QUESTION PERIOD — Ministry of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs
Indian Status Cards
November 26, 2024
Minister, it’s you and your department that decides who is a status Indian in this country and who is not. This card is issued, a certificate of Indian status. We’re not supposed to use props in the Senate, but I’m figuring if this is labelled a prop, then we’ll have to question the department.
Having said this, over the last couple of years, I’ve been garnishing a list of stores, branches and car dealerships across the country, more particularly in Quebec, that do not accept this Indian status card. My question is, and I’m speaking on behalf of many First Nations people in this country because they’re ashamed to ask the question: Why aren’t merchants across the country accepting Indian status cards that your department issues to them?
Thank you, senator. It is Indigenous Services Canada that I believe issues the cards, not Crown-Indigenous Relations, but that’s neither here nor there.
Look, the federal government should not be in the business of issuing these cards. It is not up to the federal government to recognize who is or is not a citizen of your nation. Unfortunately, the nature of the Indian Act is such that it happens and that is the way it is structured.
One of the things that we’re trying to do, senator, is to work with nations to get out of the confines of the Indian Act. We’ve done that in British Columbia quite successfully this year. As I indicated earlier, this particular bill, Bill S-16, was initiated here, and we are going to lead toward, at some point, being able to work with the Haida Nation as well so this is no longer a reality.
Ultimately, my position is we need to get out of this business. This is not up to the federal government. It is a deeply colonial and racist form of administration that needs to transition into something that is self-determined by your nations.
Thank you for that. Just so you know, I’ve been asking the same question to every Indian Affairs minister since Jean Chrétien. I can tell you that they have said exactly the same thing that you have said today.
I’m not looking for an “aha” moment. I’m not that type of person, but these questions need to be asked. Why is it that your government continues to fund organizations in Canada that have questionable definitions of their membership, and so we have in this country a fourteenth, sixteenth or eighteenth generation Indigenous person having access to funding? Why is that when cards are being issued by your department for the real, recognized First Nations people?
The funding that is available is for section 35 rights holders, those who are recognized as section 35 rights holders, and in some cases, where they’re asserting section 35 rights. That is where the funding comes from or goes to.
Look, this is not a perfect science, senator. There are challenges within —
It’s shameful.
I would agree. What I would tell you is that we’re in the process of decolonizing, and it is not going to happen overnight, but it is something that we’re deeply committed to.
