Meeting 21 · February 12, 2026 · 08:14–10:21 (2h 7m)
45-17 witnesses · 88 interventions · 15,635 words
The committee met to study issues related to Indian Act registration, hearing from Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, Chief Kelly Wolfe of Muskeg Lake Cree Nation, Grand Chief Kyra Wilson of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, legal counsel Drew Lafond, Dr. Pamela Palmater, and youth representatives Isaiah Bernard and Kiara LaBobe.
National Chief Woodhouse Nepinak stated that the second-generation cut-off rule is a discriminatory blood quantum measure rooted in colonial thinking that reduces the status population over time, causing harm to identity and community belonging. She called for an end to all sex- and race-based discrimination in the Indian Act and for recognition of First Nations' inherent jurisdiction over citizenship, citing AFN resolution 54/2025 as the foundation for her remarks.
Grand Chief Wilson urged the committee to pass Bill S-2 with Senate amendments intact, including the repeal of the second-generation cut-off through a one-parent rule, describing the current registration rules as causing profound harm to families, including her own child. She emphasized that while Bill S-2 is a necessary transitional step, it cannot substitute for First Nations' inherent jurisdiction over citizenship, and called for a funded transition toward nation-determined citizenship laws.
Chief Wolfe described Muskeg Lake Cree Nation's extensive engagement with its members on developing a citizenship law, noting that over 85% of members live off-reserve and that a clear majority said the nation, not Canada, should determine citizenship. He highlighted challenges with the double-majority rule for referendums and stressed that belonging is about kinship and responsibility, not just eligibility.
Drew Lafond argued that the federal government has used fearmongering about costs to delay removing the second-generation cut-off since 2016, and that the incremental approach has perpetuated discrimination. He warned that the key unresolved question is what happens when a First Nation's citizenship list differs from the federal register, but stressed that delaying removal of the cut-off only causes more harm.
Dr. Palmater stated that the federal government has no legal option but to remove the second-generation cut-off, as it violates the Charter and has been condemned by multiple Supreme Court rulings. She dismissed fears of a flood of new registrants, citing estimates of about 7,500 people per year, and argued that the government can pass Bill S-2 as amended while simultaneously conducting consultations on membership and citizenship.
Isaiah Bernard shared a personal story about his brother asking him to sign a birth certificate to protect his nephew's status, illustrating the human impact of the cut-off. He called for First Nations-led reform and warned against replacing one imposed framework with another, emphasizing that any changes must respect inherent rights and jurisdiction.
Kiara LaBobe testified that her five-year-old daughter, who is Mi'kmaq in culture and identity, is not recognized as status by Canada due to the second-generation cut-off. She argued that the Indian Act perpetuates sexist and paternalistic values, and that First Nations must reclaim authority to define their own people based on kinship and cultural continuity, not federal formulas.
The committee also heard brief procedural exchanges, including a request for a Parliamentary Budget Officer report on costs, and a member noted that the youth witnesses were the first from the AFN National Youth Council to appear in such a study.
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National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak
Assembly of First Nations
Opening remarks
Chair, as is custom amongst first nations people, I hope we can start with a prayer this morning and maybe even a moment of silence. It was a rough day for our country yesterday with gun violence. As the Assembly of First Nations, our hearts go out to Tumbler Ridge as well as to Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg nation. Could Chief Kelly Wolfe guide us on that, Chair?
Chief Kelly Wolfe
Muskeg Lake Cree Nation, Assembly of First Nations
Opening remarks
With the families in mind who recently lost loved ones, I'd like to start off with the serenity prayer. It was a prayer used by a former chief who has passed on now in our Treaty 6 territory, and I utilize it when I can. Creator, grant us the serenity to accept the things that we cannot change. Creator, we ask you to provide us the courage to change the things that we can as well as the wisdom to know the difference. Amen.
