Policy Sectors
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Policy Sectors
Use this search tool to navigate through our various programs and policy pages.
The Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) has advocated for the removal of discriminatory registration provisions from the Indian Act, as well as the adoption of Bill S-3, to address outstanding sex-based inequities in registration.
Bill S-3 refers to an Act, passed in December 2017, that the initial purpose was to fix the sex-based discriminatory registration provisions within the Indian Act. The Bill S-3 amendments to the registration provisions of the Indian Actwere designed to address the section 15 Charter violations identified in Descheneaux. The registration provisions, which took effect pursuant to Bill S-3 clause 15(1), resolved the inequality to some of the grandchildren of Indigenous women who were denied their status as a result of the 1985 amendments to the Indian Act.
The 2019 amendment to Bill S-3 removed the 1951 cut-off date, which ensured the entitlement of all descendants of women who lost status, or whose names were removed from band lists, for marrying a non-entitled man dating back to 1869.
NWAC will continue to hold the government accountable for its commitments to all Indigenous women and will work to ensure that non-status women who lost status due to discrimination in the Indian Act are included in these consultations. NWAC will continue to work toward the removal of all forms of discrimination in the Act.
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