Bill 96: Inuit join the protest movement



I feel really sad today that the government of François Legault has gone ahead with Bill 96, which will cause great harm to the Inuit of Quebec.responded Sarah Aloupa, president of Kativik Ilisarniliriniq, the Nunavik school board.

If we do not obtain the assurance that this law will not threaten the Inuktitut language, the Nunavik organizations will definitely have to get together and quickly decide whether we are going to court. Our rights have not been respected. We need to do something urgently. »

A quote from Sarah Aloupa, President of Kativik Ilisarniliriniq

Among the many provisions included in this reform of the Charter of the French language, it is the one concerning education at the college level that does not apply to the Inuit.

The piece of legislation, adopted by 78 votes to 29 thanks to the support of Québec solidaire and two independent deputies, will impose three additional French courses – or in French – for students in English-speaking CEGEPs. Obtaining a college diploma will also depend on passing a uniform French test.

In addition to English-speaking communities in Quebec, some First Nations in the province who speak primarily English are directly affected by the bill. The First Nations Education Council, the First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Association and several Aboriginal communities in Quebec, including the Mohawks of Kahnawake and Kanesatake, have already sharply criticized it.

An exemption claimed

Kativik Ilisarniliriniq has added his voice to those of the many protesters and is asking that all Inuit students be exempted from Bill 96. The president of the Nunavik school board wanted to take the opportunity to clarify the position of the Aboriginal peoples regarding the reform of Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette.

As it is currently mediated, the debate surrounding Bill 96 offers a misleading image of the demands of Aboriginal communities. English is not a colonial language that we wish to adopt. Indigenous languages ​​are the languages ​​we want to speak, pass on, revitalize, nurture and strengthensaid Ms. Aloupa.

Since the adoption of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement in 1975, the language of instruction at the elementary and secondary levels in Nunavik has been Inuktitut. French and English are taught there as second languages.

According to data collected by Statistics Canada in 2016, Inuktitut is spoken by 98% of the population of the 14 villages of Nunavik. It is the main language used in 85.7% of households. For obvious demographic reasons, the survival of this language remains fragile.

There are millions of francophones in the province, while we, the Inuit, are not even 20,000. We are not putting the French language in danger, it is rather our children who are losing their language to the benefit of English and French. Instead of treating us as threats to the French language, I believe that the government should instead pass a law to protect our language, Inuktitut. »

A quote from Sarah Aloupa, President of Kativik Ilisarniliriniq

She believes that Bill 96 will add one more obstacle to the success of Inuit students, who already have to go into exile to pursue their studies at CEGEP or university.

According to the Quebec Ministry of Education, the graduation rate at the end of high school is 23% on average in Nunavik. Only 3.5% of the Inuit population has a college diploma. At the university level, 1.2% of Inuit hold a certificate and 0.8% a bachelor’s degree.

For Inuit students in Nunavik, going to college is already a second-language journey, regardless of whether it takes place in a CEGEP in French or in English, indicated Ms. Aloupa. Adding additional conditions to obtaining a college diploma for Inuit students from Nunavik who choose to pursue their college studies in English is not acceptable.

An unnecessary burden

In a context of reconciliation, where Canada and the provinces want to renew their relationship with the First Nations and the Inuit on a more egalitarian basis, it does not seem desirable for Kativik Ilisarniliriniq to impose a new burden on the Aboriginal peoples.

Bill 96 should be an opportunity to strengthen Indigenous languages, not relegate them to second place or treat them as a threat to the survival of the French language in Quebeclaments Sarah Aloupa.

We will have no choice but to send our anglophone students to other provinces to pursue their studies. It is not part of the reconciliation project that we have been hearing about for many years now. Unfortunately, it continues, the assimilation, the lack of respect. »

A quote from Sarah Aloupa, President of Kativik Ilisarniliriniq

Along with the members of her community, she is determined to resist and protect the hard-won gains made by the Inuit over the years. She still keeps her hand outstretched.

It’s time for the government to know who we are, she insists. We want to be heard, recognized. We need to have a real discussion.



Reference-ici.radio-canada.ca

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