NDP MP Romeo Saganash, sponsor of Bill C-262, talks with media in Ottawa in this file photo. iPolitics/ Matthew Usherwood

It was 2011 when NDP MP Romeo Saganash first asked about speaking Cree in the House. At the time, Saganash, the first Cree MP ever elected, was told it was “not possible.”

Tuesday, seven years later, Saganash appeared before the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs to help them figure out just that: how to facilitate Indigenous language use in House of Commons proceedings.

“If there’s a will to do it, I think it’s possible,” Saganash told iPolitics.

There are some signs that will is there. Indigenous language laws are slated to materialize sometime this year. There’s a committee study on the go — which held its first meeting Tuesday — about the use of use of Indigenous languages in House proceedings. In that first meeting, however, House Clerk Charles Robert warned that there are some major hurdles to overcome in order to achieve Saganash’s dream of being able to speak Cree in the House at his will.

Creating an environment where members can launch into Indigenous languages at will would require some changes, Robert said. There are many different things to consider, from ensuring there is enough space for more interpreters to work, to clarifying which languages will be supported. The newly-renovated West Block of Parliament Hill has slightly more space for interpreters to work, but the extra space is in a separate room removed from the action. There is also the question of finding interpreters for more than 60 existing Indigenous languages. Questions of funds, remote translation and artificial intelligence were also all raised during Tuesday’s committee meeting.

Some of the fog was cleared when the Senate did a trial run where they provided translation services for Inuktitut. Robert, who was the Clerk of the Senate at that time, said the service “always required considerable preparation and advanced notice.”

The Senate also struggled to find interpreters who could translate Inuktitut to French. Robert noted that providing translation from Inuktitut to English and then translating that English into French is not a perfect fix.

“There is always a loss when you’re going from one language to another,” he said.

The House isn’t just looking at facilitating proceedings in Inuktitut — they’re looking at Indigenous languages across the board. That presents new challenges beyond what the Senate faced.

One of those challenges could be cost. The European Parliament is fully functional in 24 official languages. Because of that, their biggest single budget item is the cost of translation. There are over 60 Indigenous languages in Canada.

Robert said that to make this work, the government will have to properly explore the resources available to them.

“We don’t want another Phoenix,” he said.

In addition to the cost question, Robert said the biggest hurdle before the House is “the notion of unintended consequences.”

He cautioned that once the door is open to provide broader translation services in Parliament, it could become a free-for-all for anyone hoping to speak their native tongue — even if they aren’t Indigenous.

“If we open the door, they should have the same right,” Robert said.

Saganash doesn’t agree.

“There is a distinction between my right to speak my language and the accommodation that we can provide for other non-Indigenous languages,” said Saganash. “Mine is a right, both a constitutional and a human right.”

Indigenous language rights are guaranteed in the Constitution, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 calls to action, Saganash said.

“I don’t want to be told, as an Indigenous person, ‘Yes, we will allow you to speak your language. Yes, we will give you permission to speak your language in the House of Commons.’ That’s charity. I don’t want charity,” said Saganash.

He said his ability to speak his language in House proceedings is “a constitutional and human right.”

Saganash has said that he won’t be running in 2019. He’s hopeful that he’ll see Indigenous languages as a part of House proceedings before he leaves, but he’s prepared for the possibility that might not happen.

“If I can leave knowing that other Indigenous MPs who want to speak their language won’t have to fight for it, that’s good enough.”

For Saganash, it’s a battle he’s fought since he was taken to a residential school in his youth.

“I’ve fought hard to hold on to my language during residential school. They tried to take it away,” said Saganash.

To stand up and speak his language in Parliament, fully supported with proper interpretation, would be “hugely symbolic” for him.

“It is a language that is so beautiful and I think it deserves to be heard, not just by Cree but also by every parliamentarian,” said Saganash.