Legislation — Official Languages Act
In June 2008, the Nunavut legislative assembly passed the Official Languages Act, making the Inuit language, along with English and French, the official languages of Nunavut. For the first time, Inuit in Nunavut have a clear legal statement of their inherent right to use the Inuit language in full equality with English and French, ensuring that it stays at the centre of life in Nunavut.
Legislation — Inuit Language Protection Act
In September 2008, the second piece of key Nunavut legislation, the Inuit Language Protection Act, was passed. This second statute provides the tools needed to respond to the rights and unique needs of the Inuit language. It provides for the positive action required to respect unilingual Inuit and improve their access to services, to reverse the language shift among young people, and to strengthen the use of the Inuit language by all Nunavummiut. The sections addressing the right to instruction and public services will undergo public consultations and planning before implementation.
Legislation — Education Act
The September 2008 passing of the Education Act by the Nunavut legislative assembly brings real and progressive change for learners, including bilingual education for all students, the inclusion of Inuit culture in every aspect of the education system, local control (with much stronger and more direct roles for district education authorities), and more supports for students to stay engaged and succeed. All three of these acts have direct and positive consequences for literacy in Nunavut.
Adult Literacy
In September 2008, a commemorative book containing winning stories from the last five years of the annual Nunavut Literacy Prize was published. The book, entitled Titiraliritti, includes stories in the various dialects of Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun, to increase the volume of Inuktitut literature available to adult readers.