Human Rights Protection On-Reserve Begins Tomorrow

Human Rights Protection On-Reserve Begins Tomorrow

Friday, June 17, 2011 at 15:09

This weekend marks the start of a new chapter for human rights on First Nations.

Starting tomorrow, the exemption that prevented members on reserves from filing human rights challenges under the Indian Act will be repealed.

That means residents who feel they’ve been discriminated against in areas like housing, land allocation, membership or education will be able to launch a complaint against their band councils or the government.

A vice-chief with the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations says it’s too early to say how the establishment of human rights legislation on reserves will impact bands in Saskatchewan.

Morley Watson says the issue is cloudy, because he says the government hasn’t held meaningful discussions with First Nations about how it will work.

Still, Watson notes it will be impossible for cash-strapped bands to fulfill all the requirements — such as making sure their buildings are accessible to people with disabilities — if they aren’t given any resources to fix them up.

He adds the new rules are centered around the Indian Act — something which he feels has marginalized First Nations people for 150 years.