Honouring the Truth Reconciling for the Future

204 • Truth & Reconciliation Commissioncommitment to preserve Aboriginal languages. As Michael Sillett told us, “I cannotsee the federal government putting out the money that’s necessary for full restitution,you know.... I can’t bring back my language; I lost that. I lost my culture, you know.” 91Other than ali, the only significant programs for language preservation are theCanada-Territorial Language Accords ($4.1 million annual budget), which supportterritorial government-directed Aboriginal language services, supports, and communityprojects in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. In Yukon, language revitalizationand preservation projects are supported through transfer agreements with ten ofthe eleven self-governing Yukon First Nations. 92The combined total annual federal budget for these Aboriginal languages programsis $9.1 million. By way of comparison, the Official Languages Program for English andFrench is projected to receive funding as follows:• 2012–13: $353.3 million• 2013–14: $348.2 million• 2014–15: $348.2 million 93The resources committed to Aboriginal language programs are far fewer than whatis committed to French in areas where French speakers are in the minority. For example,the federal government provides support to the small minority of francophones inNunavut in the amount of approximately $4,000 per individual annually. In contrast,funding to support Inuit-language initiatives is estimated at $44 per Inuk per year. 94The Commission believes that a multi-pronged approach to Aboriginal languagepreservation—if implemented, honourably resourced, and sustained— might preventfurther increase in the litigation of Aboriginal language rights, and the increasedinternational criticism of Canada’s policy towards Aboriginal-language rights. Thisapproach will require full, good-faith consultation, which recognizes that althoughAboriginal communities have the necessary knowledge, particularly among theirElders, to preserve their own languages, additional support is needed. The outcomeof the consultation should be legislation and policies that affirm the importanceof Canada’s Indigenous languages, and allocate adequate funding to ensuretheir preservation.Calls to Action14) We call upon the federal government to enact an Aboriginal Languages Act thatincorporates the following principles:i. Aboriginal languages are a fundamental and valued element of Canadianculture and society, and there is an urgency to preserve them.ii. Aboriginal language rights are reinforced by the Treaties.