Language policy in Saskatchewan

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Language policy in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan is defined by official monolingualism, certain services provided in French, sign language, indigenous languages and certain languages of immigrant communities.

Contents

Official monolingualism

The Saskatchewan Act required that the province respect the Northwest Territories Act and required that English and French would both have official status in the legislature, before the courts, and in official government documents. [1] Saskatchewan did not repeal this legislation. [2] R v Mercure was a ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada which clarified that language rights had an almost constitutional status. [1] This was repealed by the Language Act. [1] The Language Act continued to allow the use of French in the legislature. [1]

French language

In 2003, Saskatchewan adopted a French Language Services Policy which governs the delivery of services in the French language. [3] [4]

Enrollment in French immersion dropped from 13,000 in 1992 to 9,000 in 1999. [5] According to Statistics Canada, the bilingual rate increased by 4.7% between 2001 to 2016. [6]

Indigenous languages

The First Nations University of Canada trains teachers to teach the culture and language of the Dene people through the Dene Teacher Education Program. [7]

Indigenous sign languages are officially recognised under the Accessible Saskatchewan Act . [8]

In 1994, the Aboriginal Languages Curriculum Guide for Kindergarten to Grade 12 was publsihed. [9]

Sign language

The care provided at the Saskatchewan Pediatric Auditory Rehabilitation Centre has advocated for restricting early access to sign language for deaf children. [10]

American Sign Language and Indigenous sign languages are officially recognised under the Accessible Saskatchewan Act. [8]

Plains Indian Sign Language education has been provided at summer camps in the province. [11]

Languages of immigrant communities

In 1979, a bilingual Ukrainian language program was established in Saskatchewan. [12]

Until 2025 English as a second language education was provided by the Regina Open Door Society and Saskatchewan Polytechnic. [13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Savoie, Donald J.; Relations, Queen's University (Kingston, Ont) Institute of Intergovernmental (1991). The Politics of Language. Queen's University, Institute of Intergovernmental Relations. ISBN   978-0-88911-586-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ↑ Fraiberg, Armand L. C.; de Mestral, William. "Language Guarantees and the Power to Amend the Canadian Constitution". McGill Law Journal. 12 (4).
  3. ↑ Chan, Nelida (2015), Kockaert, Hendrik J.; Steurs, Frieda (eds.), "Language policies and terminology policies in Canada", Handbook of Terminology, vol. 1, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, pp. 489–504, doi:10.1075/hot.1.lan2, ISBN   978-90-272-5777-2 , retrieved August 6, 2025
  4. ↑ "French-language Services Policy". taskroom.saskatchewan.ca. Archived from the original on January 20, 2024. Retrieved August 6, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Advocate says Saskatchewan suffering on French language instruction". CBC News. September 6, 2000. Archived from the original on August 6, 2025. Retrieved August 6, 2025.
  6. ↑ Guignard, Jonathan (December 17, 2019). "'Language being valued': French spoken more than ever in Saskatchewan homes". Global News . Archived from the original on April 8, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
  7. ↑ Allen, Bonnie (June 7, 2020). "Next generation of language keepers". News Interactives. CBC News. Archived from the original on June 26, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2025.
  8. 1 2 Koole, Marguerite (April 22, 2024). "Saskatchewan recognized ASL and Indigenous sign languages as official languages — and resources are needed for services". The Conversation . Archived from the original on July 24, 2025. Retrieved August 6, 2025.
  9. ↑ Friedmann-Conrad, Bernadette (September 3, 2019). "Stop assimilating: Sask. schools aren't doing enough to offer Indigenous language education". CBC News. Archived from the original on July 23, 2025. Retrieved August 6, 2025.
  10. ↑ Anton, Jessie (March 13, 2022). "Push toward hearing interventions over ASL leading to language deprivation in deaf people, experts say". CBC News. Archived from the original on July 23, 2025. Retrieved August 6, 2025.
  11. ↑ Piapot, Ntawnis (December 11, 2019). "Plains Sign Language camp a new spin on an old way of communicating on the Prairies". CBC News. Archived from the original on November 14, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2025.
  12. ↑ Sterzuk, Andrea (May 29, 2022). "Ukrainian language schools in Western Canada were shaped by shifting settler colonial policies". The Conversation. Archived from the original on June 13, 2025. Retrieved August 6, 2025.
  13. ↑ "Educators among dissenting voices as funding cuts coming to intermediate ESL courses". CTV News. May 4, 2025. Archived from the original on April 28, 2025. Retrieved August 6, 2025.
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