Backlog of nearly 12,000 applications for status By Alessia Passafiume Canada’s auditor general says Indigenous Services Canada has failed to process applications for registration under the Indian Act within the required six-month timeline — leaving many First Nations people unable to access on-reserve housing, financial aid for post-secondary education and health benefits. In an audit released Tuesday, Karen Hogan found that more than eight in 10 applications processed by the department exceeded the six-month service standard. Some of those were priority applications for older people or those with health issues. Examining a sample of 140,000 applications submitted between April 2019 and March 2024, Hogan concluded it took the department nearly 16 months on average to make a decision on an individual application, and nearly three years to process…
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