Proceedings of the Standing Senate Committee on
Aboriginal Peoples
Issue 22 - Minutes of Proceedings - May 17, 2017
OTTAWA, Wednesday, May 17, 2017
(50)
[English]
The Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples met this day at 6:51 p.m., in room 160-S, Centre Block, the chair, the Honourable Lillian Eva Dyck, presiding.
Members of the committee present: The Honourable Senators Christmas, Doyle, Dyck, Enverga, Frum, Lankin, P.C., Lovelace Nicholas, Manning, McPhedran, Omidvar, Pate, Patterson, Sinclair and Tannas (14).
In attendance: Brittany Collier and Sara Fryer, Analysts, Parliamentary Information and Research Services, Library of Parliament; Mireille La Forge, Committee Clerk, Committees Directorate.
Also present: The official reporters of the Senate.
Pursuant to the order of reference adopted by the Senate on Thursday, November 17, 2016, the committee continued examination of Bill S-3, An Act to amend the Indian Act (elimination of sex-based inequities in registration). (For complete text of the order of reference, see proceedings of the committee, Issue No. 13.)
The chair made a statement.
It was agreed that the committee proceed to clause-by-clause consideration of Bill S-3, An Act to amend the Indian Act (elimination of sex based inequities in registration).
It was agreed that the title stand postponed.
The chair asked whether clause 1 shall carry.
After debate, the Honourable Senator Sinclair moved:
That Bill S-3 be amended, on page 1, in clause 1, by replacing line 4 with the following:
"Section 5 of the Indian Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (5):
(6) If a parent, grandparent or other ancestor of a person in respect of whom an application is made is unknown — or is unstated on a birth certificate that, if the parent, grandparent or other ancestor were named on it, would help to establish the person's entitlement to be registered — the Registrar shall, without being required to establish the identity of that parent, grandparent or other ancestor, determine, after considering all of the relevant evidence, whether that parent, grandparent or other ancestor is, was or would have been entitled to be registered. In making the determination, the Registrar shall rely on any credible evidence that is presented by the applicant in support of the application or that the Registrar otherwise has knowledge of and shall draw from it every reasonable inference in favour of the person in respect of whom the application is made.
1.1 (1) Paragraph 6(1)(a) of the Act is re-''.
The question being put on the motion in amendment, it was adopted.
The chair asked whether clause 1, as amended, shall carry.
The Honourable Senator McPhedran moved:
That Bill S-3 be amended, on page 1, in clause 1, by replacing lines 6 and 7 with the following:
"(a.1) that person was born prior to April 17, 1985 and is a direct descendant of the person referred to in paragraph (a) or of a person referred to in paragraph 11(1)(a), (b), (c), (d), (e) or (f) as they read immediately prior to April 17, 1985.
(a.2) The purpose of this provision is to entitle to registration under s. 6(1)(a) those persons who were previously not entitled to registration under s. 6(1)(a) as a result of the preferential treatment accorded to Indian men over Indian women born prior to April 17, 1985, and to patrilineal descendants over matrilineal descendants born prior to April 17, 1985.''
Debate.
At 8:09 p.m. the committee suspended.
At 8:27 p.m. the committee resumed.
Resuming debate on the motion in amendment of the Honourable Senator McPhedren that Bill S-3 be amended, on page 1, in clause 1, by replacing lines 6 and 7 with the following:
"(a.1) that person was born prior to April 17, 1985 and is a direct descendant of the person referred to in paragraph (a) or of a person referred to in paragraph 11(1)(a), (b), (c), (d), (e) or (f) as they read immediately prior to April 17, 1985.
(a.2) The purpose of this provision is to entitle to registration under s. 6(1)(a) those persons who were previously not entitled to registration under s. 6(1)(a) as a result of the preferential treatment accorded to Indian men over Indian women born prior to April 17, 1985, and to patrilineal descendants over matrilineal descendants born prior to April 17, 1985.''
After debate, the question being put on the motion, it was adopted on the following vote:
YEAS
The Honourable Senators
Christmas, Doyle, Dyck, Enverga, Frum, Lovelace Nicholas, Manning, McPhedran, Pate, Patterson, Tannas — 11
NAYS
The Honourable Senators
Lankin, Omidvar, Sinclair — 3
ABSTENTIONS
NIL
The chair asked whether clause 1, as amended, shall carry.
