Colonialism and Language in Canada’s North: A Yukon Case Study

ABSTRACT. The relationship between the federal and territorial governments in Canada has been described as colonial because important decisions affecting the territories can be, and have been, imposed upon them by the federal government. In the 1980s, the federal government utilized its power to uni...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Steven Smyth
Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: 1996
Subjects:
Online Access:http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.548.2931
http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic49-2-155.pdf
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Summary:ABSTRACT. The relationship between the federal and territorial governments in Canada has been described as colonial because important decisions affecting the territories can be, and have been, imposed upon them by the federal government. In the 1980s, the federal government utilized its power to unilaterally impose constitutional changes which were perceived by Northerners as being contrary to their interests. This Yukon case study exemplifies that colonial relationship in the context of language rights. Key words: colonial, constitution, federal government, francophones, language, negotiation, territories, Yukon RÉSUMÉ. On a décrit la relation entre les gouvernements fédéral et territoriaux au Canada comme coloniale parce que les décisions importantes affectant les territoires peuvent être — et ont été — imposées à ces derniers par le gouvernement fédéral. Au cours des années 1980, le gouvernement fédéral a utilisé son pouvoir pour imposer de façon unilatérale des changements constitutionnels qui ont été perçus par les habitants du Grand Nord comme contraires à leurs intérêts. Cette étude de cas au Yukon illustre cette relation coloniale dans le contexte des droits linguistiques.