Native Women's Association of Canada

This short statement explains the Native Women's Association of Canada's (NWAC) position with respect to prostitution: namely, that it is an exploitative practice that further entrenches the inequality of aboriginal women based on their gender, race, age, disability, and poverty. NWAC highlights the fact that aboriginal women are overrepresented in prostitution and advocates for the decriminalization of activities prostitutes engage in, while also supporting the criminalization of the purchase of sex and of the activities of those who profit from the prostitution of

This report examines the issue of Aboriginal self-government in Canada and its potential impact upon the rights of Aboriginal women. The report raises concerns about where the inherent right to self-government may be rooted within Canadian law and argues that if it is found within the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, this will leave the right to self-government open to the restrictions under section 1 of the Charter. (Charter rights are subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society).

This report examines the proposed Bill C-31 amendments to the Indian Act. The report argues that the amendments will cause increased differentiation within Aboriginal communities and will limit the number of individuals able to claim Indian status. The report begins with a review of the features of Bill C-31, then moves to examine the general situation of Aboriginal women in Canada and the disadvantages experienced by these women. The report includes a detailed discussion of the Canadian Human Rights Act and the deliberate exclusion of the Indian Act from these provisions.