Government rushing Indian Act changes

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Lawyers working for the Assembly of First Nations are in the process of analyzing proposed changes to the Indian Act. The changes are addressed in Bill C-23, the Modernization of Benefits and Obligations Act, which received first reading in Parliament on Feb.11. The Bill is now being fast-tracked through the legislative process.

The changes were made in response to a Supreme Court of Canada decision that ruled gay partners should have many of the same legal rights as heterosexual spouses. Most of the 15 Indian Act changes deal with language - changing references that refer to spouses in a manner that does not allow for same-sex relationships to gender neutral terms as required by the high court ruling.

AFN Grand Chief Phil Fontaine is concerned the government of Canada appears to be pushing the changes through without any consultation with his organization, which is made up of the First Nations chiefs.

On Feb. 10, the AFN received a fax announcing the changes were about to be made. Fontaine fired off an angrily-worded press release the next day.

"The federal government is unilaterally announcing changes to the Indian Act that will affect all our citizens in Canada," he said. "First Nations governments had not received any advance notice as to the extent of the changes, their impact on our communities and the resources required to effect these changes. I am disappointed that neither the minister of Indian Affairs nor the minister of Justice would give us the courtesy of a call to inform us of this legislative change, except for a notification letter, which contained no details, sent to my office late in the day Thursday [Feb. 10]. I hope this is not the government's new approach to First Nations participation."

AFN staff find the way they learned of the changes to be especially disturbing, because Minister Robert Nault and Chief Fontaine spent several weeks travelling western Canada together just before the fax was sent. The minister made no mention of any intention to make changes to the act during that time.

Whether it turns out that the changes are merely, as the department of Indian Affairs claims, house-keeping measures designed to update the Indian Act to bring it into compliance with a recent Supreme Court decision or not, the chiefs remember recent history when former Indian Affairs Minister Ron Irwin attempted to re-make the act without including Fontaine's predecessor, Ovide Mercredi, in the process. At that time, Mercredi and Irwin were not on good terms, whereas Fontaine has enjoyed a close working relationship with both Nault and his predecessor, Jane Stewart.

"When it comes to the Indian Act, nothing's insignificant. Look at C-31," AFN spokesman Jean Larose told Windspeaker. "We had no prior warning of this. When they talk about modifying the act, what type of changes could go in there that would be minimal?"

Second reading for Bill C-23 was scheduled for the week beginning Feb. 21. Larose said the government's notification letter to the AFN said the government's plan is to quickly pass the bill into law.

Sixty federal statutes will be changed as a result of C-23, including the Indian Act and the Cree-Naskapi (of Quebec) Act.