Hon. Patti LaBoucane-Benson (Legislative Deputy to the Government Representative in the Senate) moved third reading of Bill S-13, An Act to amend the Interpretation Act and to make related amendments to other Acts.

She said: Honourable senators, I am pleased to begin third reading of Bill S-13, which represents a significant step forward in the process of reconciliation.

This bill would add a provision to the Interpretation Act affirming that all federal laws must be read as upholding, and not as abrogating or derogating from, the rights of Indigenous peoples under section 35 of the Constitution. With a few exceptions, the new provision would replace all similar clauses in existing laws so that there will be a consistency in legislative interpretation and so that Indigenous people won’t have to push for non-derogation clauses in legislation on an ad hoc basis.

This is something that many Indigenous organizations and rights holders have wanted for a very long time. It is a product of many years of advocacy and hard work, and it is exciting to finally be so close to making it a reality.

I will start by thanking the members of the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, as well as the witnesses who contributed testimony and written briefs, for a thorough and truly interesting study.

As I said at clause-by-clause consideration, I wish some of the Indigenous leaders who have passed could have been there to witness the level and nature of the discussion. Frankly, I wish some of our predecessors in this institution could have seen it too.

In living memory, there were debates in the Senate explicitly about how best to use the laws of Canada to sideline or eliminate Indigenous nations and cultures. A few weeks ago at clause by clause, the focus of our discussion was how far and how fast we could go to ensure Canadian laws protect Indigenous rights.

The committee grappled thoughtfully with questions such as what genuine consultation means and how we, as senators, can drive progress while remaining respectful of the role of Indigenous peoples in setting the agenda and the pace of change. These are not simple questions to answer, but they are good questions to be asking.

Ultimately, the committee decided to adopt the bill unamended, in keeping with the recommendations of most but not all witnesses. In general, there was widespread agreement that Bill S-13 is significant and overdue.

Natan Obed, President of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, or ITK, called this “. . . a long-standing priority for Inuit” and gave this bill his unqualified support. President Cassidy Caron of the Métis National Council, or MNC, said that Bill S-13 is:

. . . part of Canada’s commitment to building renewed nation-to-nation and government-to-government relationships with the Métis Nation based on an affirmation of rights.

Speaking on behalf of the Manitoba Métis Federation, or MMF, William Goodon said:

. . . we unequivocally support the quick passage of Bill S-13. We commend the Government of Canada for finally proceeding with this long overdue and Indigenous-led initiative. . . .

Eva Clayton, President of the Nisga’a Lisims Government in B.C., said:

We are very excited at the prospect of Bill S-13 finally becoming law. The bill has the unequivocal support of the Nisga’a Nation, and we congratulate the government for finally agreeing to proceed with what has been, since the beginning, an Indigenous-led initiative. . . .

That is just a sampling, colleagues. There was also support for the bill from the Tłı̨chǫ Government and Gwich’in Tribal Council in the Northwest Territories; Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, or NTI; the Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee) and Cree Nation Government; and the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations in the Yukon.

Many briefs and witness statements mentioned the report issued by the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee back in 2007 which called for legislation like Bill S-13. Witnesses generally expressed disappointment that it has taken 16 years for that report to turn into a bill, but there was also considerable enthusiasm for the prospect of finally turning it into law.

Colleagues, this legislation has been a long time coming, and it enjoys broad support among Indigenous peoples. I am looking forward to sending it to the other place as soon as possible, and I hope the study that happens there will be as thoughtful and expeditious as ours has been.

Before I wrap up, there are two main concerns about this bill that were raised at committee. Neither should stop us from passing it, but they are both valid and deserve to be addressed.

First, we heard differing accounts about the quality of the government’s consultations. For example, the Manitoba Métis Federation said:

We have been consulted and engaged with in respect to the current wording, and we advised the government of our agreement . . . .

