What each bill does, in plain language. Both sides of the debate where there has been one.
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This bill would establish a National Blanket Ceremony Day in Canada to recognize and honour Indigenous peoples and promote understanding of the impacts of colonization.
What it means for you
Once a year, Canadians would be invited to participate in or learn about the Blanket Ceremony, a teaching tool used to help people understand the history of Indigenous land loss and colonial policies.
SocialGovernanceIdentityReconciliation
No debate summary yet — we'll add the for/against once this bill is debated.
This bill would create a National Thanadelthur Day to honour Thanadelthur, a Dene woman who played a crucial role in establishing peace between Indigenous nations and early European settlers in the early 1700s.
What it means for you
Canadians would have an official day each year to recognize and celebrate the contributions of Thanadelthur, an Indigenous woman leader whose diplomacy shaped early Canadian history.
SocialIdentityReconciliation
The debate · 3 points
Supporters say
over 127,000 cases were reported to police in 2022, and a woman is killed by a partner every 48 hours in Canada.
The bill would create specific criminal offences for intimate partner violence and prevent police from releasing repeat offenders, giving victims stronger legal protections.
Vulnerable groups — including Indigenous women and young women aged 15–24 — are disproportionately affected, making targeted legislation especially urgent.
Amends the Indian Act to eliminate remaining sex-based discrimination in Indian status registration. Extends status to descendants who lost entitlement due to historical rules that stripped status from Indigenous women (but not men) who married non-Indigenous partners. Also addresses 'enfranchisement' — the forced or coerced removal of Indian status.
What it means for you
Tens of thousands of Indigenous people — mostly descendants of women who lost status through marriage or enfranchisement — would gain or regain Indian status. This means access to treaty rights, health benefits, education funding, and the right to live on reserve.
IdentityReconciliation
The debate · 6 points
Supporters say
The Indian Act's sex- and race-based rules are discriminatory. Canada has acknowledged in the Nicholas case that the Act unjustifiably breaches the equality guarantee in section 15 of the Charter, and a court has set a deadline to fix it.
Removing the second-generation cut-off and restoring a one-parent rule would let children of registered parents gain status. Many First Nations leaders and organizations, including the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, support passing the bill with the Senate amendments intact.
Status affects access to housing, inheritance, burial on reserve lands, education, and social supports. Supporters say the current rules divide families and cut people off from their communities, sometimes across several generations.
Critics say
Consultation has been inadequate. Some First Nations, including Treaty 6 chiefs and Alberta First Nations, say they were left out, and that Canada's duty to consult has not been met before changing who counts as a status Indian.
Some argue the bill should not rely on the Indian Act at all. They say First Nations should set their own citizenship and membership rules, and that federal registration reform cannot restore that jurisdiction.
Concerns about cost and scale have been raised. Some warn that the Senate amendments could add hundreds of thousands of people to the status list quickly, with major budget and service implications that have not been properly planned for.
This bill would add Indigenous peoples as a specifically protected group under the Criminal Code's hate speech provisions, making it illegal to promote hatred against them.
What it means for you
Canadians who publicly promote hatred targeting Indigenous peoples could face criminal charges, giving Indigenous communities stronger legal protection against hate speech.
SocialGovernanceIdentityReconciliation
No debate summary yet — we'll add the for/against once this bill is debated.
