News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: First Nations Women Call on PM Carney to End the Separation of First Nations Families by Enacting Historic Bill

Anishinaabe Algonquin Territory / Ottawa, O.N. – October 21, 2026
 
First Nations women, Chiefs, Parliamentarians and human rights leaders gathered at Parliament Hill today, calling on the Liberal government to urgently pass Bill S-2 as amended by the Senate, and finally put an end to Canada’s 150-year colonial policy of dividing First Nations families.

“I’ve fought to end discrimination against First Nations women for my whole life. I’ve met with 19 ministers of Indigenous Services and they keep making and breaking the same promises. If the government doesn’t finally do the right thing, I will keep fighting until the end of my days, until the next generation takes over,” said Sharon McIvor, Lower Nicola Band member and member of the Indian Act Sex Discrimination Working Group. 

Jeannette Corbiere Lavell, member of Wikwemikong and Anishinabek First Nations Citizenship Commissioner, stated, “I have been fighting this sex- and race-based discrimination for 55 years. Before I join my ancestors, my descendants should never have to feel the pain of being excluded from their families and communities. Members of Parliament, I urge you, end the second-generation cut-off now.” 

The second-generation cut-off denies First Nations people Indian status when two successive generations parent with a non-status person. Canada has used multiple laws, policies, and practices to purposefully sever the connections between First Nations parents and their children. The looming extinction dates for First Nations communities as a result of Canada’s discriminatory Indian status rules are counter to Canada’s own Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which protects Canadians from discrimination on the basis of sex, race, ethnic origin, and marital status.

After extensive testimony from First Nations leaders and community members, the Senate unanimously passed Bill S-2, with amendments, to remove the second-generation cut-off.  The Bill remains stalled in the House of Commons, despite decades of calls to end this discrimination. 

“Passing Bill S-2, as amended by the Senate, is an opportunity for the government to change the course for generations of First Nations families. I am registered under section 6(2), meaning I am the cut-off. My children will be denied their Indian Status. They will be unable to exercise their rights to fish or to inherit my home on reserve. This is not reconciliation. This is blatant discrimination and forced assimilation. It is a violation of my rights and the rights of my future children,” said Zoe Craig-Sparrow, Co-Director of Justice for Girls and a member of the Musqueam Indian Band.

K̓áwáziɫ Marilyn Slett, Elected Chief Councillor of the Heiltsuk Nation and Secretary-Treasurer of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, stated, “The majority of First Nations are on public record in support of ending the second-generation cut-off to prevent the end of our family lines and the legal extinction of our Nations. I travelled from my rural community in Bella Bella, B.C. to Ottawa, to make it clear that Bill S-2, as amended, and the legal recognition of our future generations, is the only way forward. The amended Bill is a neatly packaged gift for this administration and is a crucial step away from dangerous Harper-era rights erosion towards Nation-to-Nation relations and creating a stronger Canada. The Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs calls on Prime Minister Carney to pass Bill S-2 as amended by the Senate immediately.”  

NDP Indigenous Affairs Critic Leah Gazan said, “This government has weaponized the duty to consult by delaying justice for First Nations families and communities. Good-faith consultations means listening to First Nations and acting on their input, not trapping them on a treadmill of never-ending consultation processes to delay justice. On the one hand, this government delays ending discrimination against First Nations families while on the other hand fast-tracking bills like C-5, which passed in just 20 days, and C-39, which is already being pushed through its committee study, that violate First Nations rights with no prior consultation whatsoever. I stand with First Nations women, Chiefs, and advocates to demand the government pass Bill S-2. More than 510 days of delays on the bill, and generations of discrimination, is long enough — First Nations deserve justice.”
Ketty Nivyabandi, Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada’s English-Speaking, section, said, “Multiple international human rights bodies have made it unequivocally clear: the second-generation cut-off perpetuates sex- and race-based discrimination against First Nations and is a form of forced assimilation. It threatens the legal existence of First Nations communities and raises serious concerns about Canada’s commitment to domestic and international human rights and freedoms. Thousands of people across Canada have written in support of First Nations to demand an end to this discrimination. Human rights are not optional. Bill S-2 must be passed as amended by the Senate without further delay.”

The speakers called on all Members of Parliament to support Bill S-2 as amended by the Senate and ensure that First Nations families are no longer subjected to discriminatory rules governing the transmission of legal status.

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Media inquiries:
•    Chief Marilyn Slett, Secretary-Treasurer, Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, 250-957-7721 
•    Zoe Craig-Sparrow, [email protected], 236-237-6879
•    Hon. Leah Gazan, MP for Winnipeg Centre, [email protected], 613-992-5308

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