April 17, 2007
Background on Bill C-44 and the Federal Attempt to make the Canadian Human Rights Act Applicable On-Reserve

The Issue:

The Conservative government under Prime Minister Stephen Harper introduced Bill C-44 in December 2006. The Bill would essentially eliminate section 67 of the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA). Why is this important to First Nations?

The section to be removed from the CHRA (section 67) states that: "Nothing in this Act affects any provision of the Indian Act or any provision made under or pursuant to that Act." In other words, section 67 says that the CHRA does not apply to First Nations reserves.

The new Bill C-44 is the latest attempt by federal governments to remove the protection offered by section 67. This should be of concern to all First Nations for a number of reasons. Of course, First Nations believe in and support human rights. First Nations, however, also possess collective rights, Aboriginal rights and treaty rights. These rights must not be infringed or eroded by any federal legislation. Any changes to section 67 must only proceed following full and open consultations with First Nations to ensure Aboriginal and treaty rights are respected and protected.

Bill C-44 has not passed yet and is not official legislation. The purpose of this backgrounder is to provide some information on the key issues related to Bill C-44 and the position of the Chiefs of Ontario.