Adopt Senate‑amended Bill S‑2

AI summary

Petitioners ask the House to adopt Senate‑amended Bill S‑2 to remove the second‑generation and 1985 cutoffs and restore single‑parent transmission of status. The government responds that it will complete consultations and implementation analysis before proceeding.

AI summaries describe petitioners’ requests and claims. Consult the official record for the full text.

Official petition

Petition to the House of Commons in Parliament assembled The second generation cut-off and the 1985 cut-off are rules in the Indian Act that perpetuate sex and race-based discrimination. These rules determine eligibility for status and will result in the legal extinction of Status Indians according to Statistics Canada, they also cause harms and divisions amongst families and communities. 40 years of consultations have taken place since the introduction of the second-generation cut-off in 1985, resulting in repeated calls from First Nations for its removal; In November 2025, the Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples introduced amendments to Bill S-2, an Act to amend the Indian Act (new registration entitlements) that effectively remove the second generation cut-off and the 1985 cut-off and return to a one parent rule for transmission of status. These amendments were overwhelmingly supported by the majority of witnesses who testified or submitted briefs to the Senate Committee, including First Nations leadership and organizations, women’s organizations, and affected individuals, many of whom were also participants in the government's Collaborative Process on the second-generation cut-off. These amendments were supported and passed unanimously in the Senate of Canada on December 4, 2025; and Parliament has a responsibility to uphold the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms by eliminating the sex and race discrimination and the legal extinction scheme in the Indian Act. We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the House of Commons in Parliament assembled to Adopt Bill S-2 as amended by the Senate without further delay.

Government response

Response by the Minister of Indigenous Services Signed by GINETTE LAVACK The Minister of Indigenous Services Canada would like to thank the petitioners for their advocacy on this important issue. Addressing the second-generation cut-off is a critical priority the Minister shares. Indigenous Services Canada recognizes that the colonial legacy of the Indian Act and that remaining legislative inequities in its registration and membership provisionsneed to be addressed. Bill S-2 represents a critical step toward addressing long-standing inequities under the registration provisions of the Indian Act that have deeply affected First Nations individuals and families. For decades, thousands lost entitlement to registration and membership in their home communities as a result of these injustices. After completing second reading on February 27, 2026, the House of Commons referred Bill S-2 to the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs, where it remains as of June 2, 2026. Bill S-2 was originally introduced to address four key issues identified through the 2018-19 Collaborative Process on Indian Registration, Band Membership and First Nation Citizenship: enfranchisement, deregistration, loss of natal band membership, and outdated and offensive language regarding dependent adults. Bill S-2 represents an important legislative priority for this Government and, in its original form, delivers on Action Plan Measure 2.7 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. At the conclusion of the 2018-19 Collaborative Process, the Minister’s Special Representative, Claudette Dumont-Smith, noted that the second-generation cut-off was an issue of great concern, and a “separate and more in-depth consultation process” was necessary “to develop solutions to address… removing the second-generation cut-off.” In response, Indigenous Services Canada launched the Collaborative Process on the Second-Generation Cut-off and Section 10 Voting Thresholds in November 2023, further advancing commitments under Action Plan Measure 2.8 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. This consultation process was accelerated by the Minister of Indigenous Services in 2025 and is now nearing conclusion. Through the collaborative process, First Nations partners have put forward recommended approaches to addressing the second-generation cut-off and section 10 voting thresholds. These proposals are now being engaged on through formal consultations. These consultations will conclude at the end of July and will inform the path forward. Adopting the Senate-amended version of Bill S-2, which proposes a single-parent rule for registration under the Indian Act, without completing comprehensive consultation with First Nations rights-holders, risks repeating past legislative practices that imposed unilateral solutions without sufficient engagement and would not align with Canada’s commitments under domestic and international obligations. While the government recognizes that the second-generation cut-off must be addressed, there has been no formal consultation regarding specific solutions and the impacts the proposed changes may have on First Nations communities, other than the ongoing collaborative process. The Government is on the record, including in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Action Plan, for its commitment to address this matter in a timely manner. The current Collaborative Process therefore focuses not on whether the second-generation cut-off should be addressed, but rather on identifying legally viable legislative solutions and practical considerations that are informed by First Nations perspectives, considerate of the diversity of cultures and traditions, responsive to the needs of impacted individuals and communities, and respectful of First Nations’ right to self-determination The Department acknowledges that support for the single-parent rule under the Indian Act has been expressed by many throughout the Collaborative Process, as well as through parliamentary testimony and submissions regarding Bill S-2. However, over the course of the Collaborative Process, many First Nations have also raised concerns regarding a single-parent rule and Canada’s continued control over status and citizenship through the Indian Act. The Department is accelerating the completion of its consultations with partners and communities regarding implementation readiness and community impacts. This work is essential to ensuring that any legislative approach is informed by comprehensive implementation, financial, and operational analysis. The Government recognizes that there is still more work to do and intends to follow through on its commitment to address the second-generation cut-off.