When Heiltsuk President Marilyn Surette spoke at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, on Monday, she wore an apron, a button blanket and a cedar headpiece given to her by her grandmother.
She said the regalia gave her strength while addressing the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
“The opportunity to speak was really important to me. It’s very emotional just thinking about all the women who have been discriminated against,” she said in an interview with CBC News.
Ms. Surette told the committee that Canada continues to discriminate against Indigenous women and that only two of the 231 recommendations from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls have been completed. said.
Mr. Surette also called on Canada to eliminate the so-called second-generation exclusion system, which often prevents Indigenous peoples from passing on their Indian status to their descendants.
Ms. Surette, who had children with someone without status, said the policy would affect her own grandchildren. She said she was able to pass on her Indian status to her children, one of whom had a child with someone without status. As a result, her grandson is not eligible for the position.
“Those children are being discriminated against by Canada,” she said.
“This is a genocidal policy that legally eliminates the status of Indians… Legal experts, demographers, and even Canada itself… I agree.”
Without status for indigenous peoples, she says, they can be cut off from their lands, communities and cultures. This also means that you are not eligible for certain federal health and education benefits.
Federal Indigenous Services Minister Patti Haju acknowledged the policy was problematic. in the letter In a post on the Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) website, she said the organization has begun planning a consultation process with First Nations.
According to the ISC, 29 per cent of status Indians across Canada come from families where only one parent has status.
Literature on the ISC’s website says that if the second-generation cutoff rules remain the same, the number of people eligible to register will be “lower” after a few generations. It also acknowledges that some Indigenous peoples have been more affected than others, and that some communities may eventually be left without people in positions of status.
Surette, who is also secretary and treasurer of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs (UBCIC), said the organization will participate in the consultation process.
She would like to see the second-generation cutoff rule replaced by a Canadian citizenship inheritance standard.
Speaking at the United Nations, Threatt said Indigenous women and their families are suffering from the effects of Indian Act policies that previously prevented Indigenous women from passing on their status to their children in the same way as men. He also said.
“Gender discrimination in Canada’s Indian Act is a root cause of violence that marginalizes women and their descendants,” she told the committee.
Ms. Surette spoke on behalf of the Indian Act Sex Discrimination Working Group, which includes groups such as UBCIC, the Ontario Indigenous Women’s Association, the Feminist Alliance for International Action, and Quebec Indigenous Women.
Some of the previous rules governing when and how Indian status could be passed on to the next generation did not allow all women to inherit the same status, leading to the U.N. Human Rights Committee and Canada’s Found to be sexist by the courts. A method that even men can do.
After years of advocacy and litigation by Indigenous women, Canada has changed its last remaining status code that discriminates on the basis of gender. According to the federal government, Building S-3It took effect in 2019 and means that 270,000 to 450,000 people are now newly eligible for Indian status.
Indigenous Services Canada acknowledges gender discrimination, stating on its website that “women (and their descendants) are often the ones who lack kinship and community ties, and that rupture stems from historic colonial discrimination.” The only reason is the legal law.”
Not all eligible people apply for status
Although Slett and other advocates are happy to see the changes brought about by Bill S-3, five years later, the vast majority of newly eligible people still have not applied for status. states that it has not.
“We need to make sure there are monitoring mechanisms in place,” Surette said, adding that there needs to be a national information campaign to get the word out and resources to help people register.
Learn what an Indian Status Card is, how it works, and how to apply.
Pam Palmater, a Mi’kmaw lawyer and professor of Indigenous governance at Toronto Metropolitan University, is also a member of the working group.
“Canada’s reputation as an international defender of human rights is tarnished by the mistreatment of Indigenous women and their descendants,” Palmater said in a statement.
“For generations, Canada has denied us recognition and belonging to our communities and our enjoyment of our role in our culture, our land, and our governance.”
The working group is calling on Canada to compensate Indigenous women affected by the policy.
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women will review Canada’s compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Equality of Women.
CBC News has reached out to Indigenous Services Canada for comment.
