NEWSFLASH from P.A.M. News: Today, our official news correspondent for the Official Opposition of the Third Order of Government (OOTOG), Pamela Palmater, has brought to light the extreme abuses being made of First Nation taxpayers and land-holders money. Palmater’s informative, yet disturbing report calls into question whether Canadian peoples who sit in positions on municipalities across Canada are accountable for the taxes and income they receive from our traditional lands. As readers know, the lands in Canada are the traditional territories of the Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island. Our Nations have lived here since time immemorial with their own cultures, languages, practices, traditions and customs. Just as important, our Nations had their own governments, laws, dispute resolution mechanisms, systems of trade and treaty-making with other Indigenous Nations. We were then and remain now, the ultimate governing authority of our territories often referred to as Turtle Island. The peoples who immigrated here from what we believe to be the Lost City of Atlantis and its surrounding land masses, are now referred to as Canadian peoples. They are more commonly known as Atlanteans, although many take offence to that terminology. Given that they had just lost their city which sank into the sea, our Nations decided to assist them for a short time until they were well enough to find new homelands. Many of them wanted to stay, so some of us signed treaties with these uncultured, violent, and greedy peoples so that they would not one day become extinct from their poor sailing, planning, governance, and other ineptitudes. For some time now, they have been making claims that they own our lands and the resources on our traditional territories. At the same time, they refuse to accept any responsibility for the protection of these lands and seek only to exhaust of the resources for their own selfish ends. In order to build capacity in their divided and warring communities, they also created many schools in which they would teach their own children; one of which being the infamous Sun-burned Neck Thought School (SNTS). They refused to adopt our Indigenous languages and teachings and instead sought to preserve their dying ways. At SNTS, their students are taught the backward ways of their primitive thinkers who believe in class systems where some of their people are better than others, homelessness where the sick, poor, elderly, and mentally ill must fend for themselves, individual wealth where individuals looks out for themselves and not the community, and male-dominated systems of governance where women and children are treated like the cattle they brought with them on their ships. As odd as we all thought these ways of living were, we allowed them to engage in their “traditional” ways for fear they might start sending us blankets filled with small pox in the mail or other terrorist-like activity. Indeed, controlling them has been very difficult. We have had to be very passive so as not to send them into a rage where they might send in their radicals known as the police, armies and tactical squads. We have seen how angry they can get. Well, today, after reading the latest financial report from their peoples government led by Steven Hypocriseese, it has become evident that the Third Order of Government must take action. I refer readers to the report they call the “Public Sector Salary Disclosure” which can be found at this website: http://www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/publications/salarydisclosure/2010/munic10a.html Here readers will note the extreme abuses to which their peoples have been making of our hard-earned taxes, lands and natural resources. For example, in the municipality of Hamilton, Ontario, their Director of Entertainment makes a salary of $259,113.77!! This is absolutely outrageous! It is dangerously close to the salary of their leader Steven Hypocriseese who makes around $300,000. The manager of Hamilton makes nearly $200,000. Yet, the rate of homelessness in Hamilton is increasing. In 2006, the small municipality of Hamilton had nearly 3000 people stay in homeless shelters and for extended periods of time. Here is a link to their report: http://intraspec.ca/OnAnyGivenNight2007.pdf This is an absolute outrage and these incidents are not isolated. From the looks of the report, the abuse is wide-spread and confirms what we have been saying all along. The Canadian peoples’ sense of entitlement and claims of special powers has spread to their other communities as well. In Brampton, the city manager makes $254,000 as does the manager in Burlington. Other positions like librarians, mechanics and directors of litter also make well over $100,000. Yet, how many of their children still read books? How many of their children struggle with reading? How much effort did librarians make to inspire their children to read? How many books were purchased? Were these books of value? There is absolutely no accountability or transparency in these positions. Why have they not brought their librarians before the Third Order of Government to account? These librarians have now become renegades in their own communities. They make thousands of dollars in salaries, work in warm, comfortable surroundings, have more than enough to eat and clothes to wear, while homelessness in Turtle Island is on the rise. How could they possibily justify such exorbitant salaries while their own people live in such abject poverty without food, clothes or a warm safe place to sleep at night? These peoples are obviously not spending our money where and how they should. How could these so-called leaders justify paying themselves salaries in excess if $100,000 which in Indigenous equality dollars equates to well over $1,000,000 when you include the decades of privilege and control, education and employability, business and political connections, and the use of our lands and resources on a tax-free basis. We will no longer stand for this. The Third Order of Government will bring this situation under control as we promised. I will be introducing Bill T-666 which will ensure that steps are taken to get the Canadian peoples spending of our taxes and resources from our lands under control. We will start by implementing third party management of their funds which they will pay for out of their own budgets. We will cap funding on all their essential services like schools, child welfare and missing and murdered female Canadian peoples. Then we will force them to publish the addresses of these librarians and litter directors , how many people are in their families, whether their family members benefited from their exorbitant salaries, how many books they purchased, and whether they spent money on travel instead of reading to children. This will be done for every municipal position across Turtle Island! I urge all citizens of the Third Order of Government to support this bill. I strongly encourage even those from the Canadian peoples communities to support this bill. It is time these Canadian peoples pulled up their socks, started going to regular Indigenous schools like everyone else and got over the loss of their Lost City of Atlantis. I mean, it is called the Lost City of Atlantis for a reason – it is lost – forever. GET OVER IT!! We, the Third Order of Government simply cannot afford to keep giving them all of our taxes and natural resources. If we cannot get support for this bill, our only alternative will be to relocate these peoples to another continent where they will be better able to support themselves on their own lands. Please write to your local municipal librarian, mechanic or director of litter and demand better for their peoples.
Tag: Indian
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The Silent War – Government Control of Indigenous Identity
This blog represents excerpts from the talk that I gave last week on the issue of Indigenous Identity. I realize, however, that many of Indigenous peoples can’t access public lectures, conferences, and other similar forums for information and debate. I therefore decided to include this information in my blog, knowing that there are still many of us who do not have access to computers or the Internet. Canada’s cutting off the water supply at Constance Lake First Nation so that the community has barely enough to drink but not bathe, despite Canada’s “endorsement” of UNDRIP, is but one example of how many of us are forced to manage our extreme poverty and do not have computers, Ipads or TVs. Thus, many do not have the ability to access the kinds of information found on the Internet which many of us get to take for granted – like blogs. So, here are some excerpts from my discussion about Indigenous identity: I wear my Indigenous identity proudly, but have to carry on my back the other identities imposed by government through law and policy. I am forced therefore, to explain my Indigeneity as being comprised of two separate but conflicting sides which are constantly at “war”. The first is my identity as experienced by me internally – within my own heart as an individual and communally with my family, extended family, community and Nation. The second is my “lived experience of Indigenous identity” – i.e. my identity as experienced externally – through relations with both Canadian society and the state. My own identity has shaped by the histories, stories, lessons, and practices passed on to me by my large extended family. This has shaped my worldview, values, and aspirations – it is essentially what some might refer to as my cultural identity. My experience of identity on the other hand, has been shaped entirely by others – by school mates, teachers, employers, friends, neighbors, historians, judges, politicians and governments. While my own Indigenous identity is strong and has survived the test of time, it is scarred and bruised by my lived experience of identity and the ongoing attack on my identity through government law and policy designed to assimilate Indigenous peoples into the body politic. So who am I? I am a Mi’kmaq woman. That is my identity, recognizing however that Indigenous identity is a relationship – a two-way street between myself and my nation. What I mean by this is that my nation cannot exist unless its citizens, like me, both recognize it AND support it. Similarly, I can assert my Mi’kmaq identity but it requires my nation to both recognize AND support me as a citizen. This mutually dependent relationship has been the way of the Mi’kmaq Nation and its citizens since time immemorial. Yet, this relationship is also where Canada has chosen to erect barriers in order to divide, conquer, and destabilize us, with the ultimate goal of reducing our numbers until we are assimilated. My identity as a MI’KMAQ WOMAN has been in constant conflict with these barriers. My identity as a Mi’kmaq woman means that I am a Teacher who is responsible to pass on our history, language, culture, and laws. I am a Warrior who is responsible to protect our nations, territories, trees, animals, and citizens. I am a Caregiver who is responsible to care for my children, mothers, grandmothers, and aunties. I am also responsible to be a Leader in my own life – to stand up for what is just regardless of the consequences. I am responsible to be a Living Example – to live our values for our young ones to see so that they know how to live in balance. We are not to live in wealth that destroys the earth nor in poverty that destroys our spirit. Some have discounted our Indigenous values and traditions as being ancient and irrelevant in modern times. In my opinion, these traditional values are more important today than ever before. I believe they are what will inspire our people to action, stand up against the current injustices and reclaim our spirit and identities. However, despite my own identity as Mi’kmaq, I have been labeled as “ABORIGINAL” by others. This is a legal and social construct of the Canadian state which lumps my Mi’kmaq identity in with the generic terms of Indians, Inuit and Metis as if we were all just one race of people with the same cultures and world views. Taiaike Alfred, in his book Wasase, explains that “aboriginalism” amounts to little more than “racialized violence and economic oppression meant to bring about a silent surrender” of who we are as Indigenous peoples. I have resisted surrender – but the battle seems to be never-ending and I fear that most Canadians are not even aware of what is at stake for us. They see our identity only in terms of unfair entitlements and special treatment. Yet, my identity is primarily about my responsibilities and relations with my Nation and my connections with our traditional territory of MI’KMAKI. Mi’kmaki represents the seven distinct districts of Mi’kmaq territory including NB, NS, PEI, NFLD, parts of Quebec and Maine. With the exception of the last two years, I have spent my entire life living within my traditional territory and those lands are an essential part of my identity. My heart aches if I am far from home for too long as I know that my responsibilities to my territory does not diminish when I live elsewhere. However, the Crown has put limits on my ability to fully enjoy my Mi’kmaq identity through the imposition of provincial boundaries and policies that restrict my rights on a provincial basis. I am considered a NB MI’KMAQ and therefore not entitled to hunt or fish in NS; enjoy my treaty rights in PEI; or have a say in what happens in Mi’kmaq territory in NFLD. Even within NB, the provincial government has drawn