(Pam Palmater, photo by Ben Powless) As expected, the Assembly of First Nations was first out of the gate offering glowing praise for this Liberal government’s federal budget, followed shortly thereafter by the Metis National Council and…
Continue reading…about Federal Budget 2019: Indigenous Women and Children Left Behind – Again
(Picture of Sharon McIvor and I at the United Nations in Geneva) Sharon McIvor has won yet another landmark legal victory for First Nations women – this time at the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC). On January 14, 2019, the UNHRC released their decision which found that Canada still discriminates against “Indian” women and…
Continue reading…about What You Need to Know About Sharon McIvor’s Major UN Victory on Indian Status
(Originally published in Lawyer’s Daily on June 21, 2017 – edited) Shortly after Confederation, the federal government used its jurisdictional powers over “Indians and lands reserved for the Indians” in s. 91(24) of the Constitution Act 1867, to enact the Indian Act, 1876 — making it nearly as old as “Canada” itself. For well over…
Continue reading…about Why is Trudeau Government Opposing Charter Equality for Indigenous Women?
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs (INAN) is currently studying Bill S-3 An Act to Amend the Indian Act (elimination of sex-based inequities). As its title suggests, this bill should eliminate the remaining gender discrimination contained within the Indian Act’s registration and membership provisions – but it does not. The Indian Act’s…
Lynn Gehl (Google images) Lynn Gehl v. Canada: Unstated Paternity and Indian Status Dr. Lynn Gehl is a First Nations woman who is grounded in the traditional Indigenous knowledge of her Algonquin Anishinaabe culture and tradition. Gehl’s family originates from the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan (formerly Golden Lake Band) in Ontario. Yet, despite her…
Continue reading…about Lynn Gehl v. Canada: Unstated Paternity and Indian Status