Indian Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. I-5)

RELATED PROVISIONS

• — R.S., 1985, c. 32 (1st Supp.), s. 22

  • Saving from liability

    22 For greater certainty, no claim lies against Her Majesty in right of Canada, the Minister, any band, council of a band or member of a band or any other person or body in relation to the omission or deletion of the name of a person from the Indian Register in the circumstances set out in paragraph 6(1)(c), (d) or (e) of the Indian Act.

• — R.S., 1985, c. 32 (1st Supp.), s. 23

  • Report of Minister to Parliament

    • 23 (1) The Minister shall cause to be laid before each House of Parliament, not later than two years after this Act is assented to, a report on the implementation of the amendments to the Indian Act, as enacted by this Act, which report shall include detailed information on

      • (a) the number of persons who have been registered under section 6 of the Indian Act, and the number entered on each Band List under subsection 11(1) of that Act, since April 17, 1985;

      • (b) the names and number of bands that have assumed control of their own membership under section 10 of the Indian Act; and

      • (c) the impact of the amendments on the lands and resources of Indian bands.

    • Review by Parliamentary committee

      (2) Such committee of Parliament as may be designated or established for the purposes of this subsection shall, forthwith after the report of the Minister is tabled under subsection (1), review that report and may, in the course of that review, undertake a review of any provision of the Indian Act enacted by this Act.

• — R.S., 1985, c. 27 (2nd Supp.), s. 11

  • Transitional: proceedings

    11 Proceedings to which any of the provisions amended by the schedule apply that were commenced before the coming into force of section 10 shall be continued in accordance with those amended provisions without any further formality.

• — R.S., 1985, c. 17 (4th Supp.), s. 7(2)

  • Transitional

    • 7 (2) The Surrendered Lands Register kept in the Department before the coming into force of this Act constitutes, on the coming into force of this Act, the Surrendered and Designated Lands Register.

• — 1990, c. 16, s. 24(1)

  • Transitional: proceedings

    • 24 (1) Every proceeding commenced before the coming into force of this subsection and in respect of which any provision amended by this Act applies shall be taken up and continued under and in conformity with that amended provision without any further formality.

• — 1990, c. 17, s. 45(1)

  • Transitional: proceedings

    • 45 (1) Every proceeding commenced before the coming into force of this subsection and in respect of which any provision amended by this Act applies shall be taken up and continued under and in conformity with that amended provision without any further formality.

• — 1998, c. 30, s. 10

  • Transitional — proceedings

    10 Every proceeding commenced before the coming into force of this section and in respect of which any provision amended by sections 12 to 16 applies shall be taken up and continued under and in conformity with that amended provision without any further formality.

• — 2005, c. 9, s. 145

  • Continuation of existing by-laws

    • 145 (1) By-laws made by a first nation under paragraph 83(1)(a), or any of paragraphs 83(1)(d) to (g), of the Indian Act that are in force on the day on which the name of the first nation is added to the schedule are deemed to be laws made under section 5 or 9, as the case may be, to the extent that they are not inconsistent with section 5 or 9, and remain in force until they are repealed or replaced.

    • Amendment of existing by-laws

      (2) For greater certainty, subsections 5(2) to (7) apply to amendments of by-laws referred to in subsection (1).

• — 2008, c. 32, s. 21

  • Existing interests — Indian Act

    • 21 (1) Despite section 12, if an interest in land in the Former Tsawwassen Reserve was granted or approved under the Indian Act and exists on the effective date of the Agreement, the interest continues in effect in accordance with its terms and conditions unless a replacement interest is issued in accordance with Chapter 4 of the Agreement.

    • Transfer of rights and obligations

      (2) On the effective date of the Agreement, the rights and obligations of Her Majesty in right of Canada as grantor in respect of such an interest are transferred to the Tsawwassen First Nation, which assumes those rights and obligations in accordance with the interest’s terms and conditions.

• — 2008, c. 32, s. 25

  • Documents in land registries

    25 As of the effective date of the Agreement, registrations or records affecting Tsawwassen Lands that are registered or recorded in a land registry under the Indian Act or the First Nations Land Management Act have no effect.

• — 2010, c. 18, s. 3.1

  • Report

    • 3.1 (1) The Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development shall cause to be laid before each House of Parliament, not later than two years after this Act comes into force, a report on the provisions and implementation of this Act.

    • Review by committee

      (2) Such committee of Parliament as may be designated or established for the purposes of this subsection shall, forthwith after the report of the Minister is tabled under subsection (1), review that report and shall, in the course of that review, undertake a review of any provision of this Act.

