunavut Agreement.
If anything, NTI’s reps are deflecting from their own incompetence and malfeasance. Their behavior is at best immoral, and at worst, corrupt. It’s time for Nunavut Inuit to demand an end to NTI and its sister organizations, including the RIAs, the board committees, and the Regional Development (lol) corporations. It seems the only benefits have accrued to the NTI insiders and their cronies
Wouldn’t it be “southen-explaining” to have Qalunaat teaching Inuktitut? I’ve heard of teachers who get push-back trying to show the kids Inuit artists. Imagine if they are the ones teaching the language.
If you want Inuktitut taught in school BECOME TEACHERS.
The government of Nunavut and NTI need to focus on optimizing what is possible. The problem is they can’t agree on what that is.
NTI’s fantasy is that bi-lingual Inuit will come to dominate the education system allowing Inuktitut to permeate all levels of the K-12 system.
Fortunately for NTI, it carries no burden or responsibility, nor does it assume any, when it comes to implementation. But hold on, isn’t NTI responsible for Social development under the Nunavut Agreement? Shouldn’t it be doing something more than suing the government (again)?
Come on Inuks work together! Both sides have the money and resources to make this happen. Stop fighting and make a plan! Wasting our time ,money and limited Inuit resources so annoying!!
Can we expect NTI to reveal the location of the top secret underground bunker where the GN has sequestered all of the highly trained, enthusiastic and eager Inuk professionals?
Because that’s what’s happening right? The GN has stolen and hidden all the competent beneficiaries and NTI is gallantly riding to their rescue. Right? There’s no way that NTI is just wasting money in a lofty attempt at looking effective despite never really accomplishing much.
I understand that GN Justice has a very good appeal record. When the NCJ gets it wrong it gets it wrong on things outside what the judges know: domestic assault, bootlegging, child apprehension. They very rarely deal with any higher law and it shows when they are required to make decisions on something technical. People always talk about the litigation NTI “won” years ago over monitoring but they don’t understand that there were successes on the appeal favouring government. The lawsuit settled later, not a win but a settlement.
In the mean time, parents ,speak Inuktitut to your children at home. Children learn languages the fastest when they are young, before they go to school. Young Children can learn more than one language at a time as long that you keep them separate so they do not get confused. For example , one parent speaks Inuktitut only to the child and the other parent speaks a different language( English or French or other) only to the child. In Europe, most people are fluent in more than two languages. It is mainly the parent’s and relatives responsibility to teach children languages. School just reinforces them. Too many parents in larger less traditional communities speak English only to their children. That is the pink Elephant in the room no one is talking about
And unless I am mistaken (really dont think I am, though I am not a family member or personal friend) there are many in the President of NTI’s own family that do not speak Inuktitut. If it is so important should she have ensured she passed it to her kids? And that is a high powered family. They have NTI president, GN minister, multiple business owners, and what was her partner before… I feel he also had some power at one point?
I fail to see how NTI expects to be taken seriously here. It is run by an Inuk that doesn’t speak Inuktitut.
Wrong
So their ceo speaks Inuktitut?
I’m guessing you are speaking about Aluki (who are you talking about?), and I’m fairly sure she speaks Inuktitut.
actually she does, so what are you going to do about it?
I don’t think she speaks Inuktitut, I believe she grew up away from Nunavut and came back.
As for Aluki she speaks good Inuktitut.
Guessing your thinking of Nathan obed? He’s ITK not NTI. (I know all these organizations can get confusing)
The ceo doesn’t speak inuktitut but has taken courses through pirurvik. She is american inuk and her children went to French school. Aluki speaks very well in inuktut as well as Spanish and some of her children are bilingual Spanish and English. We really need more Inuit pride so we can further our language but we also need teachers going to teacher college.
And if NTI took their multi-million dollar legal fund and built 55 homes and put 55 bilingual teachers through teacher training instead, Nunavut would be ahead that much. But it’s easier to spend $55M on lawyers than achieving real results and real change.
Housing is not a responsibility within the Nunavut Agreement. It is the responsibility of the government that is suppose to represent Inuit but it’s the GN is such a colonial government that it’s fighting the people and organization that it suppose to represent.
oh ima, what did housing policy look like before ‘colonialism’?
Always amazes me that some people like to deflect the governments responsibility to someone else.
With housing, education and so on.
How about we keeper focus on the ones responsible our GN, with a budget of over 2 BILLION annually for a small population I think our GN can be doing so so much better, don’t you think? But yeah let’s try to point at someone else that’s not responsible to deliver government services.
To be clear – Government has no legal responsibility to provide housing, at least that I am aware of. Do you know something I don’t?
