October 27, 2010 - The Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Jackson Lafferty, presented the Government of the Northwest Territories' NWT Aboriginal Languages Plan - A Shared Responsibility today.

Mr. Speaker, later today I will table the Government of the Northwest Territories’ NWT Aboriginal Languages Plan – A Shared Responsibility. The Plan was crafted after reviewing the Standing Committee on Government Operations report, Reality Check – Securing a Future for the Official Languages of the Northwest Territories.

Over 200 delegates at the Aboriginal Languages Symposium, held in late March, offered their thoughts, concerns and ideas to this Plan. As well, a number of community meetings were held to discuss the future of Aboriginal languages. Other guiding documents such as the review of the current Aboriginal Languages Strategy informed us. In total over 300 people contributed to, and committed to, the making of the Aboriginal Languages Plan.

Mr. Speaker, this incredible level of commitment and participation is indicative of how vital Aboriginal languages are to our people.

We believe the Plan we all developed will improve the condition of our official Aboriginal languages. It is reflective not only of the priorities of people in the Northwest Territories, but of the recognition of this Assembly that languages strengthen our society and are critical to our culture and heritage.

The Plan being tabled later today sets out a framework for strengthening Aboriginal languages over the next decade. The Plan recognizes and supports the concept that, as delegates to the Languages Symposium clearly told us, individuals, families, language communities, governments and society as a whole share responsibility for language.

There have been a number of studies on Aboriginal languages in the NWT over the years. We learned much from this work and weighed and considered it in the development of our actions.

There are over 70 actions called for in the Plan. We know that some actions take longer to implement and that we need to identify resources to support various actions. However, there are also actions in the Plan that we can implement now using our existing resources and we will begin action on those items right away.

In my travels to communities across the Northwest Territories, I had the opportunity and pleasure of discussing Aboriginal languages with many people. It is clearly an issue on people’s minds and is one of great importance to them. Our leaders and elders have said that “If we lose our language, we lose our identity and lessen who we are as a people.” The actions identified in the Plan help to address this concern by revitalizing and strengthening our official Aboriginal languages.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Standing Committee on Government Operations, including the Committee’s Chair, Mr. Kevin Menicoche, for their commitment to this issue and for their guidance in developing the Plan. I also want to thank all Members of this House who provided encouragement and support for this important work.

Masi, Mr. Speaker.

For more information, contact:

Press Secretary
Office of the Premier/Cabinet
Government of the Northwest Territories
Phone: (867) 669-2302