Repeal the Indian Act
Code
Proposal Type
Proposal
In consideration of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and in the spirit of Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action, the GPC supports repealing the Indian Act in a fully respectful process in which Indigenous peoples are the lead.
Objective
The Indian Act is a violation of the human right to be self-determining. This Act was set up for the purpose of controlling and eliminating “Indians”. It subjugates Indigenous people as wards of the state, sets up the Canadian federal government as legal trustee for all assets, and removes Indigenous peoples from the management of their own resources and prevents the establishment of a nation to nation framework.
Benefit
The repeal of the Indian Act is a strong step towards reconciliation, recognition of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, recognition of free prior and informed consent, and toward the implementation of the human rights outlined in Canada’s Constitution.
Supporting Comments from Submitter
The Indian Act:
https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/i-5/page-1.html
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples:
https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/declaration-on-the...
Shadow Cabinet Comment
Shadow Cabinet sponsored the submission of this emergency proposal at the 2018 Convention.