Section 6 of the Indian Act

Section 6 of the Indian Act gives the Indian Registrar the sole authority to determine who is and is not an Indian under the Indian Act.  An individual who meets the government’s criteria is said to be a “Status” Indian, and becomes eligible for certain government benefits and programs that are only available to Registered Indians.

Section 35 of the Constitution Act of 1982 defines the Aboriginal peoples of Canada to include Indian, Inuit, and Metis peoples of Canada. To date, the Government of Canada has not provided a legal means to recognize either Metis or Inuit people.  This has resulted in inequitable access to programs and services for Aboriginal people – in many cases individuals within the same family do not have access to the same programs and services.

On June 23, 2000, the Canadian Human Rights Act Review panel released its report entitled “Promoting Equality:  A New Vision”.  The report includes the following summary of findings from the consultation with Aboriginal people:

Some participants expressed concern about the treatment of individuals who regained their Indian status under Bill C-31 by Band Councils that had not been favourable to that policy for a number of reasons including the potential impact on Band resources.  Non-status Aboriginal people were concerned about programs and services provided on-reserve to status Indians and in which they were not allowed to participate.  Status Indians living off-reserve had complaints about decisions affecting them that were made by the federal government and Band Councils.

Some Aboriginal people complained about federal programs and services that use status or residence on reserve as the basis for entitlement.  They identified three programs in particular:  Human Resources and Development Canada’s Aboriginal Human Resources Development Strategy; the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs’ (DIAND) post-secondary education program; and Health Canada’s non-insured health protection program.

The Congress of Aboriginal People believes that Section 6 of the Indian Act is a  significant source of discrimination on the prohibited ground of race for the majority of Aboriginal people in Canada.  We invite individuals who have experienced this kind of discrimination to tell us their stories. Now that Section 67 has been repealed, Aboriginal people can file complaints against the federal government for discrimination on the basis of race, if that discrimination arises from the application of the Indian Act.