an arbitrary line called the Ganong Line telling my Nation and the Maliseet Nation whose territory is whose. These barriers are all externally imposed and designed to divide our Nation. Within Mi’kmaki, my home community (or band) is EEL RIVER BAR FIRST NATION located in northern NB. Yet this is not even the location of our true community. It is the location to which my original community was relocated, as the lands on which they had originally occupied for their more permanent settlements were considered too valuable to be occupied by Indians. However, my family has now lived at Eel River Bar for many generations and therefore we have strong connections to that specific part of our territory as well. Yet, despite my own identity as a Mi’kmaq woman and the essential role that my connections to the land play in that identity, INAC (Indian and Northern Affairs Canada) has determined that I am a NON-BAND MEMBER and therefore not entitled to live in my home community or have a say in its governance or future. Unfortunately for many Indigenous peoples, our own communities have now taken over Canada’s role and exclude our own people on the same basis. I have learned how to survive in this war against my identity and live my Mi’kmaq identity despite the fact that I am a non-band member. I proudly assert that I am an ON-TERRITORY MI’KMAQ citizen. After all, I have always lived on my traditional Mi’kmaq territory and have acted always in protection of it. This is an important part of my identity and is really inseparable from it. Even now that I live in Toronto, I still have a strong connection to Mi’kmaki and maintain those connections. This is not easy to do when I am legally excluded from my community, but is necessary to ensure that identity for my children. As I explained earlier, there is consistent conflict between my personal identity and my lived experience of identity. I may feel like I am an on-traditional territory Mi’kmaq, but am still dismissed as an OFF-RESERVE INDIAN or URBAN ABORIGINAL. Non-Indigenous writers like Tom Flanagan, Alan Cairns and others try to persuade Canadians that because I don’t live on reserve, that this somehow makes me less of a Mi’kmaq person. To them, the movement of Indigenous peoples off-reserve is as inevitable as their corresponding loss of identity which is prophecized. Yet, there were never any reserves for the many thousands of years that we have existed as Mi’kmaq peoples. Reserves are an artificial creation and imposition of the government which were meant to control us and dispossess us of our traditional territories. The goal was to open up our lands for settlement. Why would I ever define myself in a way which legitimizes Canada’s theft of our lands? What kind of message would that be to my children? All of that lived experience of Indigenous identity which has been imposed from those outside my Nation ignores the fact that my identity also comes from the many great Mi’kmaq people who have made up our Nation, like my GREAT GRANDFATHER LOUIS JEROME. He is said to be one of the last traditional Chiefs of my home community and dedicated his life to travelling throughout Mi’kmaki to maintain relations amongst the seven districts. His daughter, my GRANDMOTHER MARGARET JEROME was a well-known healer of our community and had extensive knowledge of the traditional uses of plants and herbs in healing our people. She was so good at what she did that even non-Indigenous doctors asked for assistance in times of disease. Her son, my father, FRANK PALMATER quit school in grade three to care for his large family and then fought in the WWII to protect our territories. To him, the treaties we made with Britain were worth fighting to protect. Yet external determinations of my identity by the Canadian state ignore those connections. To INAC, because my grandmother married a non-Indian, she was no longer considered an Indian and therefore, not entitled to be a band member – nor were her children or grandchildren. Canadian laws turned my grandmother from a Mi’kmaq to an Indian to a non-status Indian and then back to Indian again in 1985. They are now referred to as BILL C-31’ers – those who got their Indian status restored in 1985 when the United Nations found Canadian laws discriminatory. My relations are considered lesser Indians than other Indians and often discriminated against because of their Bill C-31 status. As a result, this has meant no membership in our home community, no residency rights, or ability to participate in our government. All of these external laws create divisions, inequities and injustices that focus our attention on our externally imposed identities. Canada has successfully diverted our attention from our real identities. We are so busy trying to combat discrimination in Canadian laws that some of us have forgotten that that we must put as much energy, if not more, into protecting our Mi’kmaq identities. Growing up, I did not link my Mi’kmaq identity to my registration status under the Act. My family thankfully protected me from that hurt for as long as they could. I often identified myself as a TREATY INDIAN because the Mi’kmaq signed numerous peace and friendship treaties with the Crown. My family made sure I knew those treaties very well. These treaties, like those signed in 1725, 1726, 1752, etc, protect many of our Indigenous rights to hunt and fish for example, but are not the source of those rights. I therefore grew up knowing that our hunting, fishing, and gathering activities in which my large extended family participated were an essential part of who we were as Mi’kmaq peoples. Yet, the assertion of myself as a Treaty Indian is often met by a swift denial from federal and provincial governments. It is their position that I am nothing more than a NON-STATUS INDIAN. Since they only recognize status Indians as having treaty rights, governments tell me I don’t have a right to call myself Treaty Indian. Why do they call me a non-status Indian? Because there is a preference in the Indian Act for those who descend from the male line versus a female line. Had my grandmother been a grandfather, I would be registered under the Indian Act as an Indian (i.e. have status) as would my children. The changes that were made in 1985 in Bill C-31 did not fully remedy this legislated form of gender discrimination. Again Canada has directed our attention away from my status as a treaty descendant to one of non-status as an Indian. For every identity I assert in this battle, Canada has created another one to counter it. So, some say, well that’s OK Pam, soon under Bill C-3 you will be a STATUS INDIAN. In fact, I will be a section 6(2) status Indian, which is the lesser form of status. That status cannot be transmitted to my children. Even if my home community of Eel River Bar First Nation “allows” me to become a band member, my children will be excluded. Why? It’s not because Canada will exclude them from band membership under the Indian Act – Eel River Bar now controls its own membership and does the excluding for Canada. Layered on top of that lesser type of status will be the fact that it results from Bill C-3, I will be known as a BILL C-3’er, which is just as bad, if not worse, as being known as a Bill C-31’er. I will be considered a “new” Indian which discounts my lifelong identity and contributions as a Mi’kmaq woman and citizen. Furthermore, Indigenous women and their children impacted by Bill C-3 will NOT get to make claims for lost treaty, land claim, or other benefits despite the court finding of gender discrimination. Some of us have experienced the same kinds of loss of language, culture, and identity as those is residential schools, but because those affected are primarily Indigenous women and their children, they are treated as less worthy of being compensated for severe breaches of their Charter equality rights. So, again some might argue that government control over our identities only impacts my Indigeneity and there are many other aspects of my identity on which I could focus. After all, I am the MOTHER of two of the most amazing Mi’kmaq men – Yet even that identity is challenged by the state. Remember the 60’s scoop? Just as residential schools were being shut down all over the country, during the 1960-80’s, child welfare agencies were empowered to literally scoop up thousands of Indigenous children from their homes and place them in foster homes or permanently adopted them out without the knowledge or consent of the parents. Over 11,000 status Indian children were scooped and that number obviously does not account for all those children never registered as status Indians. These children denied their identities, languages, cultures, families, communities & Nations. Many Canadians misunderstand that period in our history to be over, which is the reason why it is labeled as the 60’s scoop – something that happened in the past. Yet Indigenous children NOW make up 60% of all children in care despite the fact that they are less than 4% of the population. We have HIGHER levels of our children in care now than in the 1960s!!! Canada and the provinces have continued with their policies of assimilation by TAKING OUR CHILDREN from us. Bill C-3 might not be directly physically removing our children, but will legally, socially, and politically remove them from us. Under Bill C-3, MY CHILDREN will be denied their status and thus their band membership, Mi’kmaq citizenship; and treaty rights. On some First Nations, no band membership means you can’t live on reserve and will be evicted. In that way, my children and many others could be prevented from physically being with their family. It is like Canada is taking away my right to parent my children and raise them as Mi’kmaq. This is not because they are any less Mi’kmaq than any status Indian person, but is solely because Canada has never shifted its position of assimilation. Canada is saying that they are not Mi’kmaq, but instead Canadian citizens who must adopt a different culture, identity, world view and even potentially a different place to live. Canada is ensuring that those children who are not stolen from us by Child Welfare agencies will still be removed from us by the Indian Act. This kind of law and policy which targets our children is one of the greatest threats to our future. Some of the more superficial persuasion might tell me to ignore all that and focus on my career and professional identity as a lawyer, but even my professional identities are challenged and belittled by state actors and society simply because of my Indigeneity. As an Indigenous person, my being a lawyer means that I am automatically part of Flanagan’s ABORIGINAL ELITE who are assumed to have never suffered the poverty and discrimination of “real” Indians but take advantage of all their benefits and affirmative action programs. Similarly, as a lifelong VOLUNTEER AND ACTIVIST, I have dedicated a great deal of my life to advancing our cause and helping to build capacity within our communities. However, in the Flanagan, Widdowson, Gibson, Tax Payer’s Federation and National Post world, I am part of the ABORIGINAL INDUSTRY that is allegedly “sucking First Nations dry”. With all of these battles, I can see how so many Indigenous peoples become confused about their identities, their relations with their communities and Nations, and with Canada generally. It feels like I have been engaged in this SILENT WAR MY ENTIRE LIFE which began so early that I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t in it. Something as essential to our individual and collective well-being as identity should not be part of the spoils of war. Liberal democracies pride themselves on fostering conditions that allow individuals to live the good life – the life we choose for ourselves. Why then can’t Indigenous peoples choose their own lives? Indigenous peoples have suffered enough with the loss of lands, natural resources, and water ways. They have survived wars against them, relocations, residential schools, the 60’s scoop, overrepresentation in jails, wrongful deaths, murdered and missing Indigenous women, and a whole host of assimilatory laws and policies. Attacking their identities hits us at our core. What is the solution? There are far too many complexities to get into in this blog, which is already too long, but certainly our Indigenous identities must be clearly and completely within our own hands – no more legislative control over who we are. We will likely still have internal struggles to de-colonize ourselves and rid of the divisions within our Nations, but they will be our struggles and we can work it out. In the meantime, legislation like the Indian Act simply cannot endorse gender or other forms of discrimination. Any initial cost that there might be to Canada will be far outweighed by the costs saved down the road. Poor health, violence, and suicide that results from people without an identity – people without hope or purpose – cost Canadians far more than healthy, secure communities. I aspire to be a contributing citizen of a strong, vibrant, inclusive Mi’kmaq Nation, which is self-determining and encourages participatory governance over our land and resources, international and inter-tribal relations, and economies that are based on our traditional values and principles that have evolved to address modern situations. That’s my aspiration for myself and my children so that my grandchildren and great grandchildren will never have to serve in this war against our identities and can instead focus on re-building the spirits and relations of our Nations.
