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Legal Bulletin AM Nunavut 7

June 26, 2017

Bill 7, Inuit Language Protection Act (Section 3, Language Obligations) (Refer to AM Bulletin Nunavut 6 dated June 9, 2017)

Members are advised that, further to All Members Legal Services bulletin Nunavut 6, which referenced two relevant documents (compliance guidelines and language plan template) on the website of the Office of the Language Commissioner of Nunavut, we have been informed that those two documents have now been updated. Enclosed are the updated versions of the Guidelines and the Compliance Template, which help explain the private sector language obligations. The updated version of the documents will be available on the website of the Office of the Language Commissioner of Nunavut soon.

Mario Fiorino Director, Legal & Senior Counsel Enclosures The material contained in this bulletin is copyrighted by Insurance Bureau of Canada and may not be reproduced or distributed in any form for any purpose without the express written consent of Insurance Bureau of Canada. This bulletin and any attachments hereto are for the exclusive and confidential use of Insurance Bureau of Canada, its members, and/or its intended recipients. The material contained in this bulletin is intended to provide general information and comment only.

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INUIT LANGUAGE PLAN

INSTRUCTIONS

The following sections are organized according to the different linguistic obligations. For each obligation, you will need to complete an assessment and describe your organization’s initiatives.

The assessment describes your organization’s operations and its ability to provide services in the Inuit language on the date the Inuit Language Plan is submitted. This gives the Languages Commissioner context when evaluating your Inuit Language Plan. Based on the assessment, you will need to plan initiatives to meet your Inuit language obligations. Each section will require a description of the measures and actions your organization plans to accomplish and the timeline for implementing those measures and actions. If your organization has already carried out steps to achieve its obligations, this can be described in the “Measures/actions” section, indicating the target date as “completed”.

Please submit this document to the Office of the Languages Commissioner at:

Email langcom@langcom.nu.ca

Mail PO Box 309 Iqaluit, NU X0A 0H0

Fax 867-979-7969

If you have any questions about this form or the process, please contact us by email at langcom@langcom.nu.ca or by phone at 867 975-5080 or 1-877-836-2280 (toll-free).

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1. INFORMATION ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION Name of the organization: Type of entity: ☐ Corporation

☐ Partnership ☐ Union ☐ Sole-proprietorship

☐ Society ☐ Municipality ☐ Association ☐ Cooperative

☐ Federal institution ☐ Other Please specify:

Number of offices: Locations of offices: What is your organization’s sector of activity?

Describe the services your organization provides to the public:

Does your organization currently have policies in place respecting communications with or delivery of services to the public in the Inuit language?

What are your organization’s current practices for communicating with or delivering services to the public in the Inuit language?

CONTACT INFORMATION Name of contact: Mailing address: Phone: Fax: Email: Website:

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2. OBLIGATIONS FOR ALL ORGANIZATIONS SIGNS Assessment When the Inuit language is at least as prominent as other languages used, indicate it with (+); if not, please use (-). Always

available Sometimes available

Never available

Not applicable

Signs on buildings ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Signs on vehicles ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Hours of operation signs ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Parking signs ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Directional signs ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Signs identifying services or groups of products

☐ ☐ ☐ ☐

Exit signs ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Emergency signs ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Other: ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐

Initiatives Measures/actions Target date

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POSTERS AND COMMERCIAL ADVERTISING Assessment When the Inuit language is at least as prominent as other languages used, indicate it with (+); if not, please use (-). Always

available Sometimes available

Never available

Not applicable

Posters ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Flyers or brochures ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Promotional materials ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Radio ads ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Television ads ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Newspaper ads ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Social media advertising/posts ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Other: ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐

Initiatives Measures/actions Target date

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RECEPTION SERVICES AND CUSTOMER OR CLIENT SERVICES Assessment Always

available Sometimes available

Never available

Not applicable

Correspondence ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Client greeting – in person ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Client greeting – by phone ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Voicemail messages ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Online customer or client services

☐ ☐ ☐ ☐

Other: ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ STAFFING TOTAL INUIT LANGUAGE-SPEAKING Number of staff working for your organization

Number of staff providing reception services

Number of staff providing customer or client services

Reception services and customer or clients services

Initiatives Measures/actions Target date

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3. OBLIGATIONS ON ORGANIZATIONS PROVIDING PARTICULAR SERVICES Do you offer essential services such as emergency, rescue, similarly urgent services or interventions, including intake or dispatch services?

