working on a settlement, Indigenous ServicesIndigenous Services Canada and the lawyers representing 16 plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit against the government over being historically enfranchised have announced litigation has come to an end and the parties involved are working on a settlement, Indigenous Services minister Patty Hajdu announced last week.
In a release from late last week, Hajdu and the lawyers representing the plaintiffs announced they have reached a mutual agreement to put the litigation on hold while working to pursue a legislative solution to end the ongoing impact of enfranchisement under the federal Indian Act today.
Hajdu has also committed to work towards introducing legislation in the House of Commons by summer to make the necessary amendments to the registration provisions of the Indian Act.
“Today’s announcement is a crucial step forward on the path to reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples in Canada,” Hajdu said. “The government of Canada is committed to working with First Nations, and other impacted partners, to address inequities in the registration provisions in the Indian Act relating to enfranchisement to ensure family histories of enfranchisement no longer affect entitlement to registration under the Act.”
‘Enfranchisement’ was a process wherein members of First Nations lost eligibility to registration and membership in their home communities. In return, they gained basic entitlements, such as Canadian citizenship, the right to vote in Canadian elections, the right to hold land in fee simple, and freedom from compulsory Residential School attendance for their children.
While the enfranchisement process was removed from the Indian Act in 1985, the fact of historical enfranchisement continues to play a role in determining entitlement to registration in First Nations communities today, the government said. Many Indigenous people who had lost entitlement to registration chose to apply and be registered.
Descendants of individuals and families who were enfranchised are, in many cases, currently not entitled to registration in the same way as descendants of those who were not enfranchised.