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The Slow, Painful Death of CAP: Can it be Saved?
THIS BLOG DOES NOT REPRESENT LEGAL ADVICE AND IS SOLELY MY OWN PERSONAL OPINION. The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP) is a national Aboriginal organization that once claimed to represent the interests of status and non-status Indians living off-reserve in Canada. The current national President is Betty-Ann Lavallee who used to be the President of one of CAP’s affiliates – the New Brunswick Aboriginal Peoples Council (NBAPC). CAP has recently changed its website and in so doing, has changed the focus of who it claims to represent being “the interests of its provincial and territorial affiliate organizations”. The provincial and territorial affiliates of CAP located in the East receive core funding for their operations, whereas those in the west have struggled without much success in obtaining funding. CAP’s board of directors are comprised of the Presidents of each of the affiliate organizations – most of whom, including CAP, prefer to be referred to as “Chiefs” – ironic given their anti-Chief stance. CAP used to be known as the Native Council of Canada (NCC) and in its early years had incredibly dynamic, passionate leaders who advocated strongly on behalf of those Aboriginal peoples who were excluded from legal recognition and equal access to Aboriginal and treaty rights as well as programs and services. Incredible leaders like Viola Robinson, Tony Belcourt, Harry Daniels, Ron George, and Dwight Dorey went on to make other significant contributions to the plight of off-reserve Aboriginal peoples. The NCC was there at the constitutional talks, they advocated for equality for Aboriginal women during the Bill C-31 era, and were on the front-lines organizing protests when governments were going to reduce housing for off-reserve Aboriginal peoples. The NCC at the time also represented Metis peoples and their struggles for recognition and equality long before the Powley case and the creation of the Metis National Council (MNC). Some may find it hard to believe, but the NCC and the Assembly of First Nations (AFN)(formerly NIB) used to work closely together on a wide variety of issues. Unfortunately, those days are long over. The NCC (now CAP) started its slow, downward descent when Patrick Brazeau (then Vice-President) assumed the position of President when former President, Dwight Dorey stepped down after 7 years in office. There was no election for the position of President by the members of the off-reserve – it was an automatic assumption of Presidency as per CAP’s Constitution and By-Laws. Brazeau served less than 3 years as the National President, but in that short time managed to nearly destroy CAP and its reputation. Some Board members of CAP have indicated that Brazeau served a limited purpose in that he at least raised the profile of CAP and should be commended for his aggressive media agenda. I disagree. Simply raising the media profile of an organization is not an accomplishment if the reasons for why the profile was raised are negative or serve to hurt others. Brazeau used CAP as his “launching pad” to obtain media attention for himself, not CAP; align himself politically with the Conservative Party; and eventually jump ship and land himself a conservative Senate seat all while trashing First Nations and their leaders. That might suit Brazeau’s interests, but what did CAP get out of the deal? If you listen to Board members and various media reports, what Brazeau left CAP with was controversy, destroyed relationships with other NAO’s, allegations of sexual harassment, a decreased budget, financial turmoil, and worst of all – a confused and discouraged membership. Brazeau, now Senator Brazeau, has been described in the media as a “loose cannon” and “self-promoting” for spewing negativity against First Nations communities and their leaders at every opportunity. Unfortunately for CAP, this still has repercussions for them given how he used his position at CAP to gain his initial media profile. But that is as far as my sympathy goes for CAP. Once Brazeau finally agreed to give up his Presidency at CAP (and not obtain both a CAP salary and Senate salary as the he had originally intended) CAP had every opportunity to distance itself from the self-serving Brazeau-legacy. It could have elected leadership which would bring CAP back to its roots and its core mandate to be THE political voice for off-reserve Aboriginal peoples and take the much-needed steps to repair its relationships with other NAO’s and more importantly, the grass roots people Brazeau left behind. That is not what happened. Wisely or unwisely, some voters in the Atlantic region reported difficulty getting the then President of NBAPC, Betty-Ann Lavallee, to do any work on behalf of its constituency and so decided that if they could not get rid of her constitutionally (as she always had her lawyer by her side), then voting her into CAP would at least get her out of NB. I can see the appeal of such an approach. The plan worked, except no one could foresee that no election would held at the NBAPC and that a staff member of the NBAPC would eventually acclaimed as President. This has left many NB members dazed and confused to say the least. But, that is all just the behind the scenes and media gossip. It will never be confirmed or denied and no explanations will ever be forthcoming as is the case in political controversies. In fairness, CAP should be judged on its record. In the short time that Betty-Ann Lavallee has been President of CAP, she has shown an eerily similar disposition to that of Brazeau, although much less informed. Lavallee has demonstrated that she will flip-flip CAP’s position on just about any issue to suit the conservative party line. All of this is done in the name of CAP but without consulting in a meaningful way with its own members (not Board) on issues that are important to them. By way of example, CAP prepared a submission to Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC)to put on the record its position on Bill C-3 Gender Equity in Indian Registration Act. CAP argued that INAC did not consult with Aboriginal peoples, that the Indian Act’s registration provisions were discriminatory, and that section 6(1) of the Act should be amended to include all those born pre-1985 to remedy the full extent of gender inequality in that provision. By the time it rolled around to CAP’s turn to present to the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development (AAON) on Bill C-3, CAP had changed its tune and was willing to support the bill. In case there was any doubt about CAP’s Brazeau-esque support of the Conservative Government, when CAP appeared before the Senate Standing Committee on Bill S-4 Matrimonial Real Property on Reserve, Lavallee specifically endorsed the Conservative Party’s suite of legislation. In fact, if you read the transcripts of her submission on Bill S-4, it sounds more like a Conservative Party ad for their initiatives than any sustantive input on the bill. She cited the residential schools apology, Bill S-4, Bill C-3, and the right of Indians to vote as significant evidence of the Conservative Government’s commitment to “humanity” for Aboriginal peoples. If anyone was under any doubt about whether Lavallee’s CAP would abandon the Brazeau legacy or cuddle up to the Conservatives – Lavallee settled it that day. Furthermore, in stark contrast to Brazeau’s media blitz, Lavallee is almost never in the media on any issue. It is as though CAP has fallen off the face of the earth. CAP used to stand for equality and didn’t make deals that were harmful to its members. Now the CAP Presidency is used either as a political launching pad or just a job. Some might say that I am simply being critical of any NAO. To my mind, what I am most critical of is the holier-than-thou hypocrisy started by Brazeau and being carried forward by Lavallee. When Brazeau accepted his Senate seat, he announced to the public that he would be maintaining his position and salary at CAP as well as drawing a Senate salary. This seems to be a pretty hypocritical position for one who has so vocally criticized any First Nation Chief that only makes ONE 6 figure salary, let alone TWO. Brazeau criticizes First Nations for not respecting the rights of Aboriginal women, yet it was Brazeau who made headlines for having sexual harassment complaints and made disparaging remarks against all the Aboriginal women who offered testimony on Bill S-4. Lavallee has proven to be no different. It is reported that Brazeau left CAP in financial turmoil, with various federal departments claiming “financial irregularities” and large sums of money that were not accounted for in their financial reports. So, some could argue that he left CAP in a mess. That doesn’t prevent Lavallee from taking the bull by the horns and getting the situation under control. Yet, at CAP’s recent AGM, many AGM delegates and some Board of Directors reported that CAP showed a deficit of nearly 2 million dollars. Yet despite this fact, Lavallee allegedly requested a significant increase to her 6 figure salary at a board meeting preceding the AGM. While some board members were against a raise until the deficit was addressed, it is reported that she nevertheless ended up with a raise. Now I don’t know about other Aboriginal people living off-reserve, but aside from the obvious hypocrisy, what does this say about the usefulness of CAP? Am I getting any value for the tax dollars I use to pay Lavallee’s inflated salary? It would be one thing if CAP was in a deficit because it had accomplished a long list of things for Aboriginal peoples living off-reserve, but I fear my tax dollars are being used to fund her trips to Bolivia and her salary increase, as opposed to any tangible improvements for Aboriginal peoples living off-reserve. Where is the self-restraint or the self-sacrifice? How could a real leader inflate their own salary when she has not even secured core funding for her own western affiliates? If CAP is not already dead, it is surely in the process of a slow, painful death as years now pass without advancing the cause for off-reserve Aboriginal peoples. Can CAP be saved? I think the better question is should it be saved? Is there anyone in Indian country ready and willing to support another NAO that appears to be more concerned about securing enough funding for consultants and staff to administer programs and services, than it does with making any substantive difference for Aboriginal people politically, legally, culturally or otherwise? I guess that call is for the grass roots people to make.
