Inuktitut speakers need police services: deputy mayor
Last Updated: Wednesday, September 2, 2009 | 10:48 AM CT
CBC News
The RCMP should provide more Inuktitut-language services in Nunavut's Inuit communities, says the deputy mayor in Clyde River, Nunavut.
Nick Idlout said his community has about 1,000 residents, most of them unilingual Inuktitut speakers. However, the hamlet's two RCMP officers do not speak the Inuit language, he said.
The Clyde River hamlet council will discuss the issue on Thursday, when it has its monthly meeting with the local RCMP detachment.
Idlout said the national police force or Nunavut's Justice Department should hire more Inuktitut speakers, adding that many Inuit are frustrated with the police and tired of a backlogged court system.
"We're supposed to be living in 2009 … where we say use it or lose it, or we're militarizing the Arctic and spending billions of dollars on icebreakers," Idlout said Tuesday.
"Why can't they spend a few million dollars putting more cops on the ground that speak Inuktitut, or at least have a civilian person working for the RCMP to be able to understand and communicate properly with the communities?"
He added that residents who call the RCMP's toll-free phone number in Iqaluit often get a response in English only.
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