Indigenous language rights recognized

OTTAWA— The federal government plans to recognize Indigenous languages as a constitutional right and create a new office of commissioners to protect and promote them under new legislation this fall, Canadian Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly says. The details of the upcoming Indigenous languages bill are part of a list of principles co-developed over the past year by federal officials and national First Nations, Inuit and Métis organizations, Joly said in an interview Friday.

“We’re dealing with the impact of colonialism in our country,” Joly said, pointing to the impact of residential schools designed to indoctrinate Indigenous children into the culture and languages of European-Canadian society.

“There’s such an urgent need to act. Right now, for some languages . . . we’re at the last generation of people speaking the languages,” she said. “This legislation will be a huge step toward reconciliation.”

On Friday, Joly announced the government plans to consult stakeholders over the summer before tabling legislation in the fall, with the aim of passing the law before the 2019 election. She told the Star that consultations will now focus on a list of principles agreed to with the national Indigenous organizations. These include a plan to create an office of at least three commissioners to advocate for Indigenous language rights.