Question Period Note: Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages

The Indigenous Languages Act establishes the Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages and provides for the appointment of a Commissioner of Indigenous Languages and up to three Directors. The Commissioner is the Chief Executive Officer and has control and management of all matters connected with the Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages.

• The establishment of the independent Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages was a key milestone in the implementation of the Act.
• Since 2021, the Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages has been operationalizing its mandate, including launching an innovation fund, initiating research on Indigenous languages, and engaging with Indigenous Peoples from across Canada.
• The Office plays a key role in preserving, promoting and revitalizing Indigenous languages in Canada.

• The Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its Calls to Action in 2015, which included a call for the Government to appoint, in consultation with Aboriginal groups, an Aboriginal Languages Commissioner (Call to Action 15). This Call to Action envisioned that the Commissioner would help promote Indigenous languages and report on the adequacy of federal funding for Indigenous languages initiatives.
• This has been addressed by the Indigenous Languages Act (the Act), which establishes the Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages and provides for the appointment of a Commissioner and three Directors.
• The mandate of the Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages (the Office) includes: supporting the efforts of Indigenous Peoples to reclaim, revitalize, maintain and strengthen their languages; providing dispute resolution services and reviewing complaints; promoting public awareness of Indigenous languages; undertaking research and supporting innovation and the use of new technologies; and submitting an annual report on the use and vitality of Indigenous languages, the adequacy of federal funding for Indigenous languages, and the progress made on implementing the Act.

Appointment Process
• The Office is independent of the Crown. The Commissioner, Directors are appointed by the Governor-in-Council and the employees of the Office are not federal public servants.
• A key milestone in the implementation of the Act, the appointments of Commissioner Stsmel'qen Ronald E. Ignace PhD and Directors Joan Greyeyes, Robert Watt and Georgina Liberty took effect on July 12, 2021.
• Each term appointment is five years, and the current terms will expire on July 11, 2026. As a result, the Department is in the process of launching a new Governor in Council appointment process to replace the outgoing Commissioner and Directors. This process includes a Selection Committee with First Nation, Inuit and Métis representation so Indigenous Peoples’ perspectives are appropriately reflected.

Funding
• Budget 2019 provided ongoing funding of $36.6 million annually to support the Office, a funding level that was determined prior to the establishment of the Office and the development of its annual business plan. Since then, the Office has determined that it does not require this level of funding annually.
• In addition, a proposal to reduce the Office’s funding was also approved by the Department of Finance as part of the Refocusing Government Spending exercise. A total of $29.7 million over four years ($6.3 million in 2025-2026 and
$7.8 million annually thereafter) was cut from the contribution funding to the Office.
• In 2025-2026, a total of $20.2 million is identified to support the Office, and is allocated as follows:
o $17.7 million in a ten-year grant to maintain their operations and undertake research;
o $2.5 million in a five-year flexible agreement to support dispute resolution and innovation; and
o $10.1 million was not planned for use by the Office and was repurposed to the Indigenous Languages Component, at the request of the Office, to support more revitalization projects given the oversubscription of the program.
Reporting
• The Act requires the Office to provide an annual report that includes the implementation of the Act, the vitality of Indigenous languages, the needs and progress of Indigenous Peoples in revitalizing their languages, the adequacy of federal funding, and the principal activities undertaken by the Office over the last year.

Accomplishments
• As the Office operationalizes its mandate, they have been engaging with Indigenous Peoples across Canada, starting with a National Gathering in Kamloops in September 2023 and continued distinction-based sessions in 2023-2024 and 2024-2025. They launched an innovation fund in the fall of 2023 and undertook baseline research to better understand the status and vitality of Indigenous languages in Canada. In 2025, in partnership with Statistics Canada, the Office also released a series of reports on nine Indigenous languages families across Canada including analysis of their vitality, acquisition and patterns of use, using data from the 2021 Census of Population.

WAVES 2025
• The Office held an international summit on Indigenous languages at Rogers Centre in Ottawa on August 11-14, 2025. The event was attended by over 2300 participants and provided an immersive and interactive mix of speakers, workshops, panel discussions, an experiential tradeshow, art exhibitions, and music, dance and cultural performances.

Dispute Resolution Mechanism
• As part of its mandate under the Act, the Office is required to establish a dispute resolution mechanism in order to hear complaints about Government of Canada funding, programs and policies or agreements that relate to Indigenous languages, and on the fulfillment of the Government of Canada's obligations under the Act. To date, the Office has not yet established and communicated publicly the process for such complaints and has indicated in each of its three annual reports that this work is underway.
Allegations
• On April 9, 2025, the department received a letter from an employment and human rights lawyer, on behalf of former employees of the Office. The letter outlines serious allegations concerning financial mismanagement, conflicts of interest, an unhealthy workplace and failures to advance the Office’s mandate.

Actions Taken to Address Allegations
• On April 30, 2025, Canadian Heritage launched a special examination under subsection 36(1) of the Act to assess allegations concerning financial and resource management.
• Given the nature of the allegations and the independence of the Office, a competitive contracting process was followed to select an external audit firm to ensure the special examination, as set out in the Act, would be carried out with independence, impartiality and fairness.
• A contract was awarded on January 27, 2026.

Status of the Special Examination
• The special examination has recently been initiated.
• Timeline for completion of the special examination has yet to be determined by the external auditors.

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