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We, the undersigned, members of the First Nations, citizens of Quebec and Canada, draw the attention of the House to the following:
That the Government of Canada continues to discriminate against Aboriginal women and their children both legislatively and administratively;
That Aboriginal women and their children continue to suffer discrimination in areas such as:
- Entitlement to Indian status for themselves and their children (abolition of categories);
- Entitlement to band membership for themselves and their children;
- Registration of children whose paternity is contested or unacknowledged;
- Right to reside on reserve for themselves, their spouses and their children;
- Provision of land allotments and services on reserve;
- Division of property upon breakdown of relationship;
- Application of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to First Nations Governments.
That such discrimination violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as well as several International Covenants to which Canada is a signatory, such as:
- International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
- American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man
- American Declaration of Human Rights
- International Covenant on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women
- Convention on the Rights of the Child
That for more than 15 years, the Government of Canada has consistently and deliberately ignored not only the pleas of Aboriginal women for fairness and equity, but also the recommendations of such entities as the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry of Manitoba, the Auditor General of Canada and the United Nations Human Rights Committee;
Therefore, we, the members of the First Nations of this territory, call upon the Parliament to:
To act immediately to amend the Indian Act so as to end the continuing discrimination against Aboriginal women and their children and so as to bring the Government of Canada into compliance with both the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and with the International Conventions to which it is a party.
To review its administrative policies and ensure that those which discriminate against Aboriginal women and their children are amended immediately.