• — 2010, c. 18, s. 4, as amended by 2015, c. 3, s. 98

  • Definitions

    4 In sections 5 to 9, band, Band List, council of a band, registered and Registrar have the same meaning as in subsection 2(1) of the Indian Act.

• — 2010, c. 18, s. 5

  • Registration continued

    5 For greater certainty, subject to any deletions made by the Registrar under subsection 5(3) of the Indian Act, any person who was, immediately before the day on which this Act comes into force, registered and entitled to be registered under paragraph 6(1)(a) or (c) of the Indian Act continues to be registered.

• — 2010, c. 18, s. 6

  • Registration entitlements recognized

    6 For greater certainty, for the purposes of paragraph 6(1)(f) and subsection 6(2) of the Indian Act, the Registrar must recognize any entitlements to be registered that existed under paragraph 6(1)(a) or (c) of that Act immediately before the day on which this Act comes into force.

• — 2010, c. 18, s. 7

  • Membership maintained — paragraphs 6(1)(a) and (c)

    7 For greater certainty, subject to any membership rules established by a band, any person who, immediately before the day on which this Act comes into force, was entitled to be registered under paragraph 6(1)(a) or (c) of the Indian Act and had the right to have their name entered in the Band List maintained by that band continues to have that right.

• — 2010, c. 18, s. 8

  • Membership maintained — paragraph 6(1)(c.1)

    8 For greater certainty, subject to any membership rules established by a band on or after the day on which this Act comes into force, any person who is entitled to be registered under paragraph 6(1)(c.1) of the Indian Act, as enacted by subsection 2(3), and who had, immediately before that day, the right to have their name entered in the Band List maintained by that band continues to have that right.

• — 2010, c. 18, s. 9

  • No liability

    9 For greater certainty, no person or body has a right to claim or receive any compensation, damages or indemnity from Her Majesty in right of Canada, any employee or agent of Her Majesty, or a council of a band, for anything done or omitted to be done in good faith in the exercise of their powers or the performance of their duties, only because

    • (a) a person was not registered, or did not have their name entered in a Band List, immediately before the day on which this Act comes into force; and

    • (b) one of the person’s parents is entitled to be registered under paragraph 6(1)(c.1) of the Indian Act, as enacted by subsection 2(3).

• — 2017, c. 25, s. 4

  • Definition of declaration

    • 4 (1) In sections 5 to 8 and 15, declaration means the declaration made on August 3, 2015 by the Superior Court of Quebec in Descheneaux c. Canada (Procureur général), 2015 QCCS 3555, that paragraphs 6(1)(a), (c) and (f) and subsection 6(2) of the Indian Act are inoperative.

    • Same meaning

      (2) Words and expressions used in sections 5 to 10.1 have the same meaning as in the Indian Act.

• — 2017, c. 25, s. 5

  • Application

    5 Sections 6 to 8 apply if the suspension of the declaration expires before the day on which the order referred to in subsection 15(1) is made.

• — 2017, c. 25, s. 6

  • Registration continued

    6 For greater certainty, subject to any deletions made by the Registrar under subsection 5(3) of the Indian Act, any person who was, immediately before the suspension of the declaration expires, registered and entitled to be registered under paragraph 6(1)(a), (c) or (f) or subsection 6(2) of that Act continues to be registered.

• — 2017, c. 25, s. 7

  • Registration entitlements recognized

    7 For greater certainty, subject to any deletions made by the Registrar under subsection 5(3) of the Indian Act, for the purposes of paragraph 6(1)(f) and subsection 6(2) of that Act, the Registrar must, in respect of the period beginning on the day after the day on which the suspension of the declaration expires and ending on the day on which the order referred to in subsection 15(1) is made, recognize any entitlements to be registered that existed under paragraph 6(1)(a), (c) or (f) or subsection 6(2) of the Indian Act immediately before the suspension of the declaration expires.

• — 2017, c. 25, s. 8

  • Membership continued

    8 For greater certainty, any person whose name appeared immediately before the expiry of the suspension of the declaration on a Band List maintained in the Department is not deprived of the right to have their name entered on that Band List by reason only of the declaration.

• — 2017, c. 25, s. 9

  • Construction

    9 The provisions of the Indian Act that are amended by this Act are to be liberally construed and interpreted so as to remedy any disadvantage to a woman, or her descendants, born before April 17, 1985, with respect to registration under the Indian Act as it read on April 17, 1985, and to enhance the equal treatment of women and men and their descendants under the Indian Act.

