McIvor Takes Indian Status Fight To United Nations

Monday, November 15, 2010 at 19:44

A woman who took Ottawa to court over clauses in the Indian Act is taking her fight to a higher level.

Sharon McIvor announced that she is filing a complaint against Canada at the United Nations.

Years ago, McIvor took the Canadian government to court for discriminating against children through certain portions of the Indian Act.

In the end, she won her case and the government was ordered by a B.C. court to change the Act so it didn’t discriminate against the descendants of First Nations women who marry non-Native men.

Under the terms of the Act, descendants of those unions could lose their status.

Bill C-3 is currently before Parliament.

However, McIvor says the bill fails because it excludes descendants of Indian women who are in common-law unions with non-Native men.

She also says it leaves out the illegitimate female children of male Indians, among others.

Ottawa has until January to pass the legislation.