Inuktitut Spoken During Historic Meeting Between Health Minister and National Inuit Leader

Wednesday February 4, 2009 – Ottawa, Ontario – National Inuit leader Mary Simon met today with the Minister of Health, the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq to discuss a wide range of health matters relating to Inuit in the four Arctic Regions. It was the first formal meeting between Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami President Mary Simon, and Canada’s Minister of Health Leona Aglukkaq.”I don’t want to let this day go by without underlining the historic importance of part of today’s meeting with Minister Aglukkaq,” stated Mary Simon. “It was the first time in our long history with the Crown, that a national Inuit leader has been able to speak our common Inuit language – Inuktitut – with a minister of the Crown. It was just a natural, and normal welcoming statement that I said to Minister Aglukkaq, but it was in Inuktitut, and it was a wonderful experience to communicate so directly and thoroughly with a Canadian Cabinet Minister. The majority of the meeting was in English. We also concluded the meeting in Inuktitut. This brief part of our meeting, speaking Inuktitut, illustrates the importance of protecting and enhancing our language. I think today was a proud moment for Inuit, and for Canada.”

Contact:

Stephen Hendrie, Director of Communications
Tel: 613.277.3178, hendrie@itk.ca