Madam Speaker, yesterday was Equality Day, and the 33rd anniversary of the coming into force of the equality provisions in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
By great coincidence, or probably great planning on the part of some of our NGO partners, yesterday I had the great honour of being at a reception to honour six women who fought for equality for indigenous women in Canadian law. Last night we honoured Ms. Jeannette Corbiere Lavell, Ms. Yvonne Bedard, Senator Sandra Lovelace-Nicholas, Dr. Sharon McIvor, Dr. Lynn Gehl, and Senator Lillian Dyck, six women who were described in this way by the Ontario Native Women's Association:
The Famous Five fought to gain recognition for the equal personhood of women in 1929. So too, the Famous Six are fighting for recognition of the equal personhood of Indian women. But 88 years after the Privy Council ruled in favour of the Famous Five, the Famous Six, and the many thousands of Indian women and their descendants whom they represent, still do not enjoy equality with their Indian male counterparts under the Indian Act. This is an embarrassment to Canada, and a contravention of our human rights obligations.
Last night they were honoured, including Yvonne Bedard on her 80th birthday. It was so good to be able to thank them for fighting so hard. For 40 years, these women fought in court to regain Indian status for themselves and their children, which the Indian Act said they would lose if they married a white man, which is completely discriminatory. Of course, that is not mirrored for indigenous men who marry white women. Only the women were discriminated against.
I was very moved to hear the speech in particular by Sharon McIvor. She described how she now considers the 45,000 indigenous kids who regained their first nation status as a result of her court case her grandchildren. However, she said that 300,000 are yet to be included because the Liberal government has continued to resist full human rights being restored to all indigenous women in the Indian Act.
Members will remember the vote in the House on June 21, when my colleague, the member for Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, moved, in tandem with the amendments that were proposed in the Senate, to bring full gender equality for indigenous women into the Indian Act. To our great shame, the Liberal government voted those amendments down. The Liberals said there were unintended consequences. The Liberals voted to revert to discriminating against indigenous women. This was the “6(1)(a) all the way” amendment, which these famous six indigenous women warriors were asking the government to restore.
Madam Speaker, through you, I ask my counterpart on the other side of the aisle why indigenous rights for women should have to be the subject of consultation. Are they not full human rights?