Winter 2005 Vol.14 No. 4 CAD Welcomes New CAD Chat Editor TABLE OF CONTENTS (April 1, 2005 - Ottawa) Elliott is looking for- New CAD Chat Editor The Canadian Associa- ward to working with ... p. 1 tion of the Deaf (CAD) all of you, our faithful is pleased to introduce readers, to make CAD CAD President to be Honoured Elliott Richman as the Chat an informative ... p. 1 new CAD Chat Editor. e-zine enjoyed by all Elliott currently lives in Deaf Canadians. ISL Must be Recognized Halifax, Nova Scotia ... p. 2 and works as a compu- Please contact Elliott ter programmer for the at [email protected] if ISL Could Open Courts to Deaf Nova Scotian provincial Elliott Richman, you would like to share CAD Chat Editor ... p. 2 government. Elliott served news from your area as a CAD Director in 1996 – 2000 or if you would like to write articles Congratulations to and is now serving his seventh year for CAD Chat, your e-zine. Henry Vlug, Q.C. as the President of Deafness Ad- ... p. 3 vocacy Association Nova Scotia, a Welcome Elliott! long-time provincial affiliate of Bridge of Signs Report CAD. ... p. 3 CAD President to be Honoured for Jubilee Award World Federation of the Deaf (Ottawa - February 16, 2005) have been honoured. Mr. Kenopic’s (WFD) in South Africa Chris Kenopic, President of the Ca- plaque will be located at the Jubi- ... p. 5 nadian Association of the Deaf lee Woodlot in South Georgetown. (CAD), is one of 50 Deaf Canadi- Publisher ans who were awarded Golden Ju- Approximately 46,000 Canadians Canadian Association of the Deaf bilee Medals in 2002 as part of Ju- received these awards and included Suite 203, 251 Bank St. bilee year celebrations to com- people who have made significant Ottawa, Ontario K2P 1X3 th memorate the 50 year of Queen contributions to Canada over the last Tel: (613)565-8882 TTY Elizabeth II’s reign. To further com- 50 years. The Canadian Associa- Tel: (613)565-2882 Voice memorate this milestone award, Mr. tion of the Deaf identified 50 out- Fax: (613)565-1207 Kenopic’s hometown of Halton standing Deaf Canadians to be rec- Email: [email protected] Hills, Ontario is creating a plaque ognized for their contributions to the www.cad.ca to recognize local residents who Canadian Deaf community. ISBN 1199-0538 Page 1 Inuit Sign Language (ISL) Must The Inuit culture and the use of Inuit Sign Language must not be overshadowed by American Sign Language Be Officially Recognized (ASL) or by Langue des Sourds du Québec (LSQ), used widely in other parts of Canada. People who use (February 11, 2005 - Ottawa) The Canadian Asso- ISL as their first language must be given every right ciation of the Deaf (CAD) recognizes that the sign and must be accommodated in the use of this language languages of Deaf people are true languages and must with qualified and trained ISL interpreters. be given the same status and respect as any other lan- guage. The CAD completely supports that Inuit Sign The lack of availability of ISL in Nunavut’s legal sys- Language (ISL) be recognized as the first language of tem raises questions about whether Charter rights are Deaf Inuit people. CAD promises to provide informa- being met. For more information about ISL and Char- tion and assistance to help promote the visibility of ISL ter rights, please read: “Inuit Sign Language could and to build interpreter training programs for wider use open courts to the deaf,” originally printed in the of ISL in the region. Nunatsiaq News. Inuit Sign Language could open courts to the deaf Official recognition, interpreter training only way to guarantee Charter rights By Sara Minogue 2000, the same specialist found that an Inuit sign lan- From Nunatsiaq News, Canada, February 4, 2005 guage exists, and could be used to offer trained court Source: http://www.nunatsiaqnews.com/news/ interpreters for deaf Nunavummiut. nunavut/50204_10.html Using video to capture signing, Jamie MacDougall The case of Bobby Suwarak, a deaf man from Baker found that signers in two different communities shared Lake who communicates with gestures not related to similar gestures for certain words, such as walrus or standard sign language, has raised the possibility of an polar bear. indigenous sign language known to Inuit for centuries. He also found that several people - not just the deaf - And that has raised the potential for training legal in- use, or recall elders using, what one participant called terpreters who can assist deaf Nunavummiut, whether “Inuk sign language.” accused of crimes or victims of crimes, in the courts. The existence of such a language would be consistent According to David Kautaq, who grew up with Suwarak with documented cases of several aboriginal peoples and has served as his interpreter several times, Suwarak that use a signing