Green Party Commends Sharon McIvor as a Champion for Women’s Rights
OTTAWA--Despite putting up a contentious fight, the government of Canada has lost its battle to continue discriminating against Aboriginal women, thanks to the efforts of an Aboriginal woman named, Sharon McIvor.
The B.C. Court of Appeal has given the government one year to amend a discriminatory section of the Indian Act. The court struck down Section 6, which gives the Indian Registrar the sole authority to determine who is and is not an Indian under the Indian Act. The Court ruled that the 1985 amendments to the Indian Act known as Bill C-31 violate the equality rights guaranteed by section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
“While Bill C-31 was meant to ensure that many women and their children were entitled to be registered as status Indians, it also created different classes of Indian status, known as 6(1) and 6(2) depending on the section of the Indian Act that applied to a person’s particular situation. This system was steeped in gender discrimination,” said Green Party Leader, Elizabeth May.
“The discriminatory section in question essentially would have resulted in the elimination of huge numbers of people who would have been classified as Indians under the Act. It would have resulted in a huge reduction in the Aboriginal population,” said Lorraine Rekmans, Aboriginal Affairs Critic for the Green Party of Canada.
“Sharon McIvor and her supporters must be commended for championing the rights of women and children in Canada. This victory is part of the battle to eliminate sex discrimination for some of the most vulnerable people in Canada,” said Ms. Rekmans.
In this recent case, McIvor v. Canada (Registrar of Indian and Northern Affairs), the court found that the 1985 amendments to the Indian Act contravened international conventions on human rights, women's rights and children's rights as well as the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It was found that the Act drew a distinction between male and female ancestors in determining who is a status Indian.
“The Act supported the notion that our female ancestors are deficient or less Indian than our male ancestors, which is strange considering many of our societies where indeed matrilineal,” said Rekmans.
There were many delays in getting Sharon McIvor’s case into court. It took nearly two decades and lots of fundraising. The case went forward despite the fact that the government cut the Court Challenges Program that would have covered some of McIvor's costs. McIvor raised funds and did a lot of the work herself in order to get her case to the higher courts.
“There are a lot of burdens on Aboriginal women to uphold rights with little support. So, I think that Sharon is a true champion and I would like to thank her for staying strong in this long struggle,” said Rekmans.
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COURT OF APPEAL FOR BRITISH COLUMBIA
Citation: McIvor v. Canada (Registrar of Indian and Northern Affairs), 2009 BCCA 153 Date: 2009/04/06
Docket: CA035223
Contact:
Michael Bernard
Communications Officer
Green Party of Canada
613-562-4916 ext. 244
(c) 613-614-4916
michael.bernard@greenparty.ca
