Statement made on 15 June 2010 by Senator Charlie Watt
[Editor's Note: Senator Watt spoke in Inuktitut — translation follows.]
Hon. Charlie Watt:
Honourable senators, this afternoon, I draw your attention to a group of people in the gallery. These people assist me in the Senate with Inuktitut translation and interpretation. I welcome to the Senate today Simona Arnatsiaq-Barnes; Rhoda Innuksuk; Evelyn Kublu-Hill, who is also known as Papatsi; Doris Tautu; Martha Flaherty; and Rhoda Kayakjuak.
Honourable senators, these translators and interpreters help me bridge the cultural divide, and I am extremely grateful to them. They are available to all parliamentarians in Ottawa and provide much needed insight and understanding of Inuit culture and the spoken word in southern Canada.
Although these people work in different departments, they have found ways to work together to enhance language services. They have been able to address issues like the development of much-needed terminology. In some cases, there is no word in Inuktitut for the word spoken in English, and vice versa. This translation process has been ongoing for several years, but for the first time it will happen at the national level.
The Inuktitut translation and interpretation services are a groundbreaking achievement for the Senate in the promotion and cultural understanding of this language, and I thank honourable senators for their cultural understanding and support of this service.
The calibre and ease of these translations and interpretation services were not available to me when I started my career in this place 26 years ago. I want to thank early translators in Ottawa, especially Mary Panigusiq, Leah Idlout and Sarah Ekoomiak. Back in the 1960s, I had the pleasure of working with these ladies.
Honourable senators, we have come a long way. In Nunavik — Northern Quebec — Inuktitut was given legal recognition by the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement. Only last year, the Senate gave its seal of approval to Nunavut's language legislation. This legislation gave Inuktitut official language status.
The Senate has done stellar regional work for the Inuit in this regard, and I congratulate every person in this chamber for supporting this legislation last year. Nakurmiik — thank you.