OTTAWA — The federal government plans to recognize Indigenous languages as a constitutional right and create a new office of commissioners to protect and promote them under new legislation this fall, Canadian Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly says.

The details of the upcomi ng Indigenous languages bill are part of a list of principles co-developed over the past year by federal officials and national First Nations, Inuit and Métis organizations, Joly said in an interview Friday.

“We’re dealing with the impact of colonialism in our country,” Joly said, pointing to the impact of residential schools designed to indoctrinate Indigenous children into the culture and languages of European-Canadian society.

“There’s such an urgent need to act. Right now, for some languages ... we’re at the last generation of people speaking the languages,” she said. “This legislation will be a huge step toward reconciliation.”

The Liberals pledged during the 2015 federal election to provide new funding to “promote and preserve” Indigenous languages. Last year, Joly and the leaders of the Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, and Métis National Council launched a consultation process to inform future legislation to protect and promote the 90 Indigenous languages and dialects that the United Nations has identified in Canada.

On Friday, Joly announced the government plans to consult stakeholders over the summer before tabling legislation in the fall, with the aim of passing the law before the 2019 election. She told the Star that consultations will now focus on a list of principles agreed to with the national Indigenous organizations. These include the recognition of Indigenous languages as a “fundamental right” under the constitution, as well as a plan to create an office of at least three commissioners to advocate for Indigenous language rights once the bill becomes law, she said.

Natan Obed, president of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, said he’s confident the legislation will go “beyond the symbolism” but said a big factor will be funding that can guarantee speakers of Inuktitut, for example, are able to access federal government services and public education in their Indigenous tongue.

“It’s an essential part of our ability to be Inuit within Canada,” Obed said.

Funding for education and government services will likely depend on demand and the number of language speakers in various regions across the country, Joly said.