The Official Language Act will help in the preservation and promotion of the Inuktitut language in the territory.

Madeleine d'Argencourt, Director of Official Languages with the Government of Nunavut, says that this act has been 8 years in the making.

Alongside French and English, the act will make Inuktitut an official language in the territory.

The act deals with the official languages that are used in the legislative assembly, courts, and the delivery of territorial government services to the public.

It will ensure that documents, signs, and notices from Nunavut public bodies are in the official languages.

She says that the next step is to get the act approved by the federal government.

Following a federal agreement, and once regulations are ready, the act can be brought into force.

There are hopes that this can be achieved by this fall.

The act is a companion piece to the Inuit language Protection Act.

This piece will further protect and promote the Inuit language in the territory.

She says that the act is the first of its kind in Canada and that there are very few regions in the world that have an aboriginal language as their official language.