Indigenous and Northern Affairs Committee on May 5th, 2026

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Sheehan]

You have two minutes.

[Billy Morin, Conservative, Edmonton Northwest, AB]

Thank you, Chair.

I want to go to President Lamouche.

Of course, this bill is heavily themed around the second-generation cut-off, but you talked about a piece of this legislation that should be talked about a little bit more, in my opinion. That's the clarity it brings to who is a Métis citizen and who's an Indian Act status person, and you said the clarity is a good thing.

Is that correct?

[Dave Lamouche]

I'm sorry; could you clarify that, please?

[Billy Morin, Conservative, Edmonton Northwest, AB]

You spoke to how this bill has a provision in it that would bring more clarity and draw lines between personal choice and whether one wants to be a Métis person or a status Indian and how that grey area often causes division.

You see this as a good thing when it brings that clarity. Is that correct?

[Dave Lamouche]

Exactly. On the deregistration, the way we're set up, the criteria to become a member of the Métis settlement is that you have to have a certain ancestry—you have to have Métis ancestry. However, if you have a parent who is a member of the settlement and you have status—you were born with status when one parent had status—when you turn 18, you have the ability to apply for membership in the Métis settlement providing there's a process, which is called a bylaw process, which is comprehensive on its own.

However, there's also a provision in the act that has been there since 1990 and was contemplated: The ability to deregister from the Indian register would also be a way to get membership in the community by saying, “This is who I am. My identity is Métis, not first nations,” but they get caught or trapped on that status island..

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Sheehan]

You have 10 seconds.

[Billy Morin, Conservative, Edmonton Northwest, AB]

Do the Métis' own laws have a one-parent rule?

[Dave Lamouche]

Yes. If both parents have Métis status, our members get automatic membership. If one parent is a member and a Métis and one is status—

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Sheehan]

Would you be able to submit that in writing? We're over time now.

Thank you.

Now we go to Jaime, please, for six minutes.

[Jaime Battiste, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso—Antigonish, NS]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'd like to start off by asking Carey Price a question.

Carey, you've had a long, distinguished and successful career. You've made very public your pride in being a first nations person. You've accepted awards and inspired first nations youth to be proud of who they are. Within your community, you're recognized as a first nations person and a part of that community.

We've heard a lot of testimony at this committee. People have talked about wanting status for their children, whether it's for the ability to pass on their house or their ability to access Jordan's principle funding, but none of that is really a factor for you, considering your success.

Can you tell me what having the ability to pass on status means to you?

[Carey Price]

For me, it's the recognition that my children are my 'atsoo's grandchildren. It's very unfair that my cousin's kids can say they have their status cards but mine can't.

[Jaime Battiste, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso—Antigonish, NS]

Lynda, I'll turn to you next.

As part of this, we're talking about status, and there's been testimony here that membership and being a part of a nation are entirely different things. You said that, with membership, each community has the ability to set its own membership codes.

As a former chief of your community, was there ever the contemplation of developing a membership code that would recognize your son's grandchildren? I couldn't see a world where someone with his genes who won an Olympic gold medal in 2014 would not be accepted by his own home community. I would see that all of his offspring would be celebrated with pride, as their father is.

Was there never a thought for you to move forward with a membership code?

[Lynda Price]

I think it's really important for us to distinguish between Indian status, citizenship and membership. I know that many communities have their own membership codes. However, when they create their codes, they're based on whether the person has their status card.

I know that our own community has gone through the process of developing a membership code. That was the first thing that was brought up by our membership—that if we were going to have our own membership code, our members would have to begin by having their status card. It is a really big in issue in our community, and I have to say that I'm really disappointed with that outlook.

Just recently, our community entered into impact and benefit agreements with the province and with industry. As a result, we receive benefits from those joint ventures, etc., and I have to say that it breaks my heart when my grandchildren are not treated the same as my older brother's grandchildren. They have identical genealogy.

