QUESTION PERIOD — Ministry of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs
Gender-based Discrimination
November 26, 2024
Thank you to the Conservatives for this time to be able to ask a question.
Minister, less than a month ago, the UN-elected experts who monitor progress as states parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, or CEDAW, responded to Canada’s review, noting deep concern that despite amendments to the Indian Act, gender-based discrimination against Indigenous women and girls persists, in particular:
(a) The provisions of the Indian Act setting forth that after two generations of “out-parenting”, Indian status cannot be transmitted to a child (second generation cut-off), as well as those requiring that there be two Indian parents to transmit status to a child (two-parent rule);
(b) The ongoing lack of action to reinstate membership . . . (natal and other) to women and their descendants who were automatically removed from their Indian Band membership . . . .
Minister, what are you going to do about this now? It’s not good enough to talk about what you hope for the future. You have the authority. What are you going to do now?
Thank you, Senator McPhedran. First off, this is a matter that is in Minister Hajdu’s portfolio. Notwithstanding that, let me attempt to answer this question.
Bill C-38 is before the House of Commons right now. As you’re aware, that addresses some of the issues around the second-generation cut-off. We attempted to deal with this by way of Bill S-3, I believe, a number of years ago, and it didn’t quite do the trick, and I recognized that shortly after its passage.
We’re at a point where there are serious consultations taking place on what we need to do beyond Bill C-38. Those consultations are being undertaken by Minister Hajdu. I believe that should lead towards additional measures that the federal government will take towards citizenship.
But, ultimately, it is still within this colonial model, and that is the troubling part for me. I think at some point the work that I do is about ensuring that we have self-determination over issues such as citizenship, which is where I believe we need to get to.
Will this government, appreciating that there is more than one portfolio that is relevant, commit to repealing all domestic legal provisions restricting access to comprehensive reparations for the violation of human rights of First Nations women and their descendants, including those stemming from the Indian Act, and develop a mechanism to address reparation claims in coordination with the First Nations women and their descendants?
I believe the consultations that are currently being undertaken by Minister Hajdu with respect to Bill C-38 should lead towards changes that will hopefully eliminate the discrimination. With respect to reparations, I believe there are a number of cases that are before the courts, so I won’t comment on that, but I do think that with respect to changes that are required, that will be the subject for the work that Minister Hajdu does.
