Proposed changes to language law will create ‘barriers’ for Indigenous people: AFN

The Assembly of First Nations says the bill "continues the federal government's approach of privileging English and French while devaluing Indigenous languages."

Proposed changes to the Official Languages Act are likely to create more “arbitrary barriers” for Indigenous people hoping to work in federal institutions and advance to higher levels, says the Assembly of First Nations.

The national advocacy organization, representing more than 600 First Nations across the country, issued its warning to a parliamentary committee that is studying amendments to the law.

Last spring, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government introduced plans to reform the Official Languages Act to modernize the legislation, including more measures to promote the use of French.

In a brief submitted to the committee, the Assembly of First Nations says the bill “continues the federal government’s approach of privileging English and French while devaluing Indigenous languages.”

Among the amendments proposed to the existing language law, last touched in 1988,is the extension of language rights to federally regulated private businesses in Quebec or regions elsewhere in Canada that have a francophone population.

It also specifies that managers and supervisors in federal institutions within Ottawa and Gatineau, Que., should be able to communicate in both French and English.

Only about 10 per cent of First Nations people can speak both official languages, according to the assembly’s submission, so the proposed changes risk limiting who can access those jobs.

“First Nations peoples should not be forced to learn additional colonial languages to be eligible for positions within federal institutions,” the document says.