☐ Yes ☐ No

Do you offer health, medical or pharmaceutical services? ☐ Yes ☐ No Do you offer household, residential or hospitality services, including: restaurant, hotel, lodging, residential, housing services?

☐ Yes ☐ No

Do you offer basic services to a household, including the supply of electricity, fuel, water and telecommunications?

☐ Yes ☐ No

If you answered yes to any of the previous questions, you must complete all the tables of this section. If you answered no, please skip to section 4.

Notices, warnings or instructions Assessment Always

available Sometimes available

Never available

Not applicable

Notices ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Warnings ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Restaurant menus ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Hotel room instructions ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Drug use instructions ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐

Instructions on services ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐

Other: ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐

Notices, warnings or instructions

Initiatives Measures/actions Target date

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Monthly bills, invoices and similar demands Assessment Always

available Sometimes available

Never available

Not applicable

Monthly bills ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐

Invoices ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐

Water supply monthly bills ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐

Fuel supply monthly bills ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐

Telecommunications monthly bills

☐ ☐ ☐ ☐

Other: ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐

Monthly bills, invoices and similar demands

Initiatives Measures/actions Target date

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4. COMMUNICATION OF THE PLAN How will you let your clients know about your Inuit Language Plan? How will you let your clients know they can communicate with you in the Inuit language?

I certify that the information contained in this application, and all other attached documentation is accurate and true in all respects. I understand that any approval of the Inuit Language Plan obtained based on inaccurate or false information can result in the revocation of the approval.

Print name: ______________________

Title: ____________________________

Signature: ________________________

Date: ____________________________

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How to Comply with the Inuit Language Protection Act for

the Private Sector, Federal Institutions and Municipalities

As of July 9, 2017, all organizations operating in Nunavut must provide services and

communications to the public in the Inuit language.1 This is an important step in

protecting the linguistic rights of Nunavummiut.

This document provides information on how to comply with section 3 of the Inuit

Language Protection Act (ILPA) and presents the process to ensure compliance.

Obligations Every organization (includes territorial and federal institutions, municipalities and private

sector bodies) operating in Nunavut must display, publish and offer the following in

Inuktut:

Public signs

Posters and commercial advertising Reception services and customer or client services

The Inuktut version of signs, posters and written documents must be at least as

prominent as the other languages used.

If your organization provides any of the following services, then it falls into the category

of organizations delivering particular services:

Essential services, including: o Emergency, rescue or similarly urgent services or interventions (including

intake or dispatch services) o Health, medical or pharmaceutical services

Household, residential or hospitality services, including:

o Restaurant, hotel, lodging, residential or housing services

o Basic services to a household (such as electricity, fuel, water and telecommunications)

If your organization provides those services, then it must, in addition to the obligations

respecting signage, posters and commercial advertising and reception / client services,

1 The Inuit language, also called Inuktut, refers to Inuinnaqtun for Kugluktuk or Cambridge Bay and

Inuktitut for the other municipalities.

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ensure that the following written and oral communications are offered in the Inuit

language:

Notices, warnings or instructions

Monthly bills, invoices and similar demands

INUIT LANGUAGE PLAN

What am I expected to do?

Organizations are expected to start planning the implementation of their linguistic

obligations. Your organization should work gradually towards complying with the Inuit

Language Protection Act. To facilitate this your organization may prepare an Inuit

Language Plan.

What is an Inuit Language Plan?

An Inuit Language Plan is a tool that organizations can use to manage compliance with

the Inuit Language Protection Act. The Inuit Language Plan helps organizations assess

their situation and plan future initiatives.

An Inuit Language Plan is a written document with a series of statements on how your

organization meets or will meet its Inuit-language communication and service obligations set out in the ILPA. A plan contains information on the following:

The nature of your organization’s activities Measures, policies and practices proposed for communications and services,

accompanied by a schedule for implementing these Your organization’s ability to offer communications and services in the Inuit language

How the Inuit Language Plan and the availability of communications and services in the Inuit language will be publicized

What kinds of actions or measures should organizations include in the Inuit Language Plan?