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Funding for Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women: A Let Down by ALL Parties
This blog is a very difficult one to write. While I will be dealing with a current political issue, it is about more than that. It does not give me any sense of pride or accomplishment to bring to light serious problems within our Indigenous Nations. I consider myself an advocate for Indigenous peoples and Nations in North America. Their struggles for cultural revitalization, strong identities, the healing and empowerment of our peoples, and our collective goal to re-assert our sovereignty are absolutely fundamental to our survival and success as Indigenous Nations. Part of this means recognizing where we are going wrong and having the courage to shift paths. In this battle that must be waged between our peoples and our colonizers (Canada and the provinces), there can no deal-making, settling, or backroom political deals for less than what is necessary to ensure the well-being of our peoples now AND into the future. There is no job, grant, contract, position, or level of public fame that is worth giving up our rights and responsibilities as Mi’kmaq, Cree, Mohawk or Maliseet peoples to our future generations. There was a time when we as Indigenous peoples knew this instinctively and wouldn’t give all the colonizer’s enticements a second thought. Today however, the bright spirits of our peoples have been dimmed by the dark cloud under which our generations have lived for a very long time. Multiple generations of our peoples have been living under colonial rule and suffering the losses of our lands, identities, traditions, values, and world-views, as well as our sense of responsibility to ourselves and each other. This has been compounded by the historical and current physical and emotional harms imposed by our colonizers. These actions are well-known and include assimilatory laws, policies, and state actions like residential schools, day schools, the Indian Act, discriminatory laws, the 60’s scoop, overrepresentation of Indigenous children in foster care and our men in prisons, deaths in police custody, starlight tours, racial profiling, and many other CURRENT state actions. Taiaiake Alfred, an Indigenous scholar and thinker speaks about the various stages of de-colonization in which we find ourselves in his book Wasase. This makes our collective recognition of systemic colonizing forces and assimilation much more difficult to counter, but not impossible. He stresses the fact that we MUST “move from the materialist orientation of our politics” and act to restore the “spiritual foundation” of our peoples that will restore our strength and unity. Alfred explains that the underlying problem today is that: “We are separated from the sources of our goodness and power: from each other, our cultures, and our lands.” Further, he argues that by “emulating white people” in order to gain acceptance and meet colonial ideas about success has not brought our peoples or our Nations peace, happiness, well-being, or any sense of the “good life” espoused by liberals. It is in this light that I have considered the issue of murdered and missing Indigenous women in Canada and the relevance of the funding announcement that has been made. Some have celebrated this announcement by the Status of Women Canada for $10 million dollars over two years, which in fact has now been made 3 times, by different politicians without a single dime being spent to date. Now that Canada has provided more specifics about where this funding will be allocated I am, quite frankly, shocked that NWAC would support such an announcement. NWAC was originally formed to advocate on behalf of Indigenous women in Canada with a specific mandate to “enhance, promote, and foster the social, economic, cultural and political well-being of First Nations and Metis women”. Equality was one of their main focuses. In fact, if you read their submission to Parliament on Bill C-3 (status) they indicated that this Bill needed to be amended to address the full extent of gender inequality in the Indian Act. Their submission regarding Bill S-4 (matrimonial real property) advocated for much more meaningful legislation that would provide real access to justice for Indigenous women. Even NWAC’s latest report on the murdered and and missing Indigenous women in Canada highlighted the fact that “Violence is perpetuated through apathy and indifference towards Aboriginal women, and stems from the ongoing impacts of colonialism in Canada.” Specifically, NWAC noted that the Indian Act “has created ongoing barriers to citizenship for Aboriginal women and their children”. Yet, despite an acknowledgement of the actual sources of the social problems currently experienced by Indigenous women, NWAC stood publicly in support of this $10 million dollar funding announcement which did more to fund police services than any root causes of violence against Indigenous women. According to those involved in the legislative process for Bills C-3 and S-4, NWAC has flip-flopped and now also supports those bills. While none of the print or TV media services have provided an exact breakdown of where the funding dollars will be distributed, it appears from what I have read that the majority of the funds will go to “law enforcement and the justice system”. This includes a new National Police Support Services Centre for Missing Persons, a national tip website, enhancement of the Canadian Police Information Centre, amendments to the Criminal Code (no doubt without consultation), and the development of a list of best practices for police. An undetermined amount of funds will go towards culturally appropriate victim services, awareness materials for schools, and community safety plans. The Parliamentary Secretary Shelly Glover (not surprisingly given her extensive police background) explained that the funds were meant to “address issues of crime and safety”. Even Minister for the Status of Women Canada, Rona Ambrose repeatedly characterized Indigenous women as “victims” and their communities as “unsafe” during her press statement. The Conservative government’s solution to that situation is increased criminal laws and expanded powers for police. As with all issues currently facing Indigenous peoples, the state reduces them to one of criminalization. Whether it is equality for Indigenous women, the treaty right to fish in Mi’kmaq territory, protecting land claims in Caledonia, or standing guard for the sacred resting places of our ancestors in Oka – Indigenous peoples are characterized as criminals, forced to spend a disproportionate amount of time and money in the courts, and are constantly portrayed in the media as welfare-dependent deviants that pose safety and financial concerns for Canadians. This funding announcement amounts to little more than the promotion of our Indigenous peoples and Nations as criminals and by providing funds to police for services – as if this will bring the problem under control. Indigenous peoples are already over-represented in prisons and I don’t know how many more can fit into our current prison system – but then again – the Conservatives want to spend millions building new prisons, so that may help silence the rest of us. Some readers will find this blog harsh and may even suggest that my comments are naive or out of touch with reality. Some will even say that in politics, some deal is better than no deal. I can assure you all, I am far from naive and I can see enough “reality” to know that what awaits Indigenous peoples and their Nations on the other side of this colonial fog is never-ending compromise and eventual assimilation. Some will say that something better than nothing – but why? Why is something better than nothing and how do you define “something” and “nothing”? If “something” is defined as funding for a staff position at a national organization for one year, a research project that will end in another report, or school materials that will promote a negative view of Indigenous peoples, then how is “something” better than “nothing”? This is especially true if “nothing” is defined as our dignity, our pride, and respect for both our rights and responsibilities to both our ancestors and future generations? To my mind, what it means to be Mi’kmaq or Mohawk has been defined as nothing, worthless, criminal, and even pagan for far too long. Out of our “nothing” has come brave battles to protect our lands, treaties to protect our rights, and the survival of our peoples against all odds. Our “nothing” has spawned generations of passionate volunteers and advocates who work day in and day out to effect change for our peoples. Our “nothing” has resulted in the Oka stand-off that was televised all over the world and was a source of extreme pride and revitalization for Indigenous identities in North America. I would rather have lots of that “nothing” to share with my children than all the “somethings” that would lead to their eventual assimilation. Our children are not committing suicide, becoming involved in gangs, and relying on drugs and alcohol to drown their pains because they are concerned about whether they will get a management job at Irving Oil, a labourer job at the Tar Sands, or a seat in the Senate. These children are lost because they have no sense of who they are, their vibrant history, their special languages, their unique cultures and worldviews or how important their roles are to restoring the power of their Nations. They have no idea how incredibility special they are as Indigenous peoples. Our children have seen enough sell-outs in their time. They need mentors, visionaries, and real leaders to stand up for them and help guide them along so they can lead the way for our future generations. Our ancestors made incredible sacrifices so that we could get through this long, dark period. They foresaw that the seventh generation would lead their Nations out of colonization and revitalize our systems of government, laws, practices and beliefes in ways which have meaning in modern times. We have a responsibility to stand on our traditional values and principles and stop trading our children’s future for trinkets. NWAC is not the only national Aboriginal organization to have lost sight of what was envisioned in the 1960’s and 70’s for these organizations. While NWAC’s actions in bringing this issue to the forefront are commendable and indeed necessary, their follow-up actions don’t match their words. It is of no value for NWAC to opposed BIll C-3 for lack of equality and then accept it later on. Similarly, there is no amount of funding that will affect real change in violence against Indigenous women if it is all directed towards policing and not at the root causes of this inequality (like those noted in NWAC’s report). Our collective reaction to and rejection of the 1969 White Paper which called for our assimilation once and and for all is a testament to the real collective action of which we are all capable. Criminilizing our Indigenous men will never bring about equality for our Indigenous women. Shame on Canada for continuing to criminalize our peoples and on NWAC for settling for it.
