UN, First Nations leaders say Liberals must pass Indian Act changes as ‘priority’

OTTAWA — A United Nations panel is calling on Ottawa to eliminate the second-generation cutoff in the Indian Act “as a matter of priority.”

Current law uses a formula to determine whether an individual qualifies for “full” or “half” First Nations status, and some leaders say the formula punishes people over their choice of marriage partners.

A bill being studied by a House of Commons committee seeks to remove that second-generation cutoff, but Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty has signalled her government will not support it.

The United Nations’ expert mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples says the federal government has an opportunity to address “forced assimilation” inherent in the legislation, along with sex- and race-based discrimination.