There are various actions or measures you may want to examine when planning

initiatives aimed at ensuring compliance with Inuit-language requirements. For example: Translating and publishing

advertisements, brochures, posters, etc. Offering online customer or client

services in Inuktut Translating and displaying signs Offering Inuktut training to staff

Teaching basic greeting words to reception staff

Developing a procedure to offer Inuktut

services and communications Including the ability to speak Inuktut as

a hiring qualification Partnering with an on-call interpreter/translator

Developing an active offer program

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Working with Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit to develop terminology

Adapting software for syllabics Setting up an Inuit language committee to implement the Inuit Language Plan

Advertising the availability of services in

Inuktut

Is it mandatory to prepare an Inuit Language Plan?

No. Preparing an Inuit Language Plan is a voluntary process that aims to support your

organization in complying with the Inuit Language Protection Act. It may be useful because

it allows your organization to plan future actions necessary for compliance.

However, your organization may be required to prepare an Inuit Language Plan if a concern

is reported to our Office about the lack of services or communications in the Inuit language

offered by your organization. Likewise, if the concern is brought before the Court of Justice,

your organization may be required to prepare an Inuit Language Plan.

What is the process?

Your organization can simply complete the Inuit language plan template and return it to

the Office of the Languages Commissioner using the contact information included in the template.

When the Office of the Languages Commissioner receives an Inuit Language Plan, it will

review it to determine whether the following criteria are met:

All the obligations are addressed.

The proposed measures are relevant. The proposed timelines are reasonable.

During that review, the Office of the Languages Commissioner may seek additional input

from the organization. The initial review can take up to a month.

After the initial review, the Office of the Languages Commissioner will either approve the

plan or suggest amendments.

Once the Inuit Language Plan is approved, your organization will receive a letter from

our Office. It is important that the organization actually implement the plan.

A change in circumstances could cause your organization’s plan to no longer comply with

the Inuit Language Protection Act. In that case, our Office might verify whether your

plan is being implemented, ask you to review your plan or revoke our approval of your

plan.

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ACCOMMODATION

What is accommodation?

Although every organization must offer services and communications in the Inuit

language, the Office of the Languages Commissioner may substitute a requirement for a

less onerous one in specific cases, this is called accommodation. Accommodation may be

offered to private sector organizations only. This does NOT mean an organization will be

exempt from complying with its Inuit language obligations.

Who can request accommodation?

Only private sector organizations may request accommodation. Municipalities or public

sector bodies cannot receive accommodation.

Requests for accommodation will be considered only in two cases:

Meeting the obligations of the Inuit Language Protection Act would cause undue hardship to your organization.

OR

The activities of your organization target primarily a non-Inuit language or cultural group.

What is the process?

Before requesting accommodation, your organization first needs to develop an Inuit

Language Plan. Doing so will help your organization assess its current situation and

identify the obligations it cannot immediately satisfy.

This will enable your organization to identify if and how it may require accommodation

and the organization can make an accommodation request. Your organization may also

submit an accommodation request to the Office of the Languages Commissioner if it

realizes that some obligations in the approved Inuit Language Plan are proving difficult

to implement.

If your organization simply requires more time to implement a measure, it is not

necessary to submit an accommodation request. Your organization’s Inuit Language Plan

can reflect this in the proposed schedule.

In the accommodation request, your organization must explain why it cannot meet the

obligation and describe a less onerous measure that it could realistically implement.

Accommodation requests will be carefully examined by the Office of the Languages

Commissioner. The Office will assess the accommodation request based on the following

criteria:

The nature of your organization’s activities The impacts of the proposed accommodation on the Inuit language-speaking

population

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The reasonableness of the proposed measures and the timeframes for implementing these

The Office of the Languages Commissioner may determine the duration of the accommodation (either temporary or indeterminate) and may periodically review the accommodation to verify its continued relevancy or necessity.

If your organization offers particular services (see p. 1 for more information on this), it is unlikely that the Office will approve an accommodation request due to the importance of

the services offered to Inuktut-speaking Nunavummiut.

Can an organization ask for an exemption from any of the Inuit language obligations?

An exemption is not the same as an accommodation. An accommodation aims to adapt

certain obligations to make them easier for your organization to achieve. An exemption is

an exception to the requirements.

Presently, the Inuit Language Protection Act does not allow for an exemption. However,

the Executive Council of the Government of Nunavut may make regulations identifying

situations in which a private sector body might be exempted from any or all of the linguistic

obligations.

