‘Colonial thinking’: Inuit criticize backlash to Gov. Gen. Mary Simon’s brand of bilingualism

Crystal Martin says it was “emotional” when she and her daughter watched Mary Simon be sworn in as Governor General in 2021.

“For me, it was this moment of she can see herself in that role if she wanted to,” Martin, an Inuk advocate, said. “[Simon] being in this role has really opened up a lot of imagination for Indigenous youth and children across Canada.” 

That’s why, Martin said, it didn’t sit right with her when Prime Minister Mark Carney told Radio-Canada the next Governor General would “absolutely” be bilingual — in English and French. 

Simon is bilingual too: she speaks Inuktitut and English, but not fluent French.

“It was an insult because English is my second language and I see myself as being a bilingual person,” Martin said. “I see Indigenous people who are speaking their mother tongue and then English being a second language and the French being a third language for them.”

Since being sworn in, Simon has faced criticism for her lack of proficiency in French, despite making attempts to learn the language.

“Yes, she was schooled in English,” wrote a columnist for the Montreal newspaper La Presse when Simon was appointed. “But decades have elapsed between her school days and her nomination as GG, when she did not feel it was useful to learn French. Am I supposed to applaud that she is promising to learn French at the age of 73?”

In 2021, the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages received more than 1,300 complaints related to Simon’s nomination. This caused the office to launch an investigation into the process for nominating governors general. 

The investigation found that Simon’s appointment didn’t break any federal language laws because the Governor General is not subject to the Official Languages Act. 

In an email, the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages told CBC that since the 2021 investigation, the office has received 59 more complaints related to Simon’s proficiency in French. 

The Prime Minister’s Office did not respond to questions about Simon’s Inuktitut bilingualism by deadline. Carney will install Louise Arbour as Canada’s next Governor General in June.

Simon’s husband Whit Fraser said Simon always served Canadians during her mandate. 

“My wife and the prime minister and the vetting committee knew of her limitations in French,” Fraser said. “She committed to learn French, but she also answered a call from a prime minister to serve the country, and that’s the higher ground she took.”

Former Nunavut politician Jack Anawak echoes Martin’s frustration. He said it’s “disappointing” some people feel bilingualism in English and French is the only kind of bilingualism that counts.

“They demand that people in Quebec speak French. Well, we should demand that French people who come up to Nunavut should speak Inuktitut,” he said. “It’s again part of that whole colonial thinking that they are superior languages.”

Anawak said Indigenous languages should be recognized and acknowledged as equal with English and French in Canada. 

“Inuktitut and First Nations languages are the first languages of this country before it became Canada,” he said. “For us to learn English, it was basically by colonialism.” 

In light of the federal government’s commitments to truth and reconciliation, Martin said, Carney’s comments are disrespectful to Indigenous people and the languages they speak. 

“The prime minister talks about reconciliation. But what is reconciliation if you do not recognize that our former governor general was in fact bilingual, but it just wasn’t French as a second language,” she said. 

Martin said she’d like to see federal government workers and leaders learn Indigenous languages in the same way Canadians are expected to learn French. 

Simon’s appointment as Governor General has inspired Inuit and Indigenous people across Canada, Martin said. But she worries the way Simon was treated tells Indigenous people they’re not wanted in national office. 

“If Carney is going to be intimidated by the fact that an Indigenous person who did not speak French fluently, then Indigenous people will not want to participate in future opportunities as a Governor General,” she said.