LE STATUT DES LANGUES AUTOCHTONES AU CANADA : LE CAS DE L’INUIT AU NUNAVUT

Abstract

Along with Québec, Nunavut shares the characteristic of being inhabited by a majority population that speaks a language other than English. Recently, the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut enacted two pieces of legislation dealing with official languages and the promotion of the Inuit language. To what extent can this territory adopt measures to promote the language of the majority of its inhabitants? To answer this question, the author begins by analyzing the linguistic jurisdiction of the federal and territorial parliaments. Next, he discusses the special status the Canadian constitution attributes to aboriginal languages, and their relationship to the country’s two official languages. Lastly, he analyzes Nunavut’s new linguistic regime.