ASSISTANCE Office of the Languages Commissioner

The Office of the Languages Commissioner can assist you with the development of your

organization’s Inuit Language Plan upon request.

Phone: 867-975-5080 / Toll-free: 1-877-836-2280

Email: langcom@langcom.nu.ca

Department of Culture and Heritage

The Department of Culture and Heritage provides funding to the private sector.

It also has publications on best practices.

Phone: 867-975-5500

Website: http://gov.nu.ca/culture-and-heritage

Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit

Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit can provide expertise on the correct use of the Inuit

language and its terminology. It does not provide translations.

Phone: 867-975-5545 / Toll-free: 1-855-232-1852

Website: http://www.taiguusiliuqtiit.ca/

Email: IUT@gov.nu.ca

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FAQ OBLIGATIONS

What if I am a contractor doing work for the Government of Nunavut? Do I have to communicate with the public in the Inuit language?

Yes. Section 4 of the ILPA describes the obligations for contracts with the Government of Nunavut and public agencies. Every contract must include a requirement on the

contractor to communicate with and provide services to the public in the Inuit language.

What does it mean to publicize my organization’s Inuit Language Plan and the availability of communications and services in the Inuit language?

You must make your organization’s plan available to the public (i.e., it may be posted

on your organization’s website or be on display in the reception area) and create an environment where customers and clients know they can use the Inuit language (this

might be accomplished by posting signs, using Inuktut in greetings at the reception desk, etc.).

What happens if a concern is reported to the Office of the Languages Commissioner about my organization?

The Office of the Languages Commissioner will investigate all concerns raised. These could

be concerns about a document, sign or notification that is not in the Inuit language, or

services by a business being offered only in English.

If your organization has submitted an Inuit Language Plan, the Office will review the plan

and ensure whether it is being implemented.

If your organization has not submitted a plan, the Office may ask your organization to

prepare one to show that it will be working towards compliance.

CHALLENGES

How can my organization offer reception and customer service in the Inuit language when it does not have bilingual staff?

The Office understands that offering Inuit language reception and customer services may

be difficult for some to achieve. Your organization put these in place, but it does not

need to be fully compliant immediately. Over time, your organization may want to

provide training to your employees, translate important documents, hire Inuktut-

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speaking employees and rely on on-call interpreters, depending on your organization’s

capacity.

TRANSLATIONS

What things does my organization need to have translated into the Inuit language?

Public signs, including emergency and exit signs

Posters and commercial advertising

If your organization offers particular services (see page 1 for more information), you

must translate:

Monthly bills

Invoices

Warnings

Notices

Drug use instructions

Restaurant menus

Hotel room instructions

Instructions on services

IMPORTANT NOTE: Ensure that the Inuit-language text (syllabic or roman

orthography) on public signs, posters and commercial advertising is at least as prominent with any other language used. Equal prominence means that one language does not stand out more than another; however, the Inuit language version can be more

prominent than the other languages.

Does my organization need to publish in both Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun?

It depends. Your organization needs to provide both Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun only if you providing services throughout all of Nunavut.

Otherwise, your organization must publish in Inuinnaqtun if it conducts business in

Kugluktuk or Cambridge Bay, or in Inuktitut if it only conducts business in the rest of Nunavut.

I own a retail business. Am I required to have receipts and labels in the Inuit language?

No, unless your organization provides particular services (see p. 1 for more information

on this).

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However, you may want to include in the Inuit language the store’s contact information

and a friendly “Thank you for shopping…” and any other public messages that are

printed on your receipts.

RESOURCES

To have everything translated and to offer my services in the Inuit language is costly. Is there help available?

The Department of Culture and Heritage has a funding program geared towards the

private sector. You can find more information online at: www.gov.nu.ca/culture-and-

heritage/.

Do you have a list of translators?

Yes, we have a list of translators. However, we cannot guarantee the quality of the

translations. You can email us at langcom@langcom.nu.ca or call us at 867-975-5080 or

1-877-836-2280 (toll-free) to get a copy of the list.

Is there language training available to employees?

Yes. The Pirurvik Centre and the Nunavut Arctic College offer courses to the public.

Pirurvik Centre 867-979-4722 info@pirurvik.ca

www.pirurvik.ca

Also, their Tusaalanga website is a useful tool to learn basics in Inuktut:

www.tusaalanga.ca/.

Nunavut Arctic College

867-857-7200 Toll-free: 1-866-979-7222