OUR LANGUAGE RIGHTS MONTHLY
Canadian. Language. News.

Hello language access advocates - July has been an exciting month for #languagerights!
On our mind this month:

In solidarity and the pursuance of language rights,

The LACC Team

Indigenous Languages

• Meta announces Inuktitut as official language on Facebook desktop - Today, Meta is proud to announce Inuktitut is available as a language setting on Facebook desktop. 
• Inuktitut could be on ballots by next federal vote: Canada’s head of elections - Canada’s chief electoral officer, Stéphane Perrault, says he hopes to see Inuktitut on Nunavut ballots for the next federal election.
• How Indigenous sign language is helping this woman connect with her culture - Learning Plains Sign Language is about reclaiming her heritage, making language grow, she says. The word "deaf" isn't just an adjective for Paula MacDonald — it's part of her identity.
• Immersion key to preserving traditional Wolastoqey language - Andrea Bear Nicholas says very few fluent speakers remain. The key to preserving the traditional language of the Wolastoqey nation is immersion, says a well-known Wolastoqey language rights advocate. 
• For first time ever, CFL game set to be broadcast in an Indigenous language - For the first time in league history, a CFL game will be broadcast in an Indigenous language. Edmonton Elks president and chief executive officer Victor Cui announced Friday the franchise’s July 22 home game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will be broadcast live in Cree.

Francophone

• Les coûts invisibles de l’immigration au Canada - L’immigration au Canada. Un rêve coûteux qui devient de plus en plus inaccessible pour la population libanaise. Enlisés dans une crise économique historique, depuis bientôt trois ans, les Libanais quittent plus que jamais leur pays. Et pour ceux qui choisissent le Canada, le processus est long, coûteux et difficile. À commencer par les tests de français.
• Francis Drouin devient le plus jeune président des parlementaires francophones - Le député libéral fédéral de Glengarry-Prescott-Russell, Francis Drouin, vient d’être élu à 38 ans le plus jeune président de l’histoire de l’Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie (APF). Son objectif est de gagner la confiance des jeunes envers les institutions parlementaires.
• Nouvelle ronde de subventions aux organismes franco-ontariens - L’Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario (AFO) vient de lancer la cinquième ronde d’Effet multiplicateur, le programme de subventions non remboursables financées par l’Agence fédérale de développement économique pour le Sud de l’Ontario (FedDev).
• Kapuskasing: quand les anglophones parlent comme les francophones - 
  À Kapuskasing, dans le Nord de l’Ontario, l’influence du français est passée dans la syntaxe anglaise, en particulier chez les moins de 25 ans. De nouvelles recherches démontrent que l’alignement linguistique n’est pas superficiel. Des données recueillies cet été à Sudbury et Wawa pourraient le confirmer.
• Immigration francophone «équitable et non discriminatoire»… Vraiment? - En Afrique francophone, le processus d’immigration au Canada est associé à un sentiment de traitement différentiel et de paradoxe. De nombreux candidats à la résidence permanente francophones dénoncent les délais de traitement des dossiers qui vont jusqu’à plus de 48 mois, dans certains cas.

Language Rights, Revitalization and Advocacy

• Disability advocates sound alarm over Bill 96’s effects on English-language students - Advocates for disability rights are sounding the alarm about the impact of Bill 96 on students who have language-based disabilities. Bill 96, the province’s language law reform, will eventually require CEGEP students to complete more French courses.
• Korean Legal Clinic creating bilingual legal glossary to bridge culture and language barrier - The Korean Legal Clinic is building a bilingual legal glossary focusing on family law, immigration law and landlord and tenant disputes to bridge the culture and language barrier Koreans face in understanding the Ontario legal process, says executive director and immigration lawyer Jiwon Chun.
• Patient–physician language concordance and quality and safety outcomes among frail home care recipients admitted to hospital in Ontario, Canada - When patients and physicians speak the same language, it may improve the quality and safety of care delivered. We sought to determine whether patient–physician language concordance is associated with in-hospital and post discharge outcomes among home care recipients who were admitted to hospital.
• Choir adds sign language to share concert with deaf audience - The Collingwood Music Festival is so pleased to share the news that for their Thursday, July 13th 7pm concert, featured artists The Nathaniel Dett Chorale will have ASL (American Sign Language) interpreters with them throughout their performance titled "A Fantasy of Spirituals, Partsongs and Folk Songs".

Immigration/ Settlement and Emergency Communication 

• Ukrainian newcomers race to learn English, find jobs before aid runs out - London-area Ukrainian newcomers with limited language skills are desperate to learn English so they can land jobs before short-term government aid runs out, officials say.
• Ukrainian migrants face hurdles in accessing primary care, say health experts - Migrant health experts are warning that the swift influx of Ukrainians fleeing to Canada could put some at risk of falling through cracks in primary care.
• Translation project introduces new Canadians to reconciliation with Indigenous peoples - Leung-Kong, the outreach ministry manager and co-ordinator for the project, says the translation will help overcome the language barrier, especially for older immigrants who didn’t have access to public education on Indigenous histories.
• Winnipeg group aims to make Folklorama more accessible to newcomers - Folklorama and NEEDS partnered on the new program because they want newcomers to enjoy the sense of community and inclusion that comes with the festival, and to hopefully find pavilions with people who share their language and culture

The Politics of Language, Culture, and Technology 

• Non-accredited interpreters a threat to 'quality of bilingualism' on Parliament Hill, advocates say - A plan to hire non-accredited interpreters to address chronic short staffing among federal interpreters in Ottawa is raising concerns about the quality of bilingualism on Parliament Hill. Interpreters who orally translate from English to French and vice versa help both parliamentarians and members of the public follow and participate in government proceedings.
• Niverville, Man. to address labour shortage by removing language barrier - A Manitoba community is looking to attract more workers to meet a labour shortage, and in order to do so, the town’s council is working to remove a potential barrier. Niverville Mayor Myron Dyck told Global News the town is covering the cost of English classes for potential new workers who may not have enough of a grasp on the language to get hired in a variety of fields.