Bill S-2: NAWL supports amendments aimed at addressing discrimination in the Indian Act

The National Association of Women and the Law (NAWL) has submitted a brief to the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs as part of its study of Bill S-2, An Act to amend the Indian Act (new registration entitlements). 

NAWL welcomes the Senate Committee’s amendments to Bill S-2, which seek to address ongoing sex-based discrimination in the Indian Act’s registration provisions. In particular, NAWL supports the introduction of a one-parent registration rule, under which a child would be entitled to registration if at least one parent is registered under the Indian Act. This change would help address the harmful effects of the second-generation cut-off and the 1985 cut-off, both of which continue to disadvantage the descendants of Indigenous women. 

NAWL emphasizes that Canada has constitutional and international human rights obligations to remedy the historical and ongoing harms caused by discriminatory marriage and status rules. While supporting the removal of these discriminatory barriers, NAWL also urges Canada to work collaboratively with First Nations and provide the necessary support to mitigate any unintended consequences for communities. 

NAWL calls on Parliament to seize this opportunity to advance substantive equality and reconciliation by dismantling legal structures that have excluded Indigenous women and their descendants for generations. 

Read NAWL’s brief here.