Grand Chief Kyra Wilson
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs
Opening remarks
Good morning, everyone. Thank you, National Chief, for your words. Thank you, Chief Wolfe, for opening us up in a prayer, and for the condolences that we've heard this morning. I want to say thank you to the chair and to the members of the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs for the invitation to appear before you today. My name is Kyra Wilson. I'm the grand chief for the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs. We represent 63 first nations in Manitoba. The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs operates through a mandate from our chiefs in assembly to advance our treaty rights, inherent rights and self-determination. Today I'm here to speak in support of Bill S-2 and to specifically urge the committee and the House of Commons to pass the bill with the Senate amendments intact, including the amendment that repeals the second-generation cut-off by restoring the one-parent rule, or the Indian Act registration. Under the direction of the AMC chiefs in assembly and guided by the chiefs committee on citizenship, AMC continues to advance nation-determined citizenship laws and registries alongside, but not dependent on, the federal registration reforms. The Indian Act registration…
Drew Lafond
Partner, MLT Aikins
Opening remarks
Thank you, Chief. Thank you for the invitation here, members of the committee. My name is Drew Lafond. I'm a member of the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation. I've had the good privilege of having the opportunity to represent as a legal counsel the Assembly of First Nations, but also, in one of those rare circumstances, my home community the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation. The Muskeg Lake Cree Nation chief spoke very well and very candidly about the challenges we're facing as a community back home with respect to the second-generation cut-off rule. To go back to your question there, Chief, or former chief.... Well, in our culture, it's once a chief always a chief, so Chief Morin, thank you for the question. When we're talking about reconciliation, to peel back some of the layers and all of the rhetoric, in my former capacity as the president of the Indigenous Bar Association, I was working on the file of Indian status, whether it's discrimination or whether it's the self-determination of indigenous peoples to determine their own citizens since at least 2016. We're going on 10 years now since the Descheneaux decision was handed down by the courts. Back then the standing Senate committee was…
Dr. Pamela Palmater
Chair in Indigenous Governance, Department of Politics and Public Administration, Toronto Metropolitan University, As an Individual
Opening remarks
Thank you so much. Kwe. Hello. Ni'n teluisi Pam Palmater. I'm a citizen of the Mi'kmaq nation, a registered Indian under the Indian Act and a registered member of my first nation, Eel River Bar First Nation. In my background, I worked for 10 years at Justice Canada and have training in legislative drafting. I also worked at Indian Affairs, as it was called then. Thank you for inviting me to appear. I never take it for granted. I always appreciate these opportunities. I want to say right from the start, with the greatest of respect, that we could be having this conversation in a study of Bill S-2 as it was amended by the Senate. We've covered issues, especially those related to Indian status, band membership and citizenship, in significant detail in the Senate and in every previous iteration of Indian Act amendments related to registration. Particularly with Bill S-2, there was a historic level of consensus. Was there 100% agreement? No, but it was pretty close, and consensus doesn't require that everyone agree. We had a historic level of consensus with first nations women, first nations organizations, youth and first nations communities on getting rid of the…
Isaiah Bernard
Councillor, Potlotek First Nation; Co-Chair, Assembly of First Nations National Youth Council
Opening remarks
[Witness spoke in Mi'kmaq and provided the following text:] Wli Eksitpu'k, committee members, telusin Isaiah Bernard. Tleyawi Potlotek First Nation. [Witness provided the following translation:] Good morning, committee members. My name is Isaiah Bernard. I'm from Potlotek First Nation. [English] I want to begin by acknowledging that what we are discussing today is not simply legislative reform. It is about identity. It is about belonging. It is about the future of our nations. Reform of the Indian Act, especially regarding registration and membership, must be first nations-led. For generations, decisions about who we are and who belongs to our communities have been through federal legislation that does not reflect our laws, our kinship, our justice systems or our values. The authority to determine our own citizenship is an inherent right, and it is not delegated by Canada. It is a core expression of our sovereignty. Any consultation process on reform must be meaningful, not procedural, not just a check box. It must be recognized as a critical step toward restoring jurisdiction and advancing self-determination. This requires a co-developed framework created in full…
Kiara LaBobe
Co-Chair, Assembly of First Nations National Youth Council
Opening remarks
Wela'lioq. Before I speak about legislation, I want to speak about a little girl: my daughter. She is five years old, and she knows her Mi'kmaq language. She attends cultural events. She knows the songs. She knows the teachings, and she knows who she is. When you ask her, she proudly says, “I am Mi'kmaq”, but on paper, according to Canada, she is not. This is not because of anything our people did, because of our Mi'kmaq laws or because of our Mi'kmaq culture. It's because of the Indian Act. That's why I'm here today. Good morning, committee members. Bill S-2 does not address the need for transformative change in the full recognition of first nations' authority over status. First nations have voiced that there was inadequate consultation on the proposed amendments to the Indian Act through Bill S-2. Currently, only women who were reinstated after being enfranchised for marrying non-status men can transmit status to their direct descendants to the same extent as those who were never enfranchised. This must be changed if legislative assimilation is to be addressed because, right now, Canada is still deciding who belongs to our nations, not us. The impact of that decision is not…