QUESTION PERIOD — Crown-Indigenous Relations
Elimination of Sex-Based Inequities
June 18, 2019
Honourable senators, my question is to Senator Harder as the Government Representative in the Senate.
Last Friday in an invitational meeting, Minister Carolyn Bennett announced that indeed the government was going to implement and activate the relevant portions of the Bill S-3 amendments that came from this chamber, where a great deal of work and commitment, including from you, sir, was put into those amendments. That announcement has thus far, I believe, stayed private.
I wonder if you would be able to confirm for us on the record that the Bill S-3 amendments that will remove the 1951 cut-off and finally complete the process of eliminating sex-based inequities in the Indian Act will be done before this session of Parliament is terminated by the government.
I thank the honourable senator for the question. More importantly, I thank the honourable senator for working with many around this chamber to achieve what this chamber and Parliament was able to with respect to Bill S-3. She will know that the special ministerial representative report for the consultation process has been tabled. I can confirm that the minister has indicated that she will work to bring these provisions into force within the current mandate of this government.