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Bill C-575 – First Nations Financial Transparency Act – or is it the – All Chiefs Are Crooked Act? (updated)
Well, the witch hunt has officially begun. If conservatives scream loud enough and persistently enough that all First Nations Chiefs are corrupt, then eventually people will start to believe that. Add to this the right-wing voices of academics like Flanagan, Gibson, Widdowson, and Helin; organizations like the Frontier Centre for Public Policy and Canadian Taxpayers Federation; and the strategic media use of isolated examples, and the anti-First Nation movement is reborn complete with its own Aboriginal spokesperson – Senator Brazeau. Now, the focus on alleged corruption and lack of accountability of First Nations which Bill C-575 is meant to combat, helps to deflect the real issue – Canada’s shameful neglect and inequitable funding of basic social programs for First Nations like child and family services, post-secondary education, housing, and water. It also helps focus attention away from the other paternalistic legislative reforms which are being advanced against the will of First Nations on the basis that Canada knows what is best for them. Perhaps more importantly, this proposed bill turns the attention away from our federal politicians and away from the issue of MPs not wanting to divulge THEIR OWN expenses to the Auditor General. If that is not the ultimate in hypocrisy, I don’t what is! You will recall that the Auditor General Sheila Fraser (AG) informed Parliament that she wanted to review the detailed expenses of federal MPs. After taking nearly 10 months to consider the matter, their answer was categorically “NO!” The only option left to the AG was to take them to court which she indicated she was not willing to do. If you search the Internet and read through back issues of various newspapers you will hear endless excuses from these MPs about why they should not divulge their expenses – including that their expenses are audited by an outside firm. If you take this issue and apply it to a First Nations context, First Nations ALSO have their federal funding audited by firms and report all of this information to INAC in great detail. The issue is not whether or not MPs and First Nations “account” for their money, it is whether the details of this information should be made “public”. Despite the fact that a deal was subsequently reached between the AG and MPs which would allow the AG to do “spot checks” on MP expenses, the National Post reported that her audit would NOT look at the spending of individual MP offices, nor would any report name the names of MPs who had problematic expenses. This is a far cry from an audit of each and every MP’s set of expenses being made public. How then could any MP, liberal, conservative or otherwise, demand that the expenses of each and every Chief and band councillor be made public? Thanks to the questionable conduct of conservative senator Brazeau, even some First Nations community members are starting to believe the conservative hype about unaccountable First Nations, absent any hard facts. On what other issue would we ever ask Canadians and politicians to support legislation to address a stereotype? What is next? If I allege that all Indians are drunks, will Senator Brazeau create a YouTube video from the Senate asking that First Nations be banned from liquor stores? While conservatives can easily sell a bill with the unassailable message of accountability, the real message is much more insidious: it asks Canadians to conclude, without any proof, that First Nations are not accountable for funding they receive from the federal government and that the ONLY way to address this is for the conservative government to ride in on its “white” horse and save the Indians. Meanwhile, the government can preach about values that it does not respect itself. Of the times that former Minister of INAC intimated that First Nation elections were fraught with corruption, we never saw any reports or research to back that up. Senator Brazeau’s YouTube video implies that First Nations are not financially accountable, but he does not offer any credible proof of this. Even the Frontier Centre for Public Policy made incredible claims this week about the depth of First Nations corruption without referring to a single study, report, or statistical analysis. What evidence is out there? You could try reading the reports of the AG where she explained that First Nations experience the extreme version of accountability with regards to federal funds and in fact account so much and so often that they submit reports on their funds no less than once every three days. If there are any problems with these reports, First Nations run the risk of being subjected to co-management or third party regimes imposed on their communities to manage their funds. The conservative government has incurred billions of dollars of debt – where is its third party manager? If you read those AG reports and watch some of the AG’s presentations to the House or Senate, you will hear her describe how she has attempted to have INAC address its own problems and lack of progress on social programs and services. She has asked repeatedly that INAC make improvements and commented that INAC has made little or no improvement. She even cited the cap on the funding of First Nation programs and the outdated, problematic funding formulas for funding such programs as child and family services. As we all know, the latter issue is now before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal. It is Canada that has dropped the ball here on its own obligations. Trying to deflect attention onto First Nations represents both a promotion of a negative stereotype against First Nations and a hypocritical position given MPs’ refusal to do what they are asking of First Nations. Furthermore, the proposed Bill C-575 asks that First Nations NOT receive the benefit of various information and privacy protections under ATIP legislation to which other governments are entitled. Another inequity advanced under an apparently closely held democratic value. I challenge all Canadians to look behind the hype and get the facts; to look beyond the headlines and see the real message; and to think twice before they impose legislation on First Nations which represent values they don’t require of their own governments.
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Letter to editor of Globe & Mail re Bill S-4
Dear editor; My name is Pam Palmater and I am a Mi’kmaq lawyer originally from New Brunswick and am now the Chair of Ryerson University’s Centre for Indigenous Governance. I was called as an expert witness on several bills, including Bill S-4 – Family Homes on Reserve and Matrimonial Interests or Rights Act (otherwise referred to as MRP legislation). Please find attached a copy of my official submission to the Senate in this regard. However, I would also refer you to the transcript of Senate proceedings as this contains additional vital information about the Bill and its potential impacts. The reason for my letter to you today is because Mr. Curry, in his article dated July 6, 2010 and entitled “Senate approves bill to help abused, divorced aboriginal women”, presented factually inaccurate information which serves only to perpetuate misleading information about the real issues and negative stereotypes about Aboriginal peoples. For example, while the sub-headline may create drama around the vote to support/reject the bill, the fact is 32 Senators voted against it, not two, and they voted this way primarily because of the nearly unanimous voices of the Aboriginal leaders, women and organization that appeared before the Senate on Bill S-4. Those 32 Senators who voted against this bill did so based on very informed and detailed presentations from well-respected groups like the Canadian Bar Association who warned that this Bill would create new rights for non-Indians in reserve land and that consultation was required before the bill proceeded. Even more shameful is the fact that there is very little reference to what Aboriginal peoples’ views were – and an embarrassing lack of reference to the views presented by Aboriginal women themselves. Before the Senate there was nearly unanimous opposition to this Bill by Aboriginal women like myself, Native Women’s Association of Canada, Quebec Native Women, Women Chiefs of the Assembly of First Nations and others. The common theme amongst the Aboriginal women was that change is definitely needed, but no Aboriginal women were willing to give up their individual and communal Aboriginal, treaty, land and governance rights in exchange for federal control over matrimonial property. What gets forgotten is that a violation of the right to self-government of a First Nation is also a violation against that First Nation’s women. Aboriginal women are struggling to protect their rights and identities for their future generations which can’t be achieved if Canada resorts back to paternalistic control over their personal lives and re-institutes Indian agents through “verifiers”. Even worse is the fact that this bill won’t help Aboriginal women but will open up reserve lands to non-Indians in violation of countless treaties, the Royal Proclamation, the Indian Act itself and the Constitution Act, 1982. This aspect of the Bill is, in essence, illegal. It purports to unilaterally change constitutionally protected rights without amending the constitution. Canada cannot, by amendment of the Indian Act, amend the Constitution. First Nations lands are protected for the SOLE use of First Nations and changing this fact without consultation with First Nations has been referred to by various academics as an abuse of power. Mr. Curry also refers to the fact that Bill S-4 is the third time around for MRP legislation but fails to highlight that the reason it failed the last two times was because there was no consultation with First Nations. Consultation is not a mere nicity that the government can choose to ignore at will. In addition to the honour of the Crown and its various fiduciary obligations towards Aboriginal peoples, Canada has a LEGAL obligation to fully inform, consult with and accommodate the legitimate concerns of First Nations whose Aboriginal, treaty and/or land rights may be impacted by government decisions, actions, policy or legislation. I need only refer to the numerous Supreme Court of Canada decisions like Haida, Taku, Mikisew Cree, Delgamuukw, Guerin, Sparrow, Van der Peet Trilogy, Sappier and Gray which support this fact. The fact of the matter is that Canada “engaged” with Aboriginal political organizations at a very general level but it did not consult with First Nations specifically about Bill S-4. Even Canada’s own Ministerial representative concluded that consultations had NOT taken place and that any solution must include consultation. Whenever a well-read newspaper such as the Globe and Mail leaves out critical information that would permit readers to have access to at least the basic information to come to their own conclusions about issues like Bill S-4, it detracts from its usefulness and risks becoming a one-sided advocacy piece. Readers deserve more and so do the subjects that you treat. Aboriginal peoples are regularly portrayed negatively in the media because that serves the interests of right-wing thinkers who believe everyone should subscribe to their limited views about what it means to be a Canadian. So, the fact the Mr. Curry could write about Bill S-4 and not even mention the fact that this Bill will affect First Nation jurisdiction over their own lands or that it does not recognize and implement their right to be self-governing – both rights of which are protected in section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 is irresponsible. In 1996 Canada recognized that the inherent right of self-government was protected in section 35 of the The Constitution Act, 1982 and that issues like membership and family law was the sole jurisdiction of First Nations. The Constitution Act, 1982 is the Supreme Law of Canada and Canada can’t choose to honour it only when it is convenient. We just celebrated Canada Day on July 1 – perhaps we also need a day to celebrate our Constitution and remind Canadians that First Nations and their rights are just as an integral part of our Constitution as are our highly valued Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In addition to these glaring omissions, I would also like to draw your attention to several factual inaccuracies: (1) Mr. Curry claims that this bill is designed to help “abused, divorced aboriginal women”. The conservative senators specifically clarified at the hearings that this bill was not targeted at abused Aboriginal women. I refer you to the transcript for more details. Similarly, even if it was, it should be noted that all legal experts who presented testified that this bill does not offer real remedies for Aboriginal women as there is no funding to access lawyers or courts and there is no funding to help create local remedies that are accepted by the community. (2) Mr. Curry claims that Aboriginal women’s only options are to “plead their case to the local band council”. He obviously did not follow the hearings or peruse the transcripts which highlighted the First Nations who have already designed their own MRP laws or have traditional or informal rules which take care of MRP issues. I refer specifically to Anishanabek Nation, Six Nations, Akwesasne and others who, under this bill, will have their own MRP laws rejected. While MRP laws are necessary in many First Nation communities, what is needed is capacity building and funding to support First Nations to work with their communities to come up with their own laws and local dispute resolution mechanisms – we already know from residential schools how things turn out when Canada imposes its own views on Aboriginal peoples. (3) Citing Senator LeBreton does not help Mr. Curry’s article either. Mr. Curry cites her as saying that she is “mystified” that Aboriginal Women Senators Dyck and Lovelace would oppose the bill. With all due respect, she could only come to that conclusion if she ignored nearly every single submission and testimony that was made before the Senate hearings on Bill S-4. Senator Lovelace and Dyck are well-respected Aboriginal women who have been a part of the struggle to have the voices of First Nations and Aboriginal women in particular heard. What those two Senators did was actually listen to what Aboriginal women and First Nations said and brought those views and concerns forward. This is what is expected of those who represent the people – Senators blindly support whatever their political party advocates without listening to the people are undemocratic. LeBreton didn’t even listen to what her own conservative senators said at the hearing. She claims the legislation is geared towards “preventing cases of repeated abuse” yet her own conservative members specifically stated that it was not. When she did refer to testimony she discounted what the AFN had said on the basis that most First Nations leaders are male. Again, I would refer you to the testimony of the Aboriginal women, experts and organizations that were also against this bill. I would refer you to the report of the Ministerial Representative on MRP who highlighted the fact that there are more Aboriginal women chiefs of First Nations in Canada, than there are women in the House of Commons. My elders always use to tell me that before one could criticize another, they should be sure that they have their own teepee in order. So, instead of trying to twist the issue to one of Aboriginal women versus Aboriginal men or individual rights versus communal rights, I would respectfully suggest that Mr. Curry look at the real issue: how Canada continues to develop policies and laws which control, divide and assimilate Aboriginal peoples despite their legally and constitutionally protected rights. If Canada was truly concerned about gender equality, it would work with Aboriginal women to amend Bill C-3 Gender Equity in Indian Registration Act to once and for all make status equal between Aboriginal men and women. Canada can’t have it both ways – it either wants true gender equality for Aboriginal women in all laws and policies or it doesn’t. If it does, then it has to listen to Aboriginal women about Bill S-4 and the need for consultation. If it doesn’t, then we’ll see more of the legislation that the conservatives have tried to cram through the House and Senate – Bill S-4, Bill C-3, Bill C-24, and Bill S-11. Respectfully; Pam
