OTTAWA—NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh was forced Wednesday to claw back a suggestion on bilingualism requirements for Supreme Court justices be waived to encourage Indigenous candidates. Indigenous rights must also be recognized and defended, Singh said, noting Indigenous languages have historically been “grossly overlooked” in Canadian institutions. “I am open to hearing suggestions of how to remain fully committed to bilingual judges while supporting the advancement of judges from Indigenous communities,” he said. “I would say in general our position as a party is that we support bilingualism,” Singh said. The party’s official languages critic had put forward a private members’ bill to enshrine the bilingual requirement into law but it was defeated.

Source: thestar November 30, 2017 00:33 UTC