The committee's work this session has been dominated by two large studies: Bill S-2, on Indian Act registration and the second-generation cut-off, and affordability challenges in northern Canada, with a shorter but intense set of meetings on Bill S-228, which would criminalize sterilization without valid consent. A smaller amount of time went to Bill C-27, establishing the Tlegohli Got'ine Government, Bill C-10 on a commissioner for modern treaties, and the 2026-27 supplementary estimates for the Indigenous Services, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs, and Northern and Arctic Affairs departments.

On Bill S-2, the committee heard a consistent and repeated message from a wide range of witnesses: First Nations chiefs and councils, national and regional organizations, lawyers, and individuals with direct family histories of enfranchisement. Witnesses such as Sharon McIvor, Dr. Pamela Palmater, Jeannette Corbiere Lavell, National Chief Cindy Woodhouse-Nepinak, Grand Chief Kyra Wilson, Grand Chief Jerry Daniels, Chief Marsha Smoke, Chief Delbert Wapass, Chief Sidney Peters, and many survivors and descendants argued that the second-generation cut-off is discriminatory and amounts to a slow erasure of their communities, and most urged passage of the bill with the Senate amendments intact, including a one-parent rule. They repeatedly rejected further consultation as a delay tactic, citing decades of prior consultation, court rulings, and the Nicholas case. The main disagreement came from Jeremiah Johnson of the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke, who opposed the bill as reinforcing federal control over Indigenous identity and warned about unfunded additions to the registry, and from Dave Lamouche of the Métis Settlements General Council, who supported the deregistration provision so Métis individuals registered without consent can opt out. Legal witnesses, including Ryan Beaton, Mary Eberts, William David, and Troy Chalifoux, generally supported swift action, with Beaton urging Canada to stop fighting the court order and Eberts arguing Parliament should not abdicate to the judiciary. Senator Mary Jane McCallum defended the Senate amendments and said the government pressured the Senate not to amend the bill, a claim a member later qualified by reading into the record that the only Senate references to the Prime Minister came from Minister Gull-Masty.

On northern affordability, witnesses described costs driven by distance, dependence on southern supply chains, and climate disruption. Lorne Browne of the Northwest Territories described government-run fuel sales in 16 remote communities with prices up as much as 50 per cent since 2020 and barge or truck delivery costing 50 to 70 cents a litre, while Lynne Couves of the Pembina Institute said more than 210 remote communities pay six to ten times southern energy costs and warned that programs like CERRC, northern REACHE, and the Indigenous off-diesel initiative have ended or are at risk. Mikey McBryan of Buffalo Airways framed the issue as who controls the northern dollar, and Julia Christensen of Queen's University described a decades-old housing crisis worsened by wildfires, highway closures, and barge cancellations, criticizing the CMHC housing continuum and calling for a northern housing economy. Joseph Murdoch-Flowers of the Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre reported meal demand rising from 58,000 in 2022 to 91,000 in 2025 and linked income supports to reduced food centre use, while Merlyn Recinos and Inuaraq Angutimarik of Arctic Fresh Group and Brian Tattuinee of Nunavut Sealink and Supply Inc. focused on supply chains, sealift infrastructure, and youth. Daren Jones of MRC du Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent described the seasonal employment insurance "black hole," ferry unreliability, and port and airport divestitures, and Gary Vivian of Aurora Geosciences said the Northwest Territories economy is declining with no operating mines expected by year's end. Witnesses split on energy direction: Shannon Joseph of Energy For A Secure Future pressed for natural gas access as the cheapest heating option, while Couves and Browne emphasized local renewables and integrated systems, with Browne citing an Inuvialuit project converting local gas to synthetic diesel. McBryan and Christensen also differed on resource cycles, with McBryan treating boom-and-bust as a reality to learn from and Christensen arguing housing has no boom-bust cycle and must anchor northern economies.

On Bill S-228, survivors and their representatives, including Senator Yvonne Boyer, Harmony Redsky, Silvia Mckay, and Shelby Ponace of the Survivors Circle for Reproductive Justice, Dr. Jennifer Leason, Marjolaine Étienne, and Dr. Lisa Richardson, supported the bill and described forced and coerced sterilizations occurring as recently as 2024 and 2025, while arguing that criminalization alone is insufficient without addressing systemic racism, consent practices, data, and survivor supports. Medical bodies were more divided: the Canadian Medical Association and Dr. Don Wilson supported the bill without amendments, but the Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Quebec, the Collège des médecins du Québec, and the Federation of Medical Women of Canada warned about chilling effects on emergency and consensual care and preferred clearer consent rules and training, with the Collège recommending written consent and an emergency liability clarification. Department of Justice officials Morna Boyle and Nathalie Levman maintained the bill is a "for greater certainty" clause that creates no new offence and leaves section 45 emergency protections and consensual sterilization untouched, and Boyle's evidence led the Bloc Québécois to withdraw two proposed amendments at a later meeting.

Across the session, the committee also handled procedural and scheduling matters: motions on studying Amnesty International's housing report and the impact of court judgments on property rights in Quebec and Canada, a Conservative motion on private property rights following Cowichan Tribes v Canada and the Musqueam agreement, a motion to conclude Bill S-2 study and proceed to clause-by-clause by June 16, 2026, and a motion for a yearly review of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues report that received unanimous consent. On Bill C-27, Sherry Hodgson and Paul Tan of the Tlegohli Got'ine Government urged passage by August 1, 2026, to avoid a general election and provide stability as Imperial Oil shuts down, citing 85 per cent ratification support, while Taylor Chamberlain of Crown-Indigenous Relations explained the transition clause to public government if the population reaches 70 per cent in Norman Wells. On the supplementary estimates, Minister Gull-Masty highlighted new funding including $1.55 billion for Jordan's Principle and committed to First Nations clean drinking water legislation before spring's end without giving a date, Minister Alty reported 76 additions to reserve and 27 specific claims resolved, and Minister Chartrand described a shift from food subsidy to food economy and the status of Giant Mine and Faro mine remediation.