ITK president says Indigenous languages office’s mandate needs to be re-examined

OTTAWA — Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami President Natan Obed says allegations of financial mismanagement and a toxic workplace at the Office of the Commissioner for Indigenous Languages are disheartening, and he hopes the federal government seizes the moment to reform the institution.

“Any negativity around Indigenous Peoples — especially in this moment — and the funding that is allocated for things like language and culture is a deep risk to the ability for us to continue receiving funding,” Obed told The Canadian Press on Thursday.

“So I am quite concerned about this and I do hope that the federal government, from the prime minister to ministers, can understand the difference between dysfunction within a federal structure, which this is, and then the larger picture of language and culture that we are all trying to work better on.”