By Lauren Whitford
OTTAWA — Dorothy Myo, a fluent Saulteaux speaker from Saskatchewan, takes office Thursday as Canada’s Commissioner of Indigenous Languages. She inherits an office that has been under a federal financial examination since the spring, after complaints from former staff.
The Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages announced that Myo’s appointment is effective Nov. 12 for a five-year term. She replaces interim commissioner Candice St-Aubin. Under the Indigenous Languages Act, the commissioner is appointed by the federal cabinet on the recommendation of the Minister of Canadian Heritage, after consultations with Indigenous governments and organizations.
“I extend my warm congratulations and welcome to Commissioner Dorothy Myo as she takes on this important responsibility,” St-Aubin said in the office’s statement. “At a time when the need for concerted efforts and investments in Indigenous language revitalization is so urgent, the Commission’s mandate carries profound meaning.”
Who she is
Myo was raised in Saulteaux First Nation in Saskatchewan, The Canadian Press reported. Her LinkedIn profile says she speaks Saulteaux, Cree and English fluently. She most recently worked as deputy chief of self-government and senior director of policy and research at Métis Nation-Saskatchewan, CP reported.
She also led the Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre, which works to preserve First Nations languages and cultures. She has warned about language loss for years. “The youngest fluent speakers are between the age of 26 to 65,” she told CBC News in 2010, when she was the centre’s president. “Our youngest people aren’t learning the language. They’re not having access to learning their language today.”
“There are so few speakers, and it’s really on the verge of extinction,” she said then. “Part of that strategy is the youth — first to have them take an interest and then have it accessible for them to learn.”
Myo holds social work credentials from the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College, now First Nations University of Canada. In a profile for the university’s 40th anniversary, she described what that education meant. “To be able to converse with external governments and then turn around and talk to our Elders in our First Nation languages, that’s the kind of education that I pursued and that I’ve been really fortunate to get,” she said. “I get my strength from all of that.”
The office she inherits
The commissioner’s office was created after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission called for one in its 2015 final report. Parliament passed the Indigenous Languages Act in 2019, and the office opened in 2021. At the time, the federal government said about 70 Indigenous languages needed urgent protection, CBC News reported.
The money behind it is substantial. Canadian Heritage gave the office a $51.6 million multi-year funding agreement when it opened, then a five-year, $16.3 million contribution deal for 2024–29, and a 10-year grant through 2034 totalling $172.3 million, according to reporting by The Canadian Press published by CBC News.
In May, the department ordered a special examination of the office’s finances after receiving anonymous complaints. “Canadian Heritage has made the commissioner of Indigenous languages aware that we have received anonymous allegations and has contracted an independent third-party firm to conduct a special examination under the Indigenous Languages Act,” the department said at the time.
Half a dozen sources, including former employees, told The Canadian Press that the office had failed to make progress on strengthening languages and supporting research. They said it focused instead on travel and on one large conference. The office said about $10 million was spent over two years on WAVES 2025, a four-day global summit in Ottawa that drew more than 2,000 people from about 20 countries.
“Can you imagine, for that amount of money, how many students could have been made fluent?” said Patricia Ningewance, an Ojibwe speaker and associate professor at the University of Manitoba who attended.
The office said it had investigated three formal bullying complaints, made personnel changes and received no new complaints since. It also disputed several of the former staff members’ claims, saying significant travel is needed to meet with communities across the country.
What the previous leadership and Ottawa said
Former commissioner Ronald Ignace, whose term ended in July, said the office faced challenges but “we succeeded in laying the foundation for an office capable of carrying forward this significant work.” He also said, “I am extremely proud of the work undertaken to establish this office and advance its mandate.”
Canadian Heritage Minister Marc Miller called the allegations serious when they surfaced. “But part of holding people to account is giving people the benefit of the doubt, and that includes making sure the due process is respected,” he said in June, according to CP.
The search for a permanent commissioner took longer than planned, and St-Aubin’s 90-day interim term was extended last month, CP reported.
What to watch
Myo’s appointment comes with three open questions. The first is whether, and when, the findings of the special examination will be made public. Canadian Heritage did not give a timeline when it ordered the review. The second is how the office will spend its long-term grant. The third is whether it shifts from national events toward direct support for speakers and teachers in communities, as some critics have urged.
The Chronicle is seeking an interview with Commissioner Myo and an update on the examination from the Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages. A response will be added when received.
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