system to communicate. can hear if you stand directly behind him and yell into his right ear at the top of your lungs. In a report presented to Justice Canada five years ago, MacDougall recommended that, in order to meet the However, he prefers to communicate with his friend Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the court can and using the language he learned from Suwarak’s family, should provide trained legal interpreters for the esti- which he describes as “basically like charades,” a ges- mated 155 deaf people in Nunavut, who currently rely ture system made up of English and Inuktitut. on family and friends for the service. In court-ordered assessments, a hearing specialist from He also recommends that work begin towards offi- Montreal has determined three times that Suwarak cially recognizing ISL as a language. cannot communicate effectively in court using his lan- guage through an interpreter unfamiliar with the legal See INUIT on page 4 system. But after meeting deaf people and their families in Baker Lake, Pangnirtung, Iqaluit and Rankin Inlet in * People from Nunavut are called Nunavummiut. Page 2 CAD Congratulates Lawyer Henry Vlug, Q.C. Pioneering Legal Advocate Appointed to Queen’s Counsel (Ottawa) The Canadian Association of the Deaf would they have earned the respect of their colleagues and like to congratulate Henry Vlug Q.C., a deaf lawyer demonstrated leadership in their profession. who was appointed a Queen’s Counsel by the Cana- dian Bar Association of British Columbia in December Mr. Vlug Q.C., an expert in Estate Law, Family Law 2004. Over 10,000 lawyers practice in British Colum- and Criminal Law, has been a long-time advocate and bia but only 30 were selected in 2004 for this prestig- prominent member of the Deaf communities provin- ious honour. This appointment makes Mr. Vlug Q.C. cially and across the country. He has worked tirelessly the first Deaf lawyer in Canada and around the world to advance human rights issues for Deaf Canadians in to be awarded the Queen’s Counsel. a number of areas from closed captioning in media programming to equal accessibility in the availability In British Columbia, the Queen’s Counsel Act allows of TTY devices in public places. the Lieutenant Governor in Council, with the Attorney General’s approval, to bestow the honorary Queen’s Mr. Vlug Q.C. is a member of the CAD’s Hall of Fame, Counsel (Q.C.) designation to exceptional lawyers who winner of the 2000 CAD Award of Merit, and has have made outstanding contributions in the legal field. served as CAD’s President from 1986 to 1988, Vice- Lawyers who receive this honour are selected because President, and Treasurer. Bridge of Signs: Toth©2001 Can Sign Language Empower Non-Deaf Children to Triumph over their Communication Disabilities? Dr. Anne Toth, R.S.W., Project Director, Bridge of Signs, Canadian Association of the Deaf The past three months have been busy ones for the accomplished without the support of the CAD Board launching of the Bridge of Signs project. Developed in of Directors, or the CAD office staff, Jim, Evelyne collaboration with Jim Roots, Executive Director of the and Scott. While Tamara Witcher left her position as Canadian Association of the Deaf, Anne Toth, Project research assistant in favour of a full-time teaching po- Director and Michel Lelièvre, Project Coordinator, the sition, we were pleased for the continued assistance Bridge of Signs model has brought together basic vo- of Christina Hodgins, project assistant. As a result of cabulary under daily themes that include greetings, feel- the countless emails, faxes, and phone calls she has ings, items of food, clothing, activities, and simple verbs. made it has been possible to ensure that the sites have Challenged with the question—“Can sign language had the necessary forms and have returned consents, empower non-deaf children to triumph over their com- base data questionnaires and performance logs on a munication disabilities?”—implementation and data monthly basis. Thanks to the months of preparatory collection has begun. work done to ensure compliance with research stand- Work to bring us to this stage could not have been See BRIDGE on page 4 Page 3 INUIT from page 2 Suwarak through signs. MacDougall compares this process to the still recent Kautaq himself is an advocate. “You can communi- recognition of Inuktitut in the courts, and the steps that cate with him yourself if you have the patience,” he have been taken to document and promote the lan- says. guage over the last 20 to 30 years. And many people do. “[ISL] is a language spoken by a small number of peo- ple, but under the charter and so on, I believe it has to Outside of courtroom number one in Iqaluit last week, be recognized,” MacDougall says.