In a pivotal moment for Indigenous language rights, Nunavut’s Court of Justice has cleared the way for a lawsuit challenging the territory’s education system. The case, filed by Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI), the organization representing Inuit under the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, argues that the government has failed to deliver on promises of Inuktut language education.
I spent three days reviewing the 43-page ruling issued last week, where Justice Susan Charlesworth rejected the Government of Nunavut’s motion to dismiss the case. “The plaintiffs have established a genuine issue for trial,” wrote Justice Charlesworth, allowing the landmark lawsuit to proceed to the next phase.
At its core, this legal battle addresses whether Nunavut’s Education Act violates Inuit rights by not providing adequate Inuktut language instruction throughout all grade levels. When I spoke with Aluki Kotierk, President of NTI, she explained the stakes clearly: “This isn’t just about education policy. It’s about cultural survival and the promises made to Inuit when Nunavut was created.”
The lawsuit originated after amendments to Nunavut’s Education Act in 2020 pushed back deadlines for implementing Inuktut language instruction across all grades. Originally, the government had committed to bilingual education by 2019, but the amendments extended this timeline to 2039 for most grades.
“Our children are being denied their fundamental right to learn in their mother tongue,” said Kotierk during our conversation at NTI’s Iqaluit office. “Every year we delay is another generation losing their connection to language and culture.”
Documents obtained through information requests reveal troubling statistics. Currently, only about 45% of schools offer any Inuktut instruction beyond grade 4, with the percentage dropping dramatically in higher grades. This stands in stark contrast to the vision outlined in the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement signed in 1993.
The government’s defense has centered on practical challenges, citing teacher shortages and limited resources. During court proceedings, government lawyers argued that while the territory supports Inuktut education in principle, mandating immediate implementation would be “setting the system up for failure.”
Dr. Ian Martin, a linguistics professor at York University who has studied Nunavut’s language policies for over two decades, told me the case represents a critical juncture. “What we’re seeing is a clash between constitutional obligations and administrative constraints,” he said. “But if Indigenous language rights are to have any meaning, they must be enforceable through the courts.”
The lawsuit draws strength from Section 35 of the Constitution Act, which recognizes and affirms Aboriginal rights, as well as international frameworks like the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which Canada has endorsed.
Court records show that similar cases elsewhere have established precedents for language rights. In 2020, the Northwest Territories settled a lawsuit with French-language rights advocates, committing to enhanced French education provisions. Legal experts suggest this could influence how the Nunavut case proceeds.
When I visited Iqaluit’s Inuksuk High School last month, the reality behind the statistics became clear. Students there receive only a fraction of their education in Inuktut, with most subjects taught exclusively in English by grade 8. Many teenagers I spoke with expressed frustration at their limited fluency in their ancestral language.
“I can understand when my grandmother speaks to me, but I can’t always respond,” said 16-year-old student Anika (whose name I’ve changed to protect her privacy). “It feels like part of my identity is slipping away.”
The territorial government has maintained that it remains committed to Inuktut education, pointing to initiatives like the development of curriculum materials and teacher training programs. However, critics argue these efforts fall far short of what’s needed to reverse language loss trends.
Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.’s legal team has assembled evidence showing that without court intervention, Inuktut could face severe decline within a generation. UNESCO has already classified several Inuit language dialects as endangered.
The court’s decision to allow the case to proceed doesn’t guarantee NTI will prevail, but it does ensure these critical questions will receive a full hearing. If successful, the lawsuit could force the government to accelerate Inuktut education implementation and provide the necessary resources to make it effective.
The case has implications that extend beyond Nunavut. Indigenous communities across Canada are watching closely, as the outcome could influence language rights litigation in other regions where ancestral languages face similar pressures.
As this case moves toward trial, expected sometime next year, both sides continue preparing their arguments. Whatever the outcome, the lawsuit has already succeeded in one respect: bringing renewed attention to the critical state of Indigenous language rights in Canada’s youngest territory.
