Indigenous Languages in Parliament: Comparing Canada and Australia.

• Date: 22 December 2020
• Author: Goodwin, Timothy B.

In 2018, a committee of the Canadian House of Commons conducted an inquiry into how it might better incorporate Indigenous languages in its proceedings. One witness in that inquiry gave evidence from over 15,000 kilometres away, in the Northern Territory of Australia. While many of the challenges faced by speakers of Indigenous languages in Canada and Australia are very different, it appears that each jurisdiction might have something to learn from the other--as indicated by the knowledge shared in 2018. This article advances the project of comparing the Canadian and Australian approach to incorporating Indigenous languages in federal and sub-federal parliamentary proceedings. The analysis will touch upon the symbolic importance of facilitating Indigenous language use in parliament, the practical benefits flowing from the same, and the logistical issues--including interpretation, translation, recording and funding--that arise.

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In May 2017, Robert-Falcon Ouellette gave a speech to the Canadian House of Commons on violence within Indigenous communities. Ouellette spoke in Cree, because he wanted to "address the violence in a manner that would be noticed" and to reach the younger population. (1) Although Ouellette had contacted the relevant parliamentary office ahead of time and provided the English text of the speech, no simultaneous interpretation was offered from Cree to English. Although Ouellette's use of Cree did not contravene the Standing Orders, it highlighted the fact that no mechanism existed to have his words simultaneously interpreted so that other Members could understand him. After the speech, Ouellette objected to the status quo and the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs conducted an inquiry into the use of Indigenous languages in House Proceedings and Committees. (2) During the course of that inquiry, the Committee received testimony for 31 witnesses, the last of whom gave evidence from some 15,000 kilometres away in Australia. That witness--Michael Tatham, Clerk of the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory explained the extent to which Indigenous languages were then accommodated within the Northern Territory Parliament. This distant Australian witness' appearance before the Committee, and the inclusion of his evidence in the final report, suggests that--as much as there are significant differences between the obstacles to Indigenous parliamentary involvement in Canada and Australia--there are also potentially some shared experiences. In this article, we hope to outline the current position in Australia with respect to the use of Indigenous languages in Parliament, touching upon the symbolic importance of facilitating Indigenous language use, the practical benefits flowing from the same, and the logistical issues including interpretation, translation, recording and funding--that arise. In the course of our discussion we focus in particular on recent developments and, where possible, we drawn on comparisons with the Canadian experience.

Indigenous languages in Australia, compared with Canada

Indigenous people make up about 3 per cent of the Australian population, although that percentage is considerably higher in certain jurisdictions, such as the Northern Territory (where Indigenous people make up about 35 per cent of the constituency). (3) in Canada, for comparison, Indigenous people make up 4.9 per cent of the population, but make up a majority of the population in some territories (for example, Indigenous people make up 86 per cent of the population in Nunavut and 51 per cent of the population in the Northwest Territories). (4)

About 18 per cent of Indigenous Australians speak an Indigenous language, including 11 per cent who speak an Indigenous language as their main language at home. (5) Again, this portion is significantly higher in some places, particularly remote regions (where over half of Indigenous people speak an Indigenous language). (6) In Canada, 16 per cent of Indigenous people speak an Indigenous language. (7)

It is estimated that there are presently around 141 Indigenous language varieties spoken throughout Australia. (8) In Canada, the figure is over 70. (9) Many of those languages, however, are only spoken by relatively small numbers of people and even the "stronger" languages are considered to be under threat. (10) In the last few decades, there has been an increasing public awareness, particularly among non-Indigenous Australians, of the importance of preserving and protecting Indigenous languages. This recognition has resulted in some important developments, including the development of legislation and policy to protect Indigenous languages, (11) and the limited inclusion of some Indigenous languages within school curricula.

Indigenous languages in Australia share three important similarities with Canada that bear upon the history of Indigenous languages in parliamentary proceedings. First, Indigenous people make up a relatively small proportion of the national population in both countries. Second, both Australia and Canada being federations, Indigenous people make up a significant portion of the population in some sub-national jurisdictions. Third, there is no single common Indigenous language in either country, but rather a rich...