Qalipu Mi'kmaq First Nation Membership Update

Summary#

The Order Amending the Qalipu Mi'kmaq First Nation Band Order updates who is officially listed as founding members of the Qalipu Mi'kmaq First Nation. It adds a schedule that adopts the enrolment list provided on November 26, 2020, and the order came into force when it was registered on May 1, 2021.

What it does#

• Replaces part of the original band order so the band is defined as the people named in a new schedule.
• Adds a schedule saying the founding members are those on the list the Enrolment Committee gave to the Government of Canada and the Federation of Newfoundland Indians on November 26, 2020.
• Restores a formal schedule to the band order to address a technical concern raised by the Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations while keeping individual names private.
• Lets the Indian Registrar update the Indian Register so people on that list can be recorded as founding members.

Who's affected#

• Individuals who were found eligible in the reassessment: 296 people were identified as newly eligible after reassessment, plus 6 more following administrative reviews and litigation — 302 in total.
• People who were already on the band’s founding members list and anyone still pursuing appeals. The government reported 1,710 appeal notices were received and those appeals are being processed.
• The Qalipu Mi'kmaq First Nation as a community and the Enrolment Committee and the Federation of Newfoundland Indians as organizations involved in the process.

Why it matters#

• People added to the founding members list can be registered as Indians and become eligible for federal programs tied to that status (for example, certain health and student supports noted by the government).
• The order fixes a procedural issue raised by a parliamentary committee by putting a schedule back into the band order while limiting public release of personal information.
• For the wider public, this is mainly important for the individuals and communities directly affected; it does not change land rights (the band is landless) and has no broader environmental or business impacts according to the government’s analysis.