ISSUE: Section 6 of the Indian Act
Background:
Section 6 of the Indian Act contains the legislated criteria that determine who is entitled to be registered as an Indian under the Indian Act. Proof of registration is the basis for various program entitlements and tax exemptions.
Indian Act definitions of “Indian” have been arbitrary assignments of Indian identity that have not considered Aboriginal history, culture or values. Over time, the application of Indian Registration provisions have excluded significant numbers and classes of aboriginal people from being identified as “Indians” within the meaning of the Indian Act.
Fast Facts:
- Almost half of the children born to Registered Indians since 1985 have one non-Indian parent (Clatworthy)
- Of the 976,305 people who identify as aboriginal in the 2001 Census, 418,135 (43%) were NOT Registered under the Indian Act.
- Many Aboriginal families have differential entitlements to benefits and services within the same household
- Section 6 of the Indian Act provides the basis for systemic discrimination against the majority of aboriginal people in Canada in modern times
- The Nisga’a agreement or the Anishinabek Nation negotiations, seek to create citizenship recognition within reconstituted Aboriginal Nations.
Recommendations:
A. That the federal government repeal the section 67 of the Canadian Human Rights Act through the immediate passing of Bill C-44
B. That the federal government take immediate steps to address the equities that have arisen as a result of Bill C-31 and in particular Section 6 of the Indian Act.
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For further information, please contact:
Al Fleming
Director
Public Affairs
613-747-6022 (office)
613-867-8696 (mobile)
al@abo-peoples.org
