Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs Secretary-Treasurer, Chief Marilyn Slett (K̓áwáziɫ), was in Ottawa on Tuesday - Canada's National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls - as a witness before the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs.

Chief Slett was present for the Standing Committee's study of Bill S-2: An Act to Amend the Indian Act ("Bill S-2") and to urge Canada to end violence against Indigenous women and pass Bill S-2 without further delay.

Bill S-2, as amended by Canada's Senate, proposes to address outstanding sex and race-based discrimination in the Indian Act, including by putting an end to the second-generation cut off which limits the transmission of status to children after two generations of parenting with a non-status Indian.

Sex discrimination in law a 'root cause' of violence against women and girls

In a statement issued Tuesday morning local time, the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) noted Canada's National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls found that the sex discrimination in the Indian Act is "a root cause" of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit+ people (MMIWG2S+) crisis.

UBCIC called on Canadian Prime Minister Carney to leverage his Liberal majority to prioritise ending human rights abuses against First Nations women.

"The Indian Act turned 150 years old this year. This piece of racist and sexist colonial legislation continues its objective of eliminating the 'Indian problem' by assimilating First Nations people through the second-generation cut-off," Chief Slett said.

"The Indian Act has forcibly dislocated First Nations from our lands, communities, and families and has disrupted our culture, identity, belonging and governance systems. It has stripped First Nations women of their rights and entitlements for marrying non-status partners, caused intergenerational harm and created profound vulnerabilities that increase the risk of gender-based violence and the MMIWG2S+ crisis. In 2026, it is still dictating who we can parent with if we wish to pass status onto our children.

"I am here today to urge the Committee and Prime Minister Carney to support Bill S-2 as amended to advance the rights and safety of First Nations women and our descendants, to prevent the legal extinction of our people, and to end the discrimination once and for all."

'We stand with you always'

UBCIC Vice-President Chief Councillor Linda Innes said the Union "stands with survivors, families and all communities who are grieving the loss of their loved ones today and every day, with those who are still searching, and those who are seeking justice".

"We see your heartbreak as well as your dedication and unwavering spirit," she said.

"We remain relentless in our demands for government and all levels of the justice system to include families and survivors at decision-making tables, to create safer systems, and ensure sustainable resourcing to support systemic prevention, frontline services and healing. We stand with you always."

'Canada must eliminate discrimination and violence against Indigenous women'

Katisha Paul, UBCIC Women's Representative, noted that she had worked alongside many First Nations women at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, urging Canada to eliminate sex-based discrimination, grant full access to health services regardless of Indian Status, and provide redress to all impacted women and children.

"In response to General Recommendation No.39 (2022) on the rights of Indigenous women and girls, Canada failed to address Bill S-2 and threats to UNDRIP (UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples) implementation, in blatant disregard for their bearing on First Nations rights," she said on Tuesday.

"The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women was clear in 2024, as was the UN Human Rights Committee in March 2026 that Canada must remove the second-generation cut off from the Indian Act and eliminate discrimination and violence against Indigenous women.

"Bill S-2 is a long overdue measurable act of reconciliation that Canada must take after 150 years of human rights abuses and untold loss."

Gendered violence 'a human rights matter with an immeasurable social cost'

UBCIC President, Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, said action by Canadian authorities continues to be "woefully out of step" with the "ever-climbing rates of gender-based violence, particularly against Indigenous women, girls and gender-diverse people".

"UBCIC is deeply concerned by federal funding cuts to critical frontline Indigenous women's organisations who carry out life-saving work to support victims, survivors, and families of the MMIWG2S+ crisis," he said.

Grand Chief Phillip said the crisis is "preventable" and "a human rights matter with an immeasurable social cost".

UBCIC called on Canadian Prime Minister Carney and his government to declare gender-based violence an epidemic and systemic crisis, implement a nation-wide education and prevention campaign, implement the National Inquiry's Calls for Justice and to introduce MMIWG2S+ specific legislation to enshrine accountability and legal standards for ending the crisis into Canadian law."

The Union encouraged First Nations in Canada to send a letter to Prime Minister Carney urging him to pass Bill S-2 and end the second-generation cut-off.