Feminist Alliance for International Action

02/06/2026

Progress on ending s*x-based discrimination in the Indian Act
FAFIA convenes and supports the Indian Act S*x Discrimination Working Group, a coalition of leading plaintiffs in constitutional challenges and United Nations petitions (Jeanette Corbiere Lavell, Sharon McIvor, and Lynn Gehl) along with legal experts and First Nations women’s organizations, including the Ontario Native Women’s Association and the Quebec Native Women’s Association, as well as Justice for Girls and the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs.
The Working Group, and its members, have been working for decades to eliminate s*x discrimination from the Indian Act, and to bring an end to the policy of forced assimilation that has been embedded in the Indian Act's rules for granting 'Indian status.'
Most recently, the Working Group participated in hearings and advocacy before the Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples on Bill S-2. While the Working Group supports what is included in Bill S-2, it worked to persuade the Committee, and later the Senate as a whole, to adopt a crucial amendment: removing the second-generation cut-off and replacing it with a one-parent rule for the transmission of status.
Zoë Craig-Sparrow, Vice-President, Justice for Girls, also provided important leadership, including testimony on the impacts of Bill S-2. One of the clearest ways to understand the effects of Bill S-2, which is a legal extinction plan for status Indians, is to listen to this clip from Zoë’s testimony:
🔗 https://bit.ly/4cdfMDo🤝

In 2025, FAFIA also continued its engagement with United Nations treaty bodies reviewing Canada’s compliance with ratified human rights treaties. FAFIA worked with other women’s organizations on a proposal to support dialogue between NGOs and governments on implementing the CEDAW Committee’s 2024 recommendations to Canada.
➡️ Looking ahead to 2026
FAFIA will continue its work with the Indian Act S*x Discrimination Working Group on Bill S-2, with the goal that the Senate’s critical amendment removing the second-generation cut-off will be upheld by the House of Commons.
FAFIA has also prepared submissions to the United Nations Human Rights Committee, which will review Canada’s compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in March 2026. FAFIA has been convening meetings with women’s and human rights organizations preparing submissions and planning to attend the Committee’s review of Canada in Geneva.
💜 FAFIA

12/10/2025

Today is Human Rights Day.

We honour the strength and leadership of Indigenous women and girls who have fought across generations to end the s*x discrimination entrenched in the Indian Act. Leaders such as Sharon McIvor, Jeannette Corbière Lavell, and Dawn Lavell-Harvard (pictured above) along with many others have carried this work forward with courage and persistence.

The Senate’s recent amendments to Bill S-2 bring Canada closer to ending the second generation cut-off, a discriminatory rule that has denied recognition, separated families, and violated human rights for decades.

As Bill S-2 moves to the House of Commons, we urge Members of Parliament to support these amendments.

12/05/2025

📣 The Senate’s passage of Bill S-2, with amendments to eliminate the second-generation cutoff, marks a breakthrough generations in the making. This moment belongs to the matriarchs, families, and advocates who have never stopped fighting. Now the House of Commons must carry it forward.

🚨 BREAKING: Yesterday, the Senate passed Bill S-2, An Act to amend the Indian Act, at Third Reading, with 63 votes in favour and 8 abstentions.

This is a historic breakthrough in the fight to end ongoing discrimination in registration. We would not be here today without the perseverance of First Nations peoples — especially matriarchs like Mary Two-Axe Earley, Jeannette Corbière Lavell, Sandra Lovelace Nicholas, and Sharon McIvor — who spent decades fighting a system built to legally exclude and erase them and their children.

✨ What Bill S-2 Initially Did

The federal government tabled this legislation in response to another constitutional challenge which required reforms to the parts of the Indian Act that determine who is recognized as a status Indian and who can pass that status to future generations. It was designed mainly to restore and extend entitlements to individuals with a family history of enfranchisement.

The proposed legislation also included a few other narrow changes:
✔ Remove an outdated and offensive term;
✔ Allow people to apply for deregistration
✔ Create a pathway for some women to reconnect with their natal (birth) bands

✨ What the Senate Did

After hearing from more than 60 witnesses over the course of twelve meetings held between September and November, the Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples strengthened the bill. The amendments we introduced would:

✔ Fully repeal the second-generation cut-off — a rule introduced in 1985 that stripped children of status after two generations of parenting with someone not entitled to registration. This change would ensure a child can have status if one parent has status.
✔ Remove the ban that would have continued to shield the federal government from being sued for past decisions that denied individuals registration under the Act if done in “good faith” — ensuring that those harmed are not prevented from seeking meaningful redress.

These changes transform Bill S-2 into a major step toward restoring equality and justice for generations to come. By choosing to stand on the right side of history, the Senate has sent a loud and clear message that the era of legislated extinction must end NOW. It is now up to the House of Commons to ensure it actually happens. What Members of Parliament choose to do next on Bill S-2 will be a defining test of their commitment to reconciliation.

🔜 Next Steps: The House of Commons

Bill S-2 now moves to the House of Commons, where the federal government must prioritize it so Members of Parliament can study, debate, and pass it promptly. This is where YOU come in.

Because of federal government opposition, the amendments adopted by the Senate may be rejected by the House of Commons. If you do not want that to happen, you must urge your MP to support Bill S-2 as amended. Your voice will be critical to helping them understand why the second-generation cut-off — and the federal liability shield — must be repealed NOW.

12/04/2025

For generations, Indigenous women, families, and community leaders have worked to end s*x-based discrimination in the Indian Act. Their persistence has brought Bill S-2 to an important moment.

This week, the Senate passed amendments that would remove the second-generation cutoff, a discriminatory rule that has separated families and undermined equality for decades.

As Bill S-2 moves to its final Senate vote and then to the House of Commons, it is crucial that Parliament upholds these amendments. Communities should not have to continue fighting the same discrimination generation after generation.

FAFIA stands in support of the women, Elders, families, and advocates who have carried this work forward and will continue to push until these long-overdue changes are fully realized.

The Senate has passed Bill S-2 amendments to eliminate second-generation cutoff. Chiefs to vote on amendments at AFN assembly tomorrow.

12/02/2025

You can act today!
We encourage Chiefs, leaders and impacted individuals to send a letter to demand changes to eliminate discrimination and the second generation cut off from the Indian Act.

Together, we can ensure the continuation of our families and communities.

To download the template letter and instructions, visit:
https://events.bcafn.ca/eliminating-s*x-discrimination-in-the-indian-act-webinar/documents/

12/01/2025

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