NDP Indigenous Affairs Critic Calls on Minister and House Committee to Pass S-2 Before Summer Adjournment

OTTAWA — NDP Indigenous Affairs Critic Leah Gazan (Winnipeg Centre) is demanding the swift passage of Bill S-2, voicing this call in Question Period to the Liberal cabinet and in a letter to the House of Commons committee tasked with studying the bill.

Bill S-2 amends the Indian Act to eliminate discriminatory clauses surrounding First Nations status and registration as outlined in a BC Supreme Court ruling in 2025. Following consultation with Indigenous peoples, the Senate amended Bill S-2 to end the second generation cut-off, which currently entails that after two generations of First Nations parenting with a non-status person, their children’s status is denied under the Indian Act.

During Question Period, Gazan referenced the expediency the Liberals showed past bills that Indigenous peoples objected to, such as Bill C-5: “It has been one year since the Liberals fast-tracked Bill C-5, gutting environmental protections and Indigenous rights. But now, when it comes to Bill S-2 to eliminate sexism and racism from the Indian Act, they suddenly hide behind the procedural norms they previously bulldozed over.”

Last Thursday, Gazan joined Senator PJ Prosper and Justice for Girls Vice-President Zoe Craig-Sparrow demanding the government stop delaying progress on Bill S-2. Referencing the personal impacts of the second generation cutoff shared by Craig-Sparrow, Gazan emphasized the urgency of this bill to members of the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs:

“Indigenous peoples cannot afford to wait any longer for their rights to be upheld. […] These delays are simply unacceptable, and every member of your committee has a duty to respect Indigenous rights by passing Bill S-2 immediately.”