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Excerpts of My Presentation to the Standing Committee on Bill C-3
What follows is an excerpt from my presentation that I will be delivering to the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs which is studying a draft of Bill C-3 – Gender Equity in Indian Registration Act. Once I make the presentation, I will post my entire presentation online on my website: www.nonstatusindian.com. Part of the problem with Bill C-3 is how to respect gender equality in practice and not just the law. Delayed equality is not full equality. Canada fought the McIvor case for over 20 years and now proposes a minimal amendment that would require another person like Sharon McIvor to spend another 25 years to seek gender equality on essentially the same facts. An undefined joint process that does not have a specific mandate, clear objectives or identified funding for wide-spread participation does not provide any real comfort that gender discrimination, or any discrimination, will be addressed any time soon. This situation is coupled with the fact that no additional funding has been identified for bands based on their increased membership numbers. This could result in bands feeling that they do not have sufficient resources to accommodate all their members and may amend or create band membership codes which specifically exclude those affected by Bill C-3. Canada often blames Aboriginal peoples for not being of one mind on these issues. How quickly Canada forgets that this registration system was not only imposed upon us, but we were never consulted about what we wanted and the decision-making power rests solely with Canada. Aboriginal peoples have been living under the dark cloud of the Indian Act for over 130 years. How could Canada expect any result other than exactly what the Indian Act was designed to do – ensure that we were dependent, divided, and without our beliefs guide us. It’s time for Canada to right its wrongs. To do other than address all the gender (and other) discrimination could mean additional and significant delays in justice for Aboriginal women and children with regard to: (i) equal access to status and band membership; (ii) equal access to citizenship in self-government agreements; (iii) equal access to beneficiary status under treaties (historic and modern); (iv) equal access to beneficiary status under land claim agreements (specific and comprehensive); (v) an equal political voice in their communities (as electors and/or nominees for chief and council); and (vi) equal access to programs and services from Canada in relation to health, education, economic development, and tax supports; (vii) equal access to band programs and services like education & training, headstart, on- reserve schooling, housing, and tax supports; and (viii) equal access to elders, mentors, leaders, community members, land bases, cultural traditions, customs and practices, cultural events, and language training, etc. Respecting our Constitution, Charter, CHRA, and international human rights instruments and norms means we no longer have the option to exclude Indian women and their descendants from their birth right on the basis of political compromise, administrative inconvenience, opposition to human rights or added costs. Canada has previously exercised its legislative jurisdiction to amend the Act much more broadly than the litigation required and there is no reason it can’t do so again. Let’s try to get it right this time – my children are counting on you to uphold Canada’s commitment to gender equality and human rights both in the letter and in spirit. Here are my recommendations with regards to Bill C-3: (1) I believe that Canada should withdraw the Bill and redraft more appropriate legislation that deals with gender discrimination, in conjunction with Sharon McIvor and other Aboriginal technical experts from the AFN, NWAC, and CAP. If this could not be done, then I would recommend the following: (2) Make an amendment to section 2 of Bill C-3, by adding the words “or was born prior to April 17, 1985 and was a direct descendant of such a person” to section 6(1)(a) of the Indian Act, 1985; (3) Delete sections 3 and 4 of Bill C-3 and any references to a new section 6(1)(c.1) of the Indian Act; (4) A new section should be added before or after sections 7 and 8 of Bill C-3 that provide protections for Bill C-3 individuals with regards to band membership, especially for those born pre-1985; (5) Section 9 of Bill C-3 should be deleted in its entirety or amended to provide limited protection for bands and only in relation to status; (6) Adequate funding be provided to First Nations for band-delivered programs and services based on their increased membership numbers (if any) and funding to enable all bands to draft membership codes, to review their current band membership codes and make the necessary amendments to incorporate gender equality; (7) Canada, in partnership with AFN, NWAC, CAP, Aboriginal communities and individuals negotiate a process by which to compensate those affected by Bill C-3 (or some other form of the Bill) in the fairest, quickest manner possible; (8) Additional legislation be drafted in partnership with AFN, NWAC, CAP, Aboriginal communities and individuals to proactively address the remaining aspects of gender discrimination in the Indian Act; and (9) That Canada, in partnership with AFN, NWAC, CAP, Aboriginal communities and individuals negotiate the mandate, terms of reference, funding structures and deliverable objectives of the joint consultation process that will lead to further amendments dealing with the larger discrimination and jurisdiction issues under the Indian Act in the short term, and negotiate a similar process to engage in longer term solutions like modern treaties, self-government agreements and so forth. Obviously my presentation contained a great deal more detail about what the actual problems were with Bill C-3, but this lets everyone know what I’m thinking in terms of go-forward solutions. Keep an eye on my website for my entire presentation which will be posted later on this week.
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Bill C-3 Creates More Discrimination than it Remedies
As with all my blogs, the contents are my own personal views and should never be taken as legal advice. In my last blog, I provided some of my concerns with regards to Bill C-3 Gender Equity in Indian Registration Act which was introduced on March 11, 2010. The purpose of this blog will be to review Bill C-3 in much more detail. However, readers should be aware that this Bill is not yet law and must go through several more stages before it even has a chance at being law. First it is introduced in the House of Commons and given its first reading, which is really just a presentation of the Bill – like what Minister Strahl did with Bill C-3. It must then go through a second reading (where the principle of the Bill is debated) and then referred to committee for study. It is at this stage that the committee will hear witnesses and comments about each section of the Bill. The next stage is the report stage where amendments can be made and then this is followed by the third and final reading. If the Bill is passed by the House of Commons then it is sent to Senate where the process is repeated. Assuming that it passes through the Senate, then the Governor General can give the Bill “Royal Assent” and will become law on the day of assent unless the Bill says otherwise. There is still some time before this Bill becomes law, so it is very important that we all submit our comments and views about it to our Members of Parliament (MPs), Senators, Minister Strahl, our Aboriginal representative organizations, Liberal Aboriginal Affairs Critic, Todd Russell, and any other group or organization that you feel will bring the message forward on your behalf. I have already sent my letter to Minister Strahl and this blog will provide a brief overview of some of my comments/concerns. First of all, my providing comments to the Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) does not equate with acceptance or agreement with Bill C-3 or its amendments. It is my opinion that Canada does NOT have the jurisdiction to determine our identities – legally, culturally, politically or otherwise. However, I realize that practically speaking, the Indian Act will be amended whether I agree or not and I would rather have my input into those changes than not. That being said, I do not condone such a limited amendment as that presented in Bill C-3 which clearly does NOT address all of the blatant gender discrimination in the status provisions of the Indian Act. This problem is only transported into the band membership rules as a result. In numerous discussions with other lawyers and community members, I have identified at least three very specific problems with the proposed amendments: (1) Section 6(1)(c.1)(iii) contains awkward, confusing wording that creates a great deal of uncertainty and ambiguity about what this section is meant to accomplish; (2) Section 6(1)(c.1)(iv) contains new, additional criteria that is discriminatory, illogical, counter to how status is normally transmitted, and completely unnecessary in order to effect a proper gender equity remedy; and (3) Section 9 contains an overly broad, offensive and unjust insulation from liability for Canada and the bands, for Canada’s role in creating and perpetuating gender discrimination against Indian women who married out and their descendants. I will deal with each of the above concerns separately and summarize my recommendations at the end. (1) Section 6(1)(c.1)(iii) specifically provides as follows: (iii) was born on or after the day on which the marriage referred to in subparagraph (i) occurred and, unless the person’s parents married each other prior to April 17, 1985, was born prior to that date, and… This section is awkwardly worded and as such creates a great deal of uncertainty about its potential application. What was Canada’s intention with this section? Where did this wording come from? I would recommend that section 6(1)(c.1)(iii) be amended for greater clarity with an explanatory note that very clearly specifies what it is meant to accomplish and how. (2) Section 6(1)(c.1)(iv) provides as follows: (iv) had or adopted a child, on or after September 4, 1951, with a person who was not entitled to be registered on the day on which the child was born or adopted; This section has the effect of creating a new way to determine entitlement to registration and, as a result, creates a new form of discrimination as between the siblings of the Indian women who married out. What this additional criterion does is determine entitlement to registration based on the status or lack thereof of the applicant’s children. Status has always been determined based on the entitlement of one’s parents, i.e. parents transmit their status to their children – not vice versa. This is both illogical and discriminatory. It is illogical because it does not reflect either the trial court’s or the Court of Appeal’s decision in McIvor. It is discriminatory because it creates new, inequitable distinctions between the sibling children of Indian women who married out. The problem can be seen in the following way: (1) If the children of Indian women who married out have Non-Status Indian children (or disentitled children), their children can only be registered under section 6(2) and cannot share in the same identity as their parent; will not be able to transmit status to their children in their own right; and will be excluded from membership in bands that exclude section 6(2) Indians or their equivalent. Despite the fact that the section 6(2) parent will become a section 6(1)(c.1) Indian and therefore have a higher chance of becoming a band member, they suffer in the sense that they can’t pass on equal identity and rights to their children and therefore their children have a higher chance of not being accepted in their community. (2) On the other hand, if the section 6(2) parent had status Indian children, then these section 6(1) Indian children have a higher chance of becoming band members than their section 6(2) parent who will remain as a section 6(2) Indian. In this way, the section 6(2) Indian parent will personally suffer for having had status Indian children, because they will not receive the Bill C-3 gender equity remedy solely because their children are status Indians. The descendants of Indian women who married out seem to be punished time and again for not being able to manage the Indian Act’s entitlement formula that is really designed to disentitle people. This is beyond unjust – it violates our inherent right to our Aboriginal identities and to be self-determining in our own individual and collective lives. Canada is once again interfering with the most private and intimate part of our lives – how and when and with whom we decide to have relations – in order to limit and/or reduce the status Indian population. Section 6(1)(c.1)(iv) ignores the gender discrimination imposed on the children of Indian women who married