e-1035 (Aboriginal affairs)

Petition to the Government of Canada

• Treaty Indigenous Peoples have the right to Self-determination which includes the right to preside over all matters that determine the composition of their Nation's Citizenship;
• In 1951, the Government of Canada unilaterally imposed policy under the Indian Act with regard to determining Indian membership which included the removal of Treaty Indians over to Statutory Indians - Indian Status. Treaty Nations did not consent to this policy change;
• The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) outlines the minimum standard at which the Inherent, Treaty and Aboriginal Rights are to be respected and upheld as Human Rights. UNDRIP articles 18, 19, 33.1, 33.2, 37.1 and 38 outline (i) that Indigenous peoples have the right to participate in decision making matters, (ii) the states shall obtain Free, Prior and Informed Consent before adopting and implementing legislative measures, (iii) the right to determine our identity or membership, (iv) the right to determine the structures and to select membership; (v) the right to the recognition, observance and enforcement of Treaties, (vi) that states shall take appropriate measures to achieve the ends of the Declaration;
• The Declaration is an extension of standards found in Human Rights, Treaties that are widely ratified and legally binding on states; and
• The rule of Law and Democracy are interlinked and mutually reinforcing.