Indian Act Sex Discrimination : Enough Inquiry Already, Just Fix It

This article examines the connection between sex discrimination in the Indian Act, as it read in 2016, with the high levels of violence against Indigenous women in Canada. The author proposes that historical Indian Act sex discrimination is a root cause of violence against Indigenous women and must be addressed as part of Canada’s international human rights obligations.  In fact, various UN human rights treaty bodies have criticized Canada’s continued discrimination against Indigenous women and called for amendments to the Indian Act’ status provisions. The author argues that Canada must remedy Indian Act sex discrimination immediately and that ongoing inquiries on missing and murdered Indigenous women and consultations with Indigenous people on Nation-to-Nation relationship are not excuses for further delay. 

Note: In 2019, the Canadian government enacted amendments to Bill S-3 which claim to address all known sex-based inequities in the Indian Act.