• — 2017, c. 25, s. 10

  • No liability

    10 For greater certainty, no person or body has a right to claim or receive any compensation, damages or indemnity from Her Majesty in right of Canada, any employee or agent of Her Majesty in right of Canada, or a council of a band, for anything done or omitted to be done in good faith in the exercise of their powers or the performance of their duties, only because

    • (a) a person was not registered, or did not have their name entered in a Band List, immediately before the day on which this section comes into force; and

    • (b) one of the person’s parents is entitled to be registered under paragraph 6(1)(c.01) or (c.02) or any of paragraphs 6(1)(c.2) to (c.6) of the Indian Act.

• — 2017, c. 25, s. 10.1

  • No liability

    10.1 For greater certainty, no person or body has a right to claim or receive any compensation, damages or indemnity from Her Majesty in right of Canada, any employee or agent of Her Majesty in right of Canada, or a council of a band, for anything done or omitted to be done in good faith in the exercise of their powers or the performance of their duties, only because

    • (a) a person was not registered, or did not have their name entered in a Band List, immediately before the day on which this section comes into force; and

    • (b) that person or one of the person’s parents, grandparents or other ancestors is entitled to be registered under paragraph 6(1)(a.1), (a.2) or (a.3) of the Indian Act.

• — 2017, c. 25, s. 11

  • Consultations by Minister

    • 11 (1) The Minister must, within six months after the day on which this Act receives royal assent, initiate consultations with First Nations and other interested parties in order to address, in collaboration with those First Nations and other parties, issues raised by the provisions of the Indian Act related to registration and band membership, including consultations on

      • (a) issues relating to adoption;

      • (b) the 1951 cut-off date for entitlement to registration;

      • (c) the second-generation cut-off rule;

      • (d) unknown or unstated paternity;

      • (e) enfranchisement;

      • (f) the continued federal government role in determining Indian status and band membership; and

      • (g) First Nations’ authorities to determine band membership.

    • Requirement

      (2) The Minister, the First Nations and the other interested parties must, during the consultations, consider the impact of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and, if applicable, of the Canadian Human Rights Act, in regard to those issues.

    • Report to Parliament — design of consultation process

      (3) The Minister must cause to be laid before each House of Parliament, within five months after the day on which this Act receives royal assent, a report on the design of a process by which the Minister is to carry out the consultations described to in subsection (1).

    • Report to Parliament — results of consultations

      (4) The Minister must cause to be laid before each House of Parliament, within 12 months after the day on which the consultations begin, a report on the progress made as a result of the consultations and collaboration. The report must set out details as to the consultations carried out, including details related to

      • (a) issues relating to adoption;

      • (b) the 1951 cut-off date for entitlement to registration;

      • (c) the second-generation cut-off rule;

      • (d) unknown or unstated paternity;

      • (e) enfranchisement;

      • (f) the continued federal government role in determining Indian status and band membership; and

      • (g) First Nations’ authorities to determine band membership.

    • Referral to committee

      (5) Each report stands referred to any committee of the Senate, of the House of Commons or of both Houses of Parliament that is designated or established to review matters related to Aboriginal affairs.

• — 2017, c. 25, s. 12

  • Report to Parliament

    • 12 (1) The Minister must, within three years after the day on which this Act receives royal assent,

      • (a) undertake the following reviews:

        • (i) a review of the provisions of section 6 of the Indian Act that are enacted by this Act in order to determine whether all of the sex-based inequities have been eliminated with respect to those provisions, and

        • (ii) a review of the operation of the provisions of the Indian Act that are enacted by this Act; and

      • (b) cause to be laid before each House of Parliament a report on those reviews that includes, if he or she determines that any sex-based inequities still exist with respect to the provisions of section 6 of the Indian Act that are enacted by this Act, a statement of any changes to the Indian Act that he or she recommends in order to reduce or eliminate those sex-based inequities.

    • Referral to committee

      (2) The report stands referred to any committee of the Senate, of the House of Commons or of both Houses of Parliament that is designated or established to review matters related to Aboriginal affairs.

• — 2017, c. 25, s. 13

  • Publication

    13 The Minister must publish every report laid before Parliament under sections 11 and 12 on the Department’s website immediately after their tabling.

• — 2017, c. 25, s. 14

  • Same meaning

    14 Words and expressions used in sections 11 to 13 have the same meaning as in the Indian Act.

• — 2023, c. 16, s. 62

  • By-laws approved

    62 All by-laws made under subsection 83(1) of the Indian Act from July 15, 2019 to May 16, 2020 that received approval, in whole or in part, from the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations during that time are deemed to have received it instead from the Minister of Indigenous Services.