out and suggests that this discrimination skipped a generation and fell solely on the grandchildren and, as a result, only the grandchildren are entitled to a remedy. What could possibly be the purpose of this section, but to limit as much as possible, the number of status Indians who will be entitled to band membership and to limit the overall number of Indians in the future? I would recommend that section 6(1)(c.1)(iv) be deleted in its entirety. It is not necessary to achieve gender equity as a result of the McIvor case. (3) Section 9 provides as follows: 9. For greater certainty, no person or body has a right to claim or receive any compensation, damages or indemnity from Her Majesty in right of Canada, any employee or agent of Her Majesty, or a council of a band for anything done or omitted to be done in good faith in the exercise of theirpowers or the performance of their duties, only because (a) a person was not registered, or did not have their name entered in a Band List, immediately before the day on which this Act comes into force; and (b) one of the person’s parents is entitled to be registered under paragraph 6(1)(c.1) of the Indian Act, as enacted by subsection 2(3). This section is an insult to Indian women and their descendants all over this country. Not only was Canada forced to make amendments to address gender inequality after fighting against the McIvor case for over 20 years; and not only has Canada proposed a very minimalist amendment; now Canada wants to ensure that it does not have to compensate the victims of gender discrimination? When Bill C-31 was amended to reinstate Indian women who had married out, Canada denied compensation to Indian women who married out on the basis that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms was not in effect pre-85 and it argued that it could not be held liable for laws that were not in effect at the time. However, the Charter has been in force for many decades since 1985 and Canada cannot now say they can’t be held liable for discriminatory actions that took place well after the Charter was in force. To do otherwise is to perpetuate the very negative stereotypes against Indian women that McIvor (and others) fought against – that they are less worthy, less Aboriginal, and less able to transmit their Aboriginality to their children simply by virtue of being Aboriginal women. Furthermore, findings of discrimination are based on effect, not on intention, and those victims that have suffered due to this discrimination deserve to be compensated – no less so that the victims of residential schools. Prime Minister Harper acknowledged that the assimilatory foundation upon which the residential school policy was designed was wrong; he apologized to the victims on behalf of all Canadians; and ensured that the victims were compensated. Aside from the physical aspect of residential schools, Indian status has had the same harmful effects on Indians and especially Indian women, as residential schools. By discriminating against Indian women and their descendants, they have suffered separation from their communities, family divisions, loss of identity, culture, language and dignity. Furthermore, their continued lack of access to federal programs and services have greatly affect their quality of life and their overall chances in life. By denying compensation to Indian women and their descendants for the same types of harms as were suffered in residential schools, Canada sends the message that Aboriginal women are somehow not deserved of redress or compensation for the harms suffered from gender discrimination created by Canada under the Indian Act. If there was any doubt as to the continued discrimination against Indian women, even in this amendment meant to address gender inequity, one need only refer to the privileged and protected positions of status of Indian men and their non-Indian wives and descendants. Throughout this process, non-Indians have been and continue to be protected under the Indian Act simply because of their association with Indian men. Non-Indian women who married Indian men gained status and benefits and non-Indian children were adopted and gained status. Not only did these non-Indians gain status, they were entitled to all the benefits, rights and interests that go with that status, including band membership, reserve residency, voting and running in band elections and a share of treaty and land claim benefits. The preservation of their status is guaranteed at every turn, where Indian women and their descendants must continually fight for it. Yet, non-status Indian children who are Aboriginal by birth, identity and culture, were excluded on the basis of gender discrimination which was known by Canada to be discriminatory and which has since been found to be discriminatory. Even with this minimalistic and highly problematic Bill C-3, there still won’t be gender equality between Indian men and women. The majority of parents struggling with poor socio-economic conditions in Aboriginal communities are single Indian mothers. The majority of off-reserve Aboriginal people suffering from poor socio-economic conditions are the descendants of Indian women who married out. Canada has publically stated that access to educational opportunities is the key to improving life for Aboriginal peoples. How many Indian women and their descendants could have gone to university to make a better life for themselves, their children, their families and communities had they been registered? I would recommend that section 9 either be deleted in its entirety or amended to provide limited protections for the bands and only in relation to the determination of status. Summary of Recommendations: (1) Section 6(1)(c.1)(iii) should be amended for greater clarity with an explanatory note as to what it is meant to accomplish; (2) Section 6(1)(c.1)(iv) should be deleted in its entirety; and (3) Section 9 should either be deleted in its entirety, or amended to provide limited protection for the bands in regards to status only. I hope that you will all consider my comments and offer your own feedback to our elected leaders so that gender discrimination is not perpetuated, but is finally addressed.
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UPDATED – Bill C-3 – Gender Equity in Indian Registration Act
Sharon McIvor went to court to challenge the gender discrimination in section 6 of the Indian Act, 1985. Registration under the Indian Act provides greater entitlements to Indian men who married out (married a non-Indian) and their descendants as compared with Indian women who married out. McIvor won both at trial and on appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear any further appeal. While the trial court would have offered a broader remedy, the court of appeal limited the scope of the discrimination and therefore made comments which suggested to Canada that it might get away with a minimalist amendment. (For further information on the McIvor case, see my previous blog entry). As a result of these legal proceedings, Canada embarked upon a very short “engagement” process. It chose not to consult with Aboriginal peoples about the need to amend the Indian Act and instead presented Aboriginal groups with their proposed amendment. Prior to the amendments being released, most understood that the proposed amendment would grant section 6(1) status to the children of Indian women who married out (they are currently section 6(2) Indians) and grant for the first time, section 6(2) status to the grandchildren. However, it now appears that this is NOT the case. On Thursday, March 12, 2010 Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs (INAC) Chuck Strahl introduced Bill C-3 An Act to promote gender equity in Indian registration by responding to the Court of Appeal for British Columbia decision in McIvor v. Canada (Registrar of Indian and Northern Affairs) into the House of Commons. This Bill will have to go through both Parliament and the Senate in order to become law. With regard to the grandchildren of Indian women who married out, the Bill seems to be on track with what Canada proposed during the engagement sessions held in 2009. INAC has published a document to explain how the legislative amendments are intended to apply to individuals who are the grandchildren of Indian women who married out. Canada explains that if an individual can answer the following three questions, they are encouraged to apply for registration: (1) Did your grandmother lose her Indian status as a result of marrying a non-Indian? (2) Is one of your parents registered, or entitled to be registered, under sub-section 6(2) of the Indian Act? (3) Were you born on or after September 4, 1951? The problem comes when the children (not grandchildren) of Indian women who married out ask themselves whether they qualify for a change in Indian status from section 6(2) to section 6(1)? The short answer is YES – if they had disentitled kids (non-status Indian kids) and NO – if they never had any kids or had kids with another registered Indian therefore making their children “entitled”. Although not highlighted in their publication which explains how the new amendments might affect individuals, in one of their explanation documents, INAC provides the following check list to determine which section 6(2) Indians will be entitled to registration under the proposed section 6(1)(c.1): (1) Did your mother lose status for marrying an Indian man? (2)Is your father a non-Indian? (3) Were you born AFTER your mom lost status but BEFORE 1985 (unless your parents married each other prior to 1985)? (4)Did you have a child with a non-Indian on or after September 4, 1951? Number 3 is somewhat complex and confusing and seems to be an awkward attempt to prevent the possibility that any of the descendants of Indian women might have enhanced status. However, number 4 creates a whole new division amongst section 6(2) Indians – (1) those who had “disentitled” (non-status) kids and those without kids, and (2) those with disentitled kids and those with status Indian kids. For the first time in the Indian Act’s history, one’s specific entitlement to Indian status will depend in part on whether one has children, and more specifically whether one has non-status Indian children. Status has always been determined based on one’s parents. This new section would now put the focus on the status of one’s children. This is absolutely ridiculous and completely unnecessary in order to acheive the goal of addressing the inequity between the decendants of Indian women versus Indian men. This Bill is supposed to address gender inequity and not create more inequity and division between siblings and families. This is a significant matter that must be addressed before the Bill is passed. At the same time that Canada announced the Bill, they also indicated that there would be a joint process developed in conjunction with Aboriginal organizations, First Nations groups and individuals to try to address the broader issues around registration, band membership, treaties and other cultural issues. But some non-Aboriginal people are asking the question: why should Canadians care about this legislation? This is actually a good question that needs to be addressed. When Prime Minister Stephen Harper stood before Parliament and apologized to the survivors of the residential school system, he did so on behalf of all Canadians. While there has been a great deal of debate about the adequacy of the apology and an obvious lack of corresponding action, the fact remains that an apology was made. PM Harper apologized for the assimilatory foundation upon which the residential school policy was based. The goal of assimilation was based on the idea that European culture was superior to Aboriginal cultures. In addition to the physical and sexual abuse experienced by Aboriginal peoples in residential schools, they also suffered from divided families and communities, and a loss of language, culture and identity that has resulted in significant social ills within Aboriginal communities both on and off-reserve. What Canadians have to remember is that the Indian Act and its predecessor legislation is based on the very same assimilatory foundation as the residential school policy and it has caused the very same division of families and communities, and loss of language, culture and identity. The Indian Act went even further to incorporate a male-preference for registration, membership, residency, voting rights, and access to Aboriginal and treaty rights as well as various programs and services. Canada essentially incorporated an idea into the Act that gave the message to communities that Aboriginal women were less worthy and less capable of passing on Aboriginal identity and culture. This has had an incredibly damaging affect on both Aboriginal women and their communities. Yet, Canada, as a Nation, does not stand for racism or sexism. Canada publically holds itself out to the international community as being a modern, democratic country which values human rights, gender equality and multi-culturalism. If this is indeed representative of Canadian values as a whole, then Canadians ought to care very deeply whether laws affecting Aboriginal peoples also represent a respect for human rights, gender equality and respect for Aboriginal culture. The Indian Act’s registration provisions were based on outdated, assimilatory goals and include a formula that ensures the eventual legislative extinction of Aboriginal peoples. Canada must take action to amend the Act in a meaningful, significant way that reflects our core values as Canadians, at least until something else replaces the Act. The current proposed amendment does not do this. By not amending the registration provisions in any significant way, we are allowing assimilation to continue. This lack of action not only violates basic human rights related to gender and identity, it also violates section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 which represents not only the highest law of the land, but a significant promise to Aboriginal peoples to protect their culture and identity for future generations. Canada accepts tens of thousands of new immigrants to this country every year, who draw upon Canada’s financial and other resources, yet Canada fought tooth and nail against Sharon McIvor for over 20 years to avoid having to register the descendents of Indian women. That does not represent a commitment to gender equity for Aboriginal peoples – it represents more of the assimilatory attitudes upon which this Act was originally based. We wouldn’t accept the reopening of residential schools – therefore Canadians should not stand for the continued assimilation of Aboriginal peoples through the registration provisions of the Indian Act. One can only hope that the joint process announced by Canada will address these urgent issues.
