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House Hansard - 236

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 20, 2023 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 236 - Oct/20/23
Mr. Charlie Angus (Timmins—James Bay, NDP)
  • Oct/20/23 10:18:49 a.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-38 
Mr. Speaker, I listened with great interest. The term “enfranchisement” meant the destruction of indigenous identity. To be enfranchised meant someone's inability to leave the reserve, the inability to vote, the inability to marry whom one loved, and even the inability to fight to defend Canada, because the Canadian government, in the First World War, did not want to allow indigenous soldiers because it did not want to recognize them as citizens with rights. We have a long way to go in dealing with the destruction that was done. I appreciate my hon. colleague for bringing this bill forward, although this bill has been sitting on the back burner for some time now. The issue goes back to the fact that, at the end of the day, those who are trying to re-establish their rights are still going through the department of Indian affairs. That is what it was before and that is what I still call it. It is a department that is underfunded and that does not take this issue seriously. It is bureaucratic red tape. My hon. colleague says that indigenous identity must be dealt with by indigenous people. When are we actually going to see a bill that is about nation to nation, that is about empowering the nation to make decisions about environmental protection and growth, and that is about who their band members are? We are still going through the department of Indian affairs. It is still a colonial system and a broken system.
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Context: House Hansard - 236 - Oct/20/23
Mr. Dane Lloyd (Sturgeon River—Parkland, CPC)
  • Oct/20/23 10:54:16 a.m.
  • Watch
  • Re: Bill C-38 
Mr. Speaker, the House might not be aware, but in my riding we had an Iroquois first nation, and the entire nation enfranchised in 1958. I am talking, of course, about the Michel band. Under Bill C-31, back in the 1980s, 700 members of the Michel band, as individuals, were allowed to gain back their Indian status. However, as of today, this band is still not fully recognized and are not able to make any claims. I do not see anything in this legislation that addresses that injustice, as they were enfranchised under very suspicious circumstances. Could my hon. colleague tell me what this legislation could do to help a band such as the Michel band, which, as far as I am aware, is the only entire first nation band that was ever enfranchised in Canada, to get their recognition back?
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Context: House Hansard - 236 - Oct/20/23
Mr. Gary Vidal
  • Oct/20/23 10:55:12 a.m.
  • Watch
  • Re: Bill C-38 
Mr. Speaker, I understand he is saying that this is the only example of this happening to an entire band, but there are many, many examples of communities or very large groups of people being enfranchised involuntarily or “voluntarily”, or being coerced into it by very suspicious circumstances. This legislation should address some of those situations by creating an equal opportunity for people to be re-registered to gain their status back and create an equalization between the descendants of what might be male lineage compared to female lineage to ensure the descendants of those two lines of descendants is brought to a place where they are treated equally. We will look at this closer in committee to ensure those kinds of questions are answered and solutions are proposed.
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