Eva Clayton of the Nisga’a Lisims Government said the Department of Justice has conducted “. . . a very lengthy process of consultation and engagement . . . .”

The Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee) shared with us the written exchange they had with former Minister Lametti back in 2021 in which they expressed their support for the legislative measures contained in Bill S-13. This aligns with the government’s What We Heard report issued this past June, which describes a multi-year consultation process about the specifics of the bill, such as exactly what wording to use and how to deal with existing non-derogation clauses in other acts.

However, colleagues, the Assembly of First Nations, or AFN, as well as ITK and MNC all expressed dissatisfaction with the extent and quality of consultations. MNC President Cassidy Caron described a process that relied too heavily on the solicitation of written input at the expense of conversation with ministers and officials.

According to ITK President Natan Obed, “The legislation was neither co-developed with Inuit nor was it subjected to any consultation and cooperation with Inuit . . . .”

Cheryl Casimer of the AFN said that the First Nations had not given their “free, prior and informed consent,” which is the standard set by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, or UNDRIP.

It was a pretty striking illustration of differences in understanding about what consultation means, what level of consultation is required and what the distinctions are between soliciting input, consulting and co-developing a bill.

Honestly, I got the sense that government officials were genuinely surprised by the criticism of a consultation process they seemed to think had been quite strong, and I came away feeling that the government and Indigenous organizations could really benefit from a more in-depth discussion about what consultation should consist of. Hopefully, that is something that will happen as a part of the ongoing action plan to implement UNDRIP, and it is probably an area where the Senate could make useful contributions.

To be clear, though, most of the witnesses who criticized the consultation process still supported Bill S-13 and wanted it adopted as soon as possible.

One substantive critique we heard was that the bill doesn’t go far enough. While Bill S-13 adds provisions to the Interpretation Act to protect the rights of Indigenous peoples under section 35 of the Constitution, some witnesses wanted an additional provision to clarify that all laws of Canada should be construed as being consistent with UNDRIP. This was notably the position of the Indigenous Bar Association, the Native Women’s Association of Canada and the AFN.

Much of the discussion at committee focused on this point. And there was a proposal from Senator Prosper to make this addition to the bill.

By the way, when I said earlier that we grappled with serious questions at committee, a lot of that grappling happened during the debate on Senator Prosper’s amendment, so I really do thank him for making a proposal that sparked such a valuable conversation.

As I said during that conversation, I am, of course, a big proponent of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, or UNDRIP. I sponsored the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act — former Bill C-15 — and I definitely want Canadian laws and policies to comply with it. The difficulty in this instance is that most of the Indigenous organizations who testified were not prepared to support the addition of UNDRIP to this bill at this point.

We heard repeatedly from Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the Métis National Council, the Manitoba Métis Federation, Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, the Nisga’a Lisims Government and the Tłįcho Government that they want time to analyze this idea. They want to study the different possible ways of drafting a provision, settle on precise language and be sure to understand its broader implications. Several of them said that they would also need to do internal consultations to obtain a mandate to support an UNDRIP addition.

All of this is doable, and these are good ideas. I understand the frustration of some witnesses and senators who want to seize the moment and make this addition now. Ultimately, though, the determining factor for me was that if we value consultation — and if we want Indigenous people to be on board with major legislative changes that affect them — I think we, as senators, should do our best to listen when so many Indigenous leaders ask us to wait until they and the people whom they represent are ready.

In the meantime, the message from most witnesses came through loud and clear: Bill S-13 will be a significant step forward and should be adopted without delay. As we heard from Marie Belleau, Managing Legal Counsel for Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, it is “. . . the product of years of wordsmithing. . . .” And it’s the product of advocacy that goes back decades. It also builds on the work of the Senate, including the 2007 committee study and an earlier version of this bill sponsored by former senator Charlie Watt. It is exciting to be finally turning all those years of hard work into law.

I hope we adopt this bill as soon as possible, and I hope our colleagues in the other place do the same.

Thank you. Hiy hiy.