Important changes were made to Canada's Indian Act on June 28, 1985, when Parliament passed Bill C-31, an Act to Amend the Indian Act. Bill C-31 brought the Act into line with the provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The three principles that guided the amendments to the Indian Act were:
removal of discrimination;
restoring status and membership rights; and
increasing control of Indian bands over their own affairs.
In addition to bringing the Indian Act into accord with the equality provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Bill C-31 expanded band control over membership and community life, enabling Indian people to take an important step toward self-government.
The Indian Act, passed in 1876, combined all existing policies …show more content…
Bands can control their own membership based on their own membership rules.
Bill C-31 provides that, under the Indian Act, band membership rules respect two principles:
a majority of band electors consent to the band's taking control of membership, as well as to a set of membership rules; and
existing band members and those who are eligible to have band membership restored do not lose their entitlement to band membership because of something that occurred before membership rules were adopted.
Two years after Bill C-31 was passed into law on June 28, 1987, bands who chose to leave control of their membership with the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND) were subject to the Indian Act provisions that a person who has Indian status also has a right to band membership at the same time.
Bands may still take control of their own membership registration, but the rights of those individuals already registered and added to the band list are
The three principles that guided the amendments to the Indian Act were:
removal of discrimination;
restoring status and membership rights; and
increasing control of Indian bands over their own affairs.
In addition to bringing the Indian Act into accord with the equality provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Bill C-31 expanded band control over membership and community life, enabling Indian people to take an important step toward self-government.
The Indian Act, passed in 1876, combined all existing policies …show more content…
Bands can control their own membership based on their own membership rules.
Bill C-31 provides that, under the Indian Act, band membership rules respect two principles:
a majority of band electors consent to the band's taking control of membership, as well as to a set of membership rules; and
existing band members and those who are eligible to have band membership restored do not lose their entitlement to band membership because of something that occurred before membership rules were adopted.
Two years after Bill C-31 was passed into law on June 28, 1987, bands who chose to leave control of their membership with the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND) were subject to the Indian Act provisions that a person who has Indian status also has a right to band membership at the same time.
Bands may still take control of their own membership registration, but the rights of those individuals already registered and added to the band list are