Bill S-2, An Act to amend the Indian Act (new registration entitlements) is proposed legislation that aims to fix unfair rules in the Indian Act about who can be registered as a “status Indian.” On December 4, the bill passed in the Senate, but it is not law yet. Proposed by the Standing Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples, the bill adds important changes to remove the second-generation cut-off (a rule that stops status after two generations of mixed status/non-status parents). These changes would welcome thousands of people back into First Nations across Canada, including families here in Nipissing First Nation.
Senator David M. Arnot called the second-generation cut-off a “bureaucratic extinction formula.” However, Minister Gull-Masty has said she plans to remove these amendments when the Bill reaches the House of Commons. We need our Members of Parliament – including MP of Nipissing-Timiskaming, Pauline Rochefort – to keep these important changes in the bill.
“Our family circles hold our past, our present, and our future,” says Gimaa Cathy Stevens. “For too long, federal rules have pushed our people out and broken these circles.”
The bill must still go through several steps: First Reading, Second Reading, Committee Study, Report Stage, and Third Reading in the House of Commons, and then Royal Assent (Governor General of Canada). Until all of this is done, nothing has changed.
These amendments matter for current NFN members, future generations, and our Nation as an organization. They affect who belongs, who can access rights and services, and how our community grows.
We encourage NFN members to encourage your MPs to support keeping the Senate’s amendments in Bill S-2 and passing it. Our voices can help protect our families and future generations.
Media inquiries
Hillary Shabogesic
Communications Manager
[email protected] | 705-753-2050 ext. 1270 | (c) 705-498-2507