The Honourable Senator Lankin moved:
That Bill S-3 be amended, in clause 1, by
(a) adding after line 10 on page 2 the following:
"(c.02) that person meets the following conditions:
(i) the name of one of their parents was omitted or deleted from the Indian Register on or after September 4, 1951 under subparagraph 12(1)(a)(iv) or subsection 12(2), as each provision read immediately before April 17, 1985, or under any former provision of this Act relating to the same subject matter as either of those provisions,
(ii) their other parent is not entitled to be registered or, if that other parent is no longer living, was not at the time of death entitled to be registered or was not an Indian at that time if the death occurred before September 4, 1951, and
(iii) they were born before April 17, 1985, whether or not their parents were married to each other at the time of the birth, or they were born after April 16, 1985 and their parents were married to each other at any time before April 17, 1985;''
(b) adding after line 7 on page 3 the following:
"(c.5) that person meets the following conditions:
(i) one of their parents is entitled to be registered under paragraph (c.4) and one of that parent's parents is entitled to be registered under paragraph (c.3) or, if that parent or parent's parent is no longer living, was so entitled at the time of death or would have been so entitled on the day on which paragraph (c.4) or (c.3), as the case may be, came into force, had he or she not died,
(ii) their other parent is not entitled to be registered or, if that other parent is no longer living, was not at the time of death entitled to be registered or was not an Indian at that time if the death occurred before September 4, 1951, and
(iii) they were born before April 17, 1985, whether or not their parrents were married to each other at the time of the birth, or they were born after April 16, 1985 and their parents were married to each other at any time before April 17, 1985;
(c.6) that person meets the following conditions:
(i) one of their parents is entitled to be registered under paragraph (c.02) — or, if that parent is no longer living, was so entitled at the time of death or would have been so entitled on the day on which that paragraph came into force, had he or she not died — and the name of one of that parent's parents was omitted or deleted from the Indian Register on or after September 4, 1951 under subsection 12(2), as that provision read immediately before April 17, 1985, or under any former provision of this Act relating to the same subject matter as that provision,
(ii) their other parent is not entitled to be registered or, if that other parent is no longer living, was not at the time of death entitled to be registered or was not an Indian at that time if the death occurred before September 4, 1951, and
(iii) they were born before April 17, 1985, whether or not their parents were married to each other at the time of the birth, or they were born after April 16, 1985 and their parents were married to each other at any time before April 17, 1985;''
(c) replacing lines 30 and 31 on page 3 with the following:
"(d) a person who is described in paragraph (1)(c.01) or (c.02) or any of paragraphs (1) (c.2) to (c.6) and who was no longer living on the day''.
After debate, the question being put on the motion in amendment, it was adopted.
The chair asked whether clause 1, as amended, shall carry.
The Honourable Senator Lankin moved:
That Bill S-3 be amended, on page 2, in clause 1, by replacing lines 30 and 31 with the following:
"(ii) their father was at the time of that person's birth entitled to be registered or, if he was no longer living at that time, was at the time of death entitled''.
After debate, the question being put on the motion in amendment, it was adopted.
It was agreed that clause 1, as amended, carry.
The chair asked whether clause 2 shall carry.
The Honourable Senator Lankin moved:
That Bill S-3 be amended, in clause 2, by
(a) replacing line 38 on page 3 with the following:
"registered under any of''; paragraphs 6(1)(c.01) to (c.6),
(b) adding after line 11 on page 4 the following:
"(a.1) they are entitled to be registered under paragraph 6(1)(c.02) and one of their parents ceased to be a member of that band by reason of the circumstances set out in subparagraph 6(1)(c.02)(i)'';
(c) replacing lines 35 on page 4 with the following:
"died''; and
(d) adding after line 42 on page 4 the following:
"(g) they are entitled to be registered under paragraph 6(1)(c.5) and one of their parents is entitled to be registered under paragraph 6(1)(c.4) and to have his or her name entered in the Band List or, if that parent is no longer living, was so entitled at the time of death or would have been so entitled on the day on which paragraph 6(1)(c.4) came into force, had he or she not died; or
(h) they are entitled to be registered under paragraph 6(1)(c.6) and one of their parents is entitled to be registered under paragraph 6(1)(c.02) and to have his or her name entered in the Band List or, if that parent is no longer living, was so entitled at the time of death or would have been so entitled on the day on which paragraph 6(1)(c.02) came into force, had he or she not died.''.
After debate, the question being put on the motion in amendment, it was adopted.
It was agreed that clause 2, as amended, carry.
It was agreed that clause 3 carry.
It was agreed that clause 4 carry.
It was agreed that clause 5 carry.
It was agreed that clause 6 carry.
It was agreed that clause 7 carry.
