NationTalk: (xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil Waututh)/ Vancouver, B.C. – October 31, 2024) Members of the Indian Act Sex Discrimination Working Group (the Working Group)[1] including the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, Ontario Native Women’s Association, the Feminist Alliance for International Action, Quebec Native Women and leading plaintiffs in the court and UN petitions that have challenged Indian Act sex discrimination, welcome the recommendations issued to Canada on October 29, 2024 by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee).

The CEDAW Committee held its 10th review of Canada’s compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women on October 16, 2024 in Geneva. Canada ratified the Convention in 1981.

The CEDAW Committee recommended that Canada completely overhaul the Indian Act to remove discrimination against women and their descendants including:

• elimination of the ‘second generation cut-off’ and the two parent rule, which restrict transmission of status, and will lead to the legal extinction of status Indians within three or four generations according to legal experts and demographers;
• removal of other legal provisions that do not recognize the equal right of women and men to hold status or transmit their Indian status;
• elimination of differentiations in eligibility for status caused by pre- and post-1985 birth and marriage dates;
• repeal of all domestic legal provisions restricting access to comprehensive reparations for the violation of the human rights of First Nations women and their descendants, including those stemming from the Indian Act and development, in consultation with First Nations women, of a mechanism to deal with claims for reparation;
• development of outreach campaigns to inform First Nations women and their descendants that they may be newly entitled to status;
• allocation of sufficient resources and funding to secure successful, expedited registration processes and to support increased membership in Bands and communities.

The Concluding Observations on the Indian Act follow the Committee’s 2022 decision in the individual communication Matson v. Canada, which made similar recommendations.

First Nations women have been challenging the sex discrimination in the Indian Act for more than 50 years, starting with Jeannette Corbiere Lavell’s challenge in 1971. Yet Canada has never made more than piecemeal changes to the Indian Act and continues to refuse to recognize the full extent of the discrimination, or to compensate the women and their descendants who have been harmed. The Working Group has been advocating for changes for years and urges Canada to immediately take steps to comply with its international human rights obligations.

Sharon McIvor, a member of the Lower Nicola Band and the plaintiff in McIvor v. Canada, a ground-breaking challenge to sex discrimination in the Indian Act which began in 1985, welcomed these detailed recommendations, “I have been fighting this sex discrimination all my adult life. While we have taken big strides forward, the discrimination, and its effects, are not gone. I hope that before I leave to join my ancestors, Canada will completely rid itself of this colonial sex discrimination. It has done so much harm to First Nations women, their children, and their communities. We should not have to wait any longer.”

“We celebrate the women and communities that have struggled against this discrimination for so long, and the First Nations women, dedicated allies, and NGOs who came together again in Geneva to raise their voices,” stated Chief Marilyn Slett of Heiltsuk First Nation, UBCIC Secretary-Treasurer. “Now we want to see these recommendations implemented – without delay. Canada has no justification for perpetuating the harms caused by its discrimination under the Indian Act, or for failing to provide reparations for decades of loss to women and their descendants. The lives of our women and the wellbeing of our Nations for generations to come depend on Canada’s swift implementation of these recommendations. All eyes on Canada.”

Marjolaine Etienne, President of Quebec Native Women said, “We welcome the recommendations made by the UN CEDAW Committee. These recommendations represent a critical step forward in eliminating sex discrimination entrenched in the Indian Act. It is imperative that Canada take immediate action to implement these recommendations and redress the harm done to First Nations women and their descendants. We cannot wait any longer. Justice and equality must prevail for the well-being of women, families, and communities.”

Dr. Pamela Palmater, Chair in Indigenous Governance at Toronto Metropolitan University, said, “Canada holds itself out as a human rights champion. Canada says it is committed to reconciliation, to the full implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and to substantive equality for women. But Canada needs to show us, through action, that these commitments are real. Now is the time.”

In addition to recommending immediate action to eliminate the sex discrimination in the Indian Act, the CEDAW Committee made other key recommendations to uphold Indigenous women’s rights and ensure their safety and leadership, including for Canada to:

• speed up the implementation of the National Inquiry’s Calls for Justice, especially implementation of the National Action Plan, appointment of an Indigenous Ombudsperson, establishment of independent oversight, and initiation of a livable income;
• guarantee funding opportunities for Indigenous women and their organizations;
• ensure Indigenous women are fully consulted and able to give their free, prior, and informed consent in decisions affecting their lands and resources;
• prevent and protect Indigenous women from gender-based violence in the context of extractive industries;
• develop, in consultation with Indigenous women human rights defenders, effective mechanisms to prevent the criminalization of their actions to protect their lands and ensure that Canadian extractive companies operating domestically and abroad are held accountable for human rights violations, and
• finally create a national mechanism to report on and implement recommendations from international treaty bodies and mandate holders.

Cora McGuire-Cyrette, Chief Executive Officer of the Ontario Native Women’s Association, concluded, “Despite the tireless grassroots efforts and advocacy from Indigenous women and our organizations, Indigenous women are still not safe, and our inherent rights continue to be violated. Without engagement with, and solutions led by and for Indigenous women, we will continue to have our safety compromised. We know what we need to heal ourselves and our families. We do not need more action plans – we need action.”

To learn more join:

• Dr. Pamela Palmater, Sharon McIvor, Chief Marilyn Slett and Zoe Craig-Sparrow to discuss the CEDAW recommendations live on YouTube Saturday, November 2 at 5PM PST / 8PM EST. Join here.

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Media inquiries

Sharon McIvor, c/o communications@fafia-afai.org
Dr. Pamela Palmater, Chair in Indigenous Governance, Toronto Metropolitan University, ppalmater@torontomu.ca
Chief Marilyn Slett, Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, 250-957-7721
Cora McGuire-Cyrette, ONWA, cmcyrette@onwa.ca, 807-476-8989
Marjolaine Etienne, QNW, c/o e.deschenes@seize03.ca, 873-662-8558

Reference

[1] The Indian Act Sex Discrimination Working Group is an advocacy body of organizations and women experts from across Canada who convene in pursuit of full recognition of citizenship and human rights of First Nations women and their descendants who have been discriminated against under the Indian Act, and for repair of all its harms.