Hon. Brian Francis: Welcome, Minister Miller. On August 20, The Canadian Press reported that it had obtained a copy of a 2015 agreement that confirms that Canada not only paid their legal bill but agreed to “forever discharge” Catholic entities from their obligation to raise $25 million for survivors under the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. Could you tell us by whom, why and how this decision was made, and what steps, if any, your government is taking to correct it?

Hon. Brian Francis: Minister Miller, Dr. Cindy Blackstock of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada has called upon the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, the CHRT, to not approve the $20-billion child welfare compensation deal negotiated by the Assembly of First Nations and your government. Dr. Blackstock argues that the current version fails to ensure every complainant will receive a minimum of $40,000, which was the amount ordered by the tribunal back in 2019.

Could you please explain why the deal gives a lesser amount or completely excludes some individuals, including children placed in family arrangements? How was it determined that such deferential treatment is justified?

Hon. Brian Francis moved:

That the seventh report of the Standing Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples, tabled with the Clerk of the Senate on Monday, June 27, 2022, be adopted and that, pursuant to rule 12-24(1), the Senate request a complete and detailed response from the government, with the Minister of Indigenous Services Canada being identified as minister responsible for responding to the report, in consultation with the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations.

He said: Honourable senators, this report of the Committee on Indigenous Peoples found that piecemeal amendments to the Indian Act brought forward by the Government of Canada in 1985, 2010 and, more recently, in 2017 in response to court challenges did not address all inequities in the registration provisions impacting First Nations women and their descendants but, rather, helped to worsen them.

The committee is grateful to all the witnesses who shared their stories and recommendations, and remains committed to continuing to advocate for restoring long overdue equality to First Nations women and their descendants in the registration provisions of the Indian Act.

The committee is disappointed that the Government of Canada is once again involved in litigation related to enfranchisement. Given that it intends to amend the Indian Act for the fourth time to address this matter, the committee strongly urges the Government of Canada to take a proactive and comprehensive approach that will, once and for all, end the discrimination against First Nations women and their descendants.

The committee makes nine recommendations to the Government of Canada. The witnesses, for example, testified that the registration process was overly complex and slow. As a result, we recommend providing access to historical and genealogical records, developing and distributing plain-language materials, and publishing an annual service standard report and other changes.

The committee also urges the repeal of all outstanding inequities, including enfranchisement, the 1985 cut-off and age and marital distinctions, as well as an apology and compensation for the harms experienced by First Nations women and their descendants, and funding to reconnect individuals who lost status with their communities.

In sum, colleagues, the Government of Canada must take immediate steps to ensure that First Nations women and their descendants are treated equally under the Indian Act. We cannot let these inequalities continue to harm more generations. Wela’lin, thank you.

(On motion of Senator Martin, debate adjourned.)

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the inquiry of the Honourable Senator Boyer, calling the attention of the Senate to the positive contributions and impacts that Métis, Inuit, and First Nations have made to Canada, and the world.