The Honourable Senator McPhedran moved:
That Bill S-3 be amended, on page 5, by adding the following after line 38:
"7.1 The provisions of the Indian Act that are amended by this Act are to be liberally construed and interpreted so as to remedy any disadvantage to a woman, or her descendants, born before April 17, 1985, with respect to registration under the Indian Act as it read on April 17, 1985, and to enhance the equal treatment of women and men and their descendants under the Indian Act.''.
After debate, the question being put on the motion in amendment, that new clause 7.1 carry, it was adopted.
The chair asked whether clause 8 shall carry.
The Honourable Senator Lankin moved:
That Bill S-3 be amended, on page 6, by adding after line 15 the following:
"registered under paragraph 6(1)(c.01) or (c.02) or any of paragraphs 6(1)(c.2) to (c.6) of the Indian Act.''.
After debate, the question being put on the motion in amendment, it was adopted.
It was agreed that clause 8, as amended, carry.
The Honourable Senator Lankin moved:
That Bill S-3 be amended, on page 6, by adding after line 15 the following:
"Consultations and Reports
8.1 (1) The Minister must, within six months after the day on which this Act receives royal assent, initiate consultations with First Nations and other interested parties in order to address, in collaboration with those First Nations and other parties, issues raised by the provisions of the Indian Act related to registration and band membership, including consultations on
(a) issues relating to adoption;
(b) the 1951 cut-off date for entitlement to registration;
(c) the second-generation cut-off rule;
(d) unknown or unstated paternity;
(e) enfranchisement;
(f) the continued federal government role in determining Indian status and band membership; and
(g) First Nations' authorities to determine band membership.
(2) The Minister, the First Nations and the other interested parties must, during the consultations, consider the impact of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and, if applicable, of the Canadian Human Rights Act, in regard to those issues.
(3) The Minister must cause to be laid before each House of Parliament, within five months after the day on which this Act receives royal assent, a report on the design of a process by which the Minister is to carry out the consultations described to in subsection (1).
(4) The Minister must cause to be laid before each House of Parliament, within 12 months after the day on which the consultations begin, a report on the progress made as a result of the consultations and collaboration. The report must set out details as to the consultations carried out, including details related to
(a) issues relating to adoption;
(b) the 1951 cut-off date for entitlement to registration;
(c) the second-generation cut-off rule;
(d) unknown or unstated paternity;
(e) enfranchisement;
(f) the continued federal government role in determining Indian status and band membership; and
(g) First Nations' authorities to determine band membership.
(5) Each report stands referred to any committee of the Senate, of the House of Commons or of both Houses of Parliament that is designated or established to review matters related to Aboriginal affairs.
8.2 (1) The Minister must, within three years after the day on which this Act receives royal assent,
(a) undertake the following reviews:
(i) a review of the provisions of section 6 of the Indian Act that are enacted by this Act in order to determine whether all of the sex-based inequities have been eliminated with respect to those provisions, and
(ii) a review of the operation of the provisions of the Indian Act that are enacted by this Act; and
(b) cause to be laid before each House of Parliament a report on those reviews that includes, if he or she determines that any sex-based inequities still exist with respect to the provisions of section 6 of the Indian Act that are enacted by this Act, a statement of any changes to the Indian Act that he or she recommends in order to reduce or eliminate those sex-based inequities.
(2) The report stands referred to any committee of the Senate, of the House of Commons or of both Houses of Parliament that is designated or established to review matters related to Aboriginal affairs.
8.3 Words and expressions used in sections 8.1 and 8.2 have the same meaning as in the Indian Act.''
The Honourable Senator Patterson moved:
That the motion in amendment moved by the Honourable Senator Lankin be amended by adding the following after clause 8.2:
"8.21 The Minister must publish every report laid before Parliament under sections 8.1 and 8.2 on the Department's website immediately after their tabling.'';
in section 8.3, by replacing the words "and 8.2'' by the following "to 8.21''.
After debate, the question being put on the subamendment, it was adopted.
After debate, the question being put on the motion in amendment, as amended, that new clauses 8.1 to 8.3 carry, it was adopted.
It was agreed that clause 9 carry.
It was agreed that the title carry.
It was agreed that the bill, as amended, carry.
It was agreed that the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure be authorized to approve the text of observations in line with the comments made by the committee, and that they be appended to the report.
It was agreed that the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel be authorized to make technical, clerical and typographical changes and adjustments to the amendments adopted by the committee.
It was agreed that any necessary consequential changes be made to the numbering of provisions and cross-references as a result of the amendments to this bill.
It was agreed that the chair report the bill, as amended and with observations, to the Senate.
At 9:07 p.m., the committee adjourned to the call of the chair.
ATTEST:
Adam Thompson
Acting Clerk of the Committee