Aboriginal women are still denied their rights.
indian status
Because 153 years of sex discrimination is enough
Bill C-3, An Act to promote gender equity in Indian registration, received royal assent on Dec. 15.
On Nov. 26, Sharon McIvor, the First Nations woman whose constitutional challenge to the Indian Act is the inspiration for Bill C-3, filed a complaint against Canada with the United Nations Human Rights Committee.
B.C. First Nations groups criticize Bill C-3 as marching aboriginal women reach Ottawa
The AMUN Marchers reached Ottawa on June 1, after a month-long, 300-mile walk against Bill C-3, while three B.C. First nations groups show concern that inequality will remain.
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Indian Act remedy Bill C-3 is flawed
Its intent may be to promote gender equity in Indian registration, but Bill C-3 [now before Parliament] does not ensure that women and their descendants will be treated the same as men and their descendants for the purposes of determining Indian status.
Witnesses told the standing committee on Aboriginal affairs this spring that the Conservative government's bill to address sex discrimination is not a remedy they support.
The bill is Ottawa's response to McIvor v. Canada, a 2009 B.C. Court of Appeal ruling that found that Section 6 of the Indian Act violates Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The court gave Ottawa a year to fix the legislation.
Fighting for disenfranchised First Nations women
Sharon McIvor, who has fought for the rights of aboriginal women for 20 years, wants MPs to vote against the upcoming Bill C-3, Gender Equity in Indian Registration Act.
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