As Carey indicated, it's about feeling part of the community. I didn't have my status card until I was in my early twenties, when Bill C-31 was introduced. I lived all those years with discrimination because I didn't have my status card. You're treated differently. Even after I got my status card, I was referred to as “Bill C-31”.

Even as we go along on life's journey, as I said earlier, my mom lost four decades when she was enfranchised after she married my father, and I lost two decades because I didn't get my status card until I was in my early twenties. Then, of course, my children, Carey and Kayla, also lost two decades until Bill C-3 was introduced in 2011, when they were both in their twenties, and now my grandchildren, Liv, Millie and Lincoln and Daisy James....

I want to say that my oldest granddaughter, Liv, has her birthday tomorrow. She'll be 10 years old—

[Jaime Battiste, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso—Antigonish, NS]

I have limited time. I appreciate those answers—

[Lynda Price]

—and she doesn't have her status card—

[Jaime Battiste, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso—Antigonish, NS]

Thank you, Mrs. Price. I have limited time.

I want to read something into the record that I think would be interesting, because there's been a lot of talk about what the minister said in the previous panel at the committee. I want to read into the record the two times that the Prime Minister was mentioned at the Senate committee.

The first one says,

I understand the unfairness of second generation. In my own family, I have members who face this. I want you to know that this is very personal to me. This is something very important to me. This is something that I push within government, to ensure that my colleagues—the ministers who work with me and the Prime Minister—understand the importance of removing the racist, systemic, unfair and unequal treatment of First Nations in this country. The fact that the Prime Minister has chosen me to do this work is a testament to the direction that he wants to see the change for Indigenous People in this country.

The only other mention of the Prime Minister was “My name is Mandy Gull-Masty, appointed by Prime Minister Mark Carney to support and work for Indigenous Services Canada.”

I want to read that into the record for my colleagues, because these are the only two mentions. Perhaps the senator misspoke or misheard, because these are the only mentions of the Prime Minister, and I want that read into the record for this committee.

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Sheehan]

That has been done, so let's move on. Your time is up.

Mrs. Gill, you have the floor for six minutes.

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Côte-Nord—Kawawachikamach—Nitassinan, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

For the benefit of the witnesses currently in attendance who weren't here for the first part—

I don't think that the interpretation is working, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Sheehan]

Are you getting your interpretation?

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Côte-Nord—Kawawachikamach—Nitassinan, QC]

Do the witnesses online also have access to the interpretation?

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Sheehan]

Yes.

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Côte-Nord—Kawawachikamach—Nitassinan, QC]

During the first part of the meeting, you may not have heard Senator McCallum's testimony. She stated that the Prime Minister, specifically through Minister Gull‑Masty, said that there wasn't any room for amendments to Bill S‑2.

I would hope, in light of the comments made by my colleague, Mr. Battiste, that the government will support the bill as amended. We wouldn't want the Prime Minister or anyone else to intervene in the legislative process and to decide from the start that it's over and that the first nations won't get what they want. Three words are often used in their requests. There's the issue of the law and the issue of discrimination, specifically against women, which relates to the law. There's also the issue of genocide foretold. For the first nations, that's what it means. I'm thinking of communities in my constituency. In a few decades, for all the people registered under subsection 6(2), there won't be any new generations. We're telling communities that they will disappear.

I know that a number of witnesses are here. Ms. Price, Mr. Price, Ms. Green, Mr. Lamouche, Ms. Barrett and Ms. Stedel, are we ready to pass Bill S‑2, as it stands, with the Senate amendments? Do you agree?

Obviously, you're all welcome to comment. However, to give everyone time to speak, I would like to ask you to take turns answering. We can start with Ms. Green and continue to the right until we reach the Price family, who are participating by video conference.

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Sheehan]

We have four minutes, so I'll—

[Jo-Anne Green]

Yes, I do agree to have it as amended. It's very important.

[The Chair, Liberal, Terry Sheehan]

Okay, who is next?