Why is Nti fighting against our own iniut Legislators who are all Inuit? Am I clueless? Our Inuit legislators all want bilingual education and are working towards this. INUIT GOING AGAINT INUIT DECISIONS. I guess our own Inuit organization doesn’t practice Inuit principles. Aajiqatigiigiaqtusi
It is the MLAs who just pass legislation that they do not understand. The Qablunaat are lawyers, policy analysts within government who advise them. The powers that be of the day – Manitok, Okpik, Hind, Okalik, Walsh quickly dismantled the Department of Education in the 2000’s with their trigger fingers to appease unfortunately the NTI heads and advisors. NTI was not really well informed, nor were they well educated. The colonial system they used did not help. Okalik himself was very insecure and never wanted to ‘look bad’ so hence the trigger finger that pulled down the new Government. Then again, the new Ministers of the day were still poorly educated and NTI had a string of uneducated Presidents and they themselves still had advisors with no experience in education or legislation.
They are only politicians, they pass the legislation it’s up to the employees to do the work, unfortunately this hasn’t worked very since the beginning of Nunavut and the system in place never changes.
What our MLAs fail to do is review if their orders have been followed through and if not why, and make the changes needed.
This is where our MLAs need to improve on, stop with the 2 year shuffles on DMs,ADMs, Directors, the revolving door of employees.
When a department is not doing what it’s supposed to be doing who is accountable? No one, they get shuffled to another department and start all over again. No accountability whatsoever at the GN
GN says: “Rather, the framers of the Nunavut Territory elected to leave decisions over Inuit language education and its implementation to Nunavummiut themselves, through their elected Assembly.”
I am now curious. Since the territorial legislator elected to pass its own language legislation (Inuit Language Protection Act, 2008), which includes language of instruction provisions, have the complainants (parents / NTI) filed any complaints, over the last 15 years, to Nunavut’s Office of the Languages Commissioner for remedy? Has there been any satisfying or unsatisfying outcomes following a mediation or investigation?
Even if the timelines are now changed, that office could surely take other action to uphold the spirit and intent of the Act, in collaboration with NTI and other orgs, either in the form of an investigation or publishing reports with recommendations.
Does Nunavut’s Languages Commissioner have any stated position or take on NTI’s particular matter? Is that office now an intervenor? Were there any complaints received and still unresolved? I do not see it reported in the media. It’d be informative to see other complementing views on this issue.
so much for Canada being a tolerant nation and a so called progressive nation. what the GN and their public servant failed to realize a Nunavut was created by Inuit and as such they should respect the Nunavut Agreement not fight it. New slogan, Got a GN Job? Thank an Inuk for that.
Oh ima, you’ve obviously never read the Nunavut Agreement. You should know there are no provisions for instruction in Inuktitut written into it.
Got a territory? Thank Pierre Elliot and the repatriation of the constitution.
There were many people involved, but Pierre Trudeau was not one them. It was Mulroney that signed the Nunavut Land Claims Act and the Nunavut Act (which created the territory) in 1993. Good for Mulroney, but it was really the negotiators and their lawyers that did the real work; Tagak Curley, Paul Quassa, John Amagoalik, among many others.
Inuit leaders destroyed Inuktitut. Reason why it’s not the language of business, commerce and governance is that outsiders have to fill all the professional and managerial. That’s because you can only educate and train people for those jobs in English, with intensive instruction starting in Grade 1. Then there could have been functional bilingualism like what Justin Trudeau has.
And how can you have people using the language without there being a two-way dictionary—one using regular Roman letters? How can you expect anyone to learn the language without there being the kind of grammar book people use to learn other languages?
Not only that, but an Inuit father told me he took his daughter out of Grade 3 in Apex because she wasn’t learning anything. The Inuit teacher was so incompetent even at keeping order that he feared for her safety.
It’s baffling to see the Nunavut government, supposed to be the Inuit public government, act as if it was dictated by big brother colonial government in Ottawa! I’m appalled. There’s lot of contempt in Canada for the Quebec government but at least it has de balls to protect the French language even though French is nowhere as threatened as Inuktuk and all its variants.
Look at the new Bill 96 that reinforces the Charter of French language and why wouldn’t that be an inspiration for Nunavut to ensure the protection of Inuktut? Perhaps it’s now or never to ensure that the Inuit language thrives in Nunavut and is protected for future generations. It’s a tough call but necessary. Isn’t it time to decolonize Nunavut?
Bring the Three R’s back.
Reading, ‘riting & ”rithmetic.
Official languages in Canada are…. English and French…