[Witness spoke in Anishinaabemowin and provided the following translation:]
Hello. My name is Jeff Forbes. I am Bear Clan, and I am from the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation.
[English]
Good morning, Chair and members of the committee. My name is Jeff Forbes, and I'm deputy chief of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation.
I speak today on behalf of our chief and council to express their strong support for the removal of the second generation cut-off.
Since 1985, the second generation cut-off in the Indian Act has imposed an artificial and externally defined limit on the ability of first nations peoples to pass on our identity and legal recognition to our children. This provision has resulted in a gradual legislative elimination of many of our citizens and contributed to the erosion of our communities, families and cultures.
This is not an administrative issue; it's about identity, continuity and the survival of our nations.
It's important to recognize that first nations are not treated the same as other groups in Canada when it comes to citizenship and identity. Recent changes to the Citizenship Act have removed generational limits for many Canadians, allowing them to pass on citizenship to children born outside the country. In contrast, first nations people remain subject to the Indian Act, which continues to control our citizenship and restrict the transmission of identity across generations. This unequal treatment goes against the principles of fairness and reconciliation.
Removing the second generation cut-off is an important and necessary step towards addressing long-standing discrimination in the Indian Act. It will help restore recognition to thousands of people who have been excluded through policies that are not compatible with our own systems of kinship, belonging and nationhood. We urge the Government of Canada to move forward with amendments that eliminate the second generation cut-off.
I want to speak to you not only as the deputy chief of my nation but also as a parent. I have three young children: Millie, eight; Stanley, six; and Bowen, five. I've been with my wife for 17 years. My children have been denied status due to the second generation cut-off. When I asked ISC staff what I could do, I was told to put my children up for adoption to a family member or apply for Métis status.
We are Anishinabe. We are not Métis.
That moment stays with you, because it tells you very clearly how much power the system still has over our identities and our families.
My father was part of the sixties scoop. He was taken away from his family when he was only two months old. He grew up without knowing who he was, without his language, without his community, without his identity. As an adult, he went back to Scugog to try to find answers. When he walked into our original band office, three family members were sitting there. They said, “What took you so long?”
My dad later applied for status. He was turned down twice. On his third try, he was lucky enough to find somebody who actually cared. He was registered since birth. If he had given up the first or second time, we would have never known, and our family would have been denied our heritage.
This is how much power the government has over us: the power to deny, to redirect and even to hide the truth of who we are.
My father's generation was forced to hide who they were. My generation had to work to relearn it, and now my children are growing up proud and strong. They know how to make our medicines. They hunt and fish with me. They dance; they join our ceremonies, and they take leadership roles at their schools, celebrating the Anishinabe ways. They are confident in who they are.
We are Anishinabe. Their generation will bring us full circle, but under the second generation cut-off, the government does not recognize them. They're being told they don't belong.
We are Anishinabe. My kids won't be able to follow the same footsteps in leadership as I do. They will not have the same opportunities to exercise their role in their nation.
The minister has said more consultation is needed. Respectfully, we do not agree. There have been many decades of studies, engagement and consultation on the discriminatory impacts of the Indian Act's registration provisions. We don't need more consultation; we need action. Delaying further means more families will be cut off, more children like my children will be denied recognition and more damage will be done that cannot be undone.
We stand with the Anishinabek Nation and others calling for this reform. This is about fairness and about recognition, and it's about ensuring that future generations are not legislated out of existence.
Meegwetch.