NDP tables bill to get Indigenous languages added to election ballots

OTTAWA – On Monday, NDP MP Mumilaaq Qaqqaq (Nunavut) tabled her private member’s bill, Bill C-309, an Act to amend the Canada Elections Act. Qaqqaq’s bill would see Indigenous languages added to Elections Canada ballots alongside English and French.

Nunavummiut and Inuit stakeholder organizations such as NTI (Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated) have been vocal about the need for federal elections to be more accessible for the Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun speaking majority in Nunavut for years. Recently, Karliin Aariak, Nunavut’s Languages Commissioner, has explicitly called for the inclusion of Inuit languages on federal ballots.

In response to these calls and after extensive consultations with stakeholders from across the country, MP Qaqqaq drafted and tabled Bill C-309 to ensure that the rights of Indigenous peoples to vote in their own languages are respected in all 338 federal ridings. Her legislation would put Indigenous languages on ballots in ridings with a substantial Inuit, First Nations or Metis presence and also would give voters the right to request special ballots in the Indigenous language of their choice no matter where they may live.

“I hope that in time, this bill is adopted by the government and permanent changes are made to the Canada Elections Act,” Qaqqaq said. She also stressed that “we have a real opportunity to place Indigenous languages on the ballot in the upcoming election by pressuring the Liberal government into amending Bill C-19,” which is the Liberal’s pandemic election bill.

In the coming days, MP Qaqqaq will be working closely with her NDP colleague, Manitoba MP Daniel Blaikie, to secure amendments to Bill C-19 that would ensure that the key features of Bill C-309 are in place during the upcoming election.

“I ask the Minister responsible for this legislation, Dominic LeBlanc, to recognize that it is imperative we reduce every possible barrier to Inuit, First Nations and Metis participation in our democratic process during this extremely challenging time for the Indigenous peoples of these lands. Reducing barriers must include respecting our languages.”

MP Qaqqaq and the NDP are committed to putting reconciliation on the ballot.