Indian Act Registration Reform
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.
Sponsor · Marc Gold
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.
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.
Where do you stand on this bill?
You are reading this in full, for free. An account is what lets you act on it.
A free account lets you record where you stand, see how your MP voted, email them about it, and get a summary of what matches you — daily, weekly, monthly, or not at all.