Comparative legal studies of linguistic relations between the indigenous peoples of the Russia and the aboriginal peoples of Canada: The Scientific basis for improving russian legislation

The International Decade of Indigenous Languages, launched in 2022 under the auspices of UNESCO, has predetermined a significant increase in both activities for the preservation and revitalisation of minority languages around the world, the improvement of national and international legislation regulating language relations, and an increase in the number of scientific studies in this field. Changes in language legislation both in the Russian Federation and in large multi-ethnic countries testify to significant shifts in global trends in language policy based on new scientific and statistical data. In this connection, comparative legal studies of the language relations of such countries, among which Canada acquires the greatest interest from the scientific point of view, are of particular relevance. Canada has more than sixty autochthonous languages, nine of which are recognised as official languages.

The basic legal provisions are enshrined in the federal Official Languages Act of 1988. In addition, Canada, like the Russian Federation, has a federal structure. The insufficient number of scientific studies, the lack of relevant scientific sources, the absence of Russian-language translations of the major sources of Canadian language law and policy, as well as radical transformations in political views and approaches to the development of language policy in Canada necessitates an increase in comparative legal research, which can provide valuable scientific material for the development of domestic language legislation and linguistic security in the context of the transformation of international politics.