United Nation Committee supports ending second-generation cutoff

The United Nations Human Rights Committee is pressing Canada to explain how it plans to address discrimination in the Indian Act, with particular scrutiny on the law’s second generation cut-off rule. The questions came as First Nations advocates travelled to Geneva to raise the issue during the UN review. Sharon McIvor and Zoë Craig-Sparrow, members of the Indian Act Sex Discrimination Working Group, made formal presentations to the committee urging Canada to support an amendment to registration clauses in the Indian Act that is making its way through Canada’s parliament. “Our journey to Geneva demonstrates the unwavering determination of First Nations women to hold Canada accountable for discrimination and forced assimilation,” said Sharon McIvor, lead plaintiff in an earlier legal case aimed at ending the cut off. “We have survived too much and fought too hard to accept anything less than full equality.” Sharon McIvor, seen here at the 2025 AFN assembly in Ottawa, travelled to Geneva to address the UN committee. Photo: Karyn Pugliese/APTN. Zoë Craig-Sparrow, vice-president of the advocacy group Justice for Girls and a member of the Musqueam Indian Band, said the rule directly affects her family. Unless she has children with another status Indian, she cannot pass status to them. Bill S-2, which will be studied by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs, would eliminate the second-generation cut-off if passed with amendments adopted by the Senate. The original bill proposed extending status only to a smaller group of approximately 6,000 individuals to satisfy a court order. The Liberal government is not in favour of the amendments and prefers to lead a consultation process. All other federal parties in the House of Commons said they support the changes. During Canada’s review under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), committee members raised concerns that the Indian Act continues to privilege patrilineal descent and could ultimately erase legal recognition of many First Nations people. Read More: All opposition parties support changes to Indian Act status, Liberals say not yet Bill S-2 amendments to eliminate second-generation cutoff pass major hurdle Senators vote to end the second-generation cutoff for ‘status Indians’ Committee member Yvonne Donders said the panel is “particularly interested in the second generation cut-off rule and asked what steps Canada has taken to eliminate discriminatory effects in the Act. Donders added the Committee “welcomes the adoption by the Senate of amendments to remove the cut-off rule, and it would like to know whether the House of Commons is also planning to adopt these amendments.” The second-generation cut-off was introduced in 1985 and removes eligibility for Indian status after two successive generations of parents who partner with someone without status. Craig-Sparrow told the committee that discrimination embedded in the Indian Act violates both Canadian law and international human rights standards. “Sex- and race-based discrimination in the Indian Act, most notably through the second generation cut-off, not only violates section 15 of the Canadian Charter, it violates international law,” she said. Advocates and First Nations leaders who have previously testified at the Senate about S-2, say removing the rule is necessary to end long-standing discrimination and prevent what they describe as the legislated “extinction” of First Nations status under federal law.   Report an Error Tell us your Story Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Your Name *Your Email Address *Details *NameSubmit Report Tags: discrimination, Indian Act, S-2, second-generation cut off, Sharon McIvor, United Nations Author(s) Karyn Pugliese [email protected] More Stories First Nation leaders from Saskatchewan travel to England t... 2 days ago By Leanne Sanders Reintegration centre aims to remove barriers for Indigenou... 2 days ago By Leanne Sanders Friendship centres in Quebec brace for federal, provincial... 2 days ago By Jesse Staniforth Audit finds ‘serious gaps’ in Yukon’s child welfare ... 2 days ago By Sara Connors Nation to Nation Government’s Jordan’s Principle funding doesn’t go f... 3 days ago By Fraser Needham NASA says meteor that lit up Vancouver sky was travelling ... 3 days ago By The Canadian Press