The B.C. Supreme Court has given the Canadian government until April 2026 to change the Indian Act to bring it into compliance with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms after a successful legal challenge by descendants of people who renounced their status under the law. The court ruled that provisions of the act that denied status to people with a “family history of enfranchisement,” where their parents or grandparents gave up their status and the benefits it entails, infringed upon the plaintiffs’ Charter rights. The ruling says the Canadian government agreed with the plaintiffs that the registration provisions of the act perpetuated “disadvantage, stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination” tied to enfranchisement by denying people the benefits of Indian status due to their family history. Lawyer Ryan Beaton says the ruling comes…
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