First Nations leaders in the province of British Columbia have celebrated the decision by a key Canadian senate committee to eliminate the second-generation cut-off and implement a one-parent rule on Indigenous Identity.
The BC Assembly of First Nations and Union of BC Indian Chiefs welcomed the move by the Standing Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples to amend Bill S-2, An Act to Amend the Indian Act (new registration amendments).
On Tuesday, the Assembly (BCAFN) and the Union (UBCIC) jointly called on all Canadian Senators and Members of Parliament to "pass the expert amendments without delay" and to "stand with First Nations to end sex and race-based discrimination in the Indian Act, to uphold our human rights as First Nations peoples and prevent legislated extinction".
The organisations said that while the Committee's decision is "an important step in safeguarding the future of First Nations", the amendments must still be approved by the Senate, followed by a vote in the House of Commons.
The second-generation cut-off legally bars the transmission of status and associated rights and entitlements to children after two generations of parenting with a non-status person.
"These assimilationist rules were introduced by Canada in 1985 and will cause the legal extinction of status Indians in only a few generations," the organisations warned in their joint statement.
'Act with integrity and accountability'
BCAFN Regional Chief Terry Teegee said "true reconciliation demands that the Senate and the House of Commons not only recognise, but uphold, the inherent rights of First Nations peoples".
"It is their duty, in alignment with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, to act with integrity and accountability—ensuring that the promises of justice and equality to First Nations families are not just words on paper, but living, tangible rights for generations to come," he said.
"First Nations families have been calling for these changes for generations, and now the Senate and House of Commons have the opportunity to stand with us."
BCAFN Women's Representative, Cheryl Rule, said the organisations "honour the unwavering leadership of trailblazers like Sharon McIvor, Jeannette Corbiere Lavell, Chief Barbara Cote, and many others whose steadfast advocacy has illuminated the path toward justice".
"Their courage, alongside the collaborative efforts of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Senators, has given Canada a clear way forward to end the sex and race-based discrimination woven into the second-generation cut-off and two-parent rule," she said.
"Their work stands as a testament to what is possible when truth guides action and reconciliation becomes a shared responsibility."
End generations of harm
Union of BC Indian Chiefs Secretary-Treasurer, Chief Marilyn Slett, said the Senate and government of Canada have an opportunity to "remove discriminatory provisions from the Indian Act once and for all which have harmed generations of First Nations women and their descendants".
"First Nations have been clear for decades: Canada cannot consult on whether to continue to discriminate against us and can no longer use piecemeal legislation and the politics of delay to deny our children and grandchildren their birthrights," she said.
"UBCIC implores senators and MPs to listen to the expert advice of the Senate Committee to repeal the second-generation cut-off and restore a one-parent rule for registration, repeal the arbitrary 1985 cut-off that divides families, and to remove all legislative bars to compensation so that those who have been discriminated against and who have had their rights denied have an avenue to redress."
The two organisations are holding a webinar - First Nations Citizenship / Membership: Eliminating Sex Discrimination in the Indian Act - on December 12 for First Nations leadership, community members and impacted individuals to learn more about Bill S-2, eliminating the second generation cut off, and outstanding discrimination in Canada's Indian Act.