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McIvor is Just the Start – The Indian Act is Full of Discrimination
So by now, everyone has heard of the McIvor case and knows that the registration provisions of the Indian Act, otherwise referred to as “status”, will be amended as a result. The question remains: what are we going to do about the discrimination that won’t be addressed by those amendments? For anyone who hasn’t heard of Sharon McIvor v. Canada – a brief overview of the case is necessary. Sharon McIvor is a status Indian and member of the Lower Nicola Band in British Columbia. However, she wasn’t always a status Indian. For most of her life, she was a non-status Indian because she traced her ancestry through her maternal side. Had she been able to trace her ancestry through her paternal side, status would not have been a question. In 1985 when Bill C-31 was passed and the Indian Act was amended, McIvor applied for status. When her application for status was denied by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC), she immediately appealed the decision to the Registrar at INAC. She later filed a claim in court alleging gender discrimination in section 6 of the Indian Act. While INAC had reconsidered her application and gave her status under section 6(1)(c) of the Indian Act, her son Jacob was only entitled to section 6(2) status and her grandchildren were not entitled at all. It was for the sake of her grandchildren that she pursued the claim in court despite the fact that she was already registered. She argued that her inability to transmit Indian status to her grandchildren, while Indian men in her position could do so, amounted to gender discrimination. More importantly, she argued that registration as an Indian impacts both individual identity and communal membership and therefore stands for more than just access to programs and services. At trial, the court agreed with McIvor and found that section 6 of the Act discriminated between the descendants of female Indians versus male Indians born before 1985 and thus violated section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Charter). The court crafted a complex remedy to fix the discrimination which might have been somewhat difficult to apply and would have left band membership unaffected. So, the matter was appealed. The Court of Appeal for British Columbia agreed with the trial court that section 6 of the Act discriminated on the basis of sex (gender) contrary to section 15 of the Charter. The Court of Appeal found that the remedy at trial was too broad and seemed to limit the extent of the discrimination as between those affected by the double mother clause (children whose mother and paternal grandmother were non-Indians by birth) and Indian women who married out (married non-Indian men). The subsequent appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada was rejected. Canada then embarked upon an “engagement” process – accepting submissions or comments from Aboriginal peoples and organizations, but not officially consulting with Aboriginal peoples. The process was also very rushed – from August to November 2009. Canada’s reason for proceeding this way was due to the need to have legislation drafted before April 1, 2010. However, by proroguing Parliament, Canada’s excuse that it needed to rush is somewhat questionable. Canada offered two amendment options to Aboriginal peoples for consideration: Specifically, the amendment concept under consideration would provide Indian registration under s. 6(2) of the Indian Act to any grandchild of a woman: (a) who lost status due to marrying a non-Indian; and (b) whose children born of that marriage had the grandchild with a non-Indian after September 4, 1951 (when the “double mother” rule was first included in the Indian Act). To accomplish this, section 6(1) of the Indian Act would be amended to include any person in the situation of the “child” mentioned in (b) above. A more narrow amendment concept, which the Government does not propose to pursue, would limit its application to situations where the woman’s child (the subsequent parent of the grandchild with a non- Indian) was born before 1985. In either case, the band membership provisions of the Indian Act would also be amended to include these registrants. McIvor has commented that these proposed amendments do not address the gender discrimination raised in her case. For example, the grandchildren of Indian women who married out will only be entitled to registration as an Indian under section 6(2). Yet, the grandchildren of Indian men who married out are registered under section 6(1). What are we, as Aboriginal people going to do about the blatant gender discrimination that remains in the Act? Perhaps we need to think about pursuing the McIvor case in the international human rights forum. I don’t think we have enough time to wait for multiple cases to each work their way through domestic courts as McIvor‘s case alone took over 24 years. Canada has too much a vested interest in our lands and resources to amend the Act in any meaningful way. How many more generations of Aboriginal peoples will be denied their individual identities and be excluded from their communities because of Canada’s discriminatory Indian Act if we wait another 10, 20, 50 years? How many more generations, like mine and my childrens’ will miss out on desperately needed education assistance, medical benefits and the opportunity to contribute to the capacity and development of our communities? McIvor’s case only dealt with one small group of Aboriginal people who are discriminated against. There are numerous ways in which the registration provisions of the Act discriminate against Aboriginal peoples: (1) Gender discrimination – An individual traces their Aboriginal ancestry through their maternal line (mother, grandmother, greatgrandmother) instead of through the paternal line (father, grandfather, greatgrandfather); * Although the amendments to the Act in response to McIvor will address some of these people, it will not address of those affected by this kind of gender discrimination. (2) Arbitrary cut-off date – The date on which a person was born means that some pre-1985 babies have status, but those born post-1985 may not; (3) Illegitimate siblings – Brothers and sisters from the same family may or may not have status based on whether their parent was male or female and whether the child was male or female and born out of wedlock; (4) Unstated paternity – If an unwed Indian woman does not name the father of her child, there is a legal presumption that the father did not have status – this results in the child having lesser or no status; (5) Métis scrip takers – Aboriginal peoples who took scrip are not eligible for status regardless of their actual cultural identities as Indians versus Métis; (6) Second generation cut-off – Indians may be refused status because one of their parents do not have status – this equates to a blood quantum requirement that discriminates against those children of mixed marriages; (7) Non-Aboriginal preference – (a) Non-Aboriginal women who gained status through marriage are allowed to keep their status and pass on better status to their children than Aboriginal women and their children; (b) Adoptions – Non-Aboriginal children who are adopted into Indian families can have better status than Aboriginal children born of Indian parent(s). As can be seen by the above, there are numerous discrimination issues that need to be addressed in the Act. It is time for Canada to pull itself out of the dark ages, and put some action behind its apology. When Canada apologized for residential schools and the assimilatory attitudes upon which that policy was based – it seemed to forget that the Indian Act’s status provisions were designed to assimilate Aboriginal peoples into the dominant society and continues to do so. Canada does not have the right or authority to determine the individual or communal identities of Aboriginal peoples. Canada’s authority under section 91(24) may give it the legislative jurisdiction to manage the relationship with “Indians and lands reserved for the Indians” but that does not confer a right to determine our identities. This is a right that is inherent to the right of Aboriginal peoples to be self-determining. Canada has negatively impacted our identities for generations – it’s time we were able to heal and re-assert our own identities. No where in out treaties did it say that there was a cut-off date for determining Aboriginality nor was registration even contemplated when our treaties were signed. It is time to assert our authority in this area. True Nations do not let other Nations tell them how to determine their own citizenship. Our treaties were negotiated by our ancestors for the benefit of our “heirs and heirs forever”. It is time for Canada to undo the harm it has caused. I believe that a whole-scale review of the Indian Act is necessary to bring all provisions of the Act in line with the Charter, the Canadian Human Rights Act, the Constitution Act and all international human rights covenants to which Canada is bound. Obviously, amendments to the Indian Act would be an interim solution until such time as modern treaty, land claim and/or self-government agreements have been negotiated. The only question is whether Canada is willing to put action behind its apology and whether Aboriginal people are ready to protect their future generations?