Good morning.
I would begin by answering your question with the very first principle, that the charter of human rights applies in any event of the Canadian Human Rights Act. That will always give every citizen in Canada an avenue to raise complaints of discrimination against any government organization or agency whatsoever.
What the Canadian Human Rights Act does is provide a more affordable way for people to bring complaints, because it's more a dispute resolution process than it is a litigious process. However, we know from past experience that the Canadian Human Rights Act is not inexpensive itself either. It does require the organization to put significant legal resources forward to defend itself, and it does allow the complainants a great deal of flexibility and affordability in bringing these complaints forward, but it's the first nation government, nonetheless, that will have to do the legal research that's required to defend their position.
We suggest that the interpretive clause should be within the statute itself, and that will enable first nation governments to say we're doing this because it's in accordance with our traditional laws, our traditional values, the practices that our communities have come to adopt over the years. It's a complete defence to any allegation of discrimination. Not that any allegation of discrimination would be without merit, but at least the interpretation clause gives it a way to balance the individual rights with the collective rights within the context of the first nation itself.