Sex Discrimination, Assimilation, and Austerity: The Untold Story of Canada’s Indian Act, 1975-1985

Authors

Genevieve Renard Painter, Concordia University

Document Type

Article

Abstract

This article is about the misunderstood history of a Canadian law for determining Indian status, the decades-long struggle to remedy sex discrimination in the law, and the significance of judges writing history. Since before Canada’s confederation until amendments to the Indian Act in 1985, Indian women, unlike Indian men, lost their Indian status if they married non-Indians. Even with the 1985 amendments, the law still disadvantaged people who traced their Indian status along the female line. Facing a challenge to the law based on sex discrimination, the government argued that the enduring disadvantage to women was the only way to reconcile the equality rights of Indigenous women and the self-governance rights of Indigenous communities. The government’s account of the legislation’s history has been widely accepted by scholars and confirmed in case law. Through scrutiny of newly declassified government records, this article refutes the government’s claim that the 1985 Indian Act amendments were the product of a necessary compromise between competing Indigenous rights claims. Rather, the government used controversies it had provoked about Indigenous self-governance to obscure a legislative objective shared by both Liberal and Conservative governments: to minimize the number of status Indians and thereby shrink the population entitled to federal benefits, weaken Indigenous land claims, and ultimately undermine Indigenous self-governance.

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Citation Information

Renard Painter, Genevieve. "Sex Discrimination, Assimilation, and Austerity: The Untold Story of Canada’s Indian Act, 1975-1985." Osgoode Hall Law Journal 62.1 (2025) : 255-307.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.60082/2817-5069.4101
https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/ohlj/vol62/iss1/7

References

1. Genevieve Renard Painter, PhD, Associate Professor, Concordia University. Sincere thanks to Liam McHugh-Russell, Ingrid Renard, Tobias Smith, Umut Özsu, Christiane Wilke, David Schulze, Anna Lund, Maria Dugas, Kim Brooks, Sonia Lawrence, Debra Parkes, Malte Zumbansen, Rose Chisholm, participants of JurisTalk, Carleton University, peer reviewers, and the editors of the Osgoode Hall Law Journal. I completed the research and writing of this article as an uninvited guest on the traditional and unceded territories of the Kanien’keha:ka (Mohawk). I pay my respects and express my gratitude for their hospitality. I am a white first-generation immigrant to Montreal.

2. It is important to state that “Indian” has long been used as a racial slur. But it is also a legal category: An Indian is someone who holds Indian status according to federal legislation. I use the term “Indian” to refer to “someone with Indian status” and, where necessary for clarity, to follow the terminology used by federal officials. I use the term “Indigenous” to refer to people who are Indigenous and use the term “non-status” to refer to Indigenous people who are or were denied Indian status. I use the term “Aboriginal law” to talk about the laws regulating Canadian-Indigenous relations, but throughout the literature, this is also often referred to as “Indian policy.”

3. See McIvor v The Registrar, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, 2007 BCSC 827 [McIvor SC].

4. Ibid at para 304; McIvor v Canada (Registrar of Indian and Northern Affairs), 2009 BCCA 153 at para 123 [McIvor CA]; Descheneaux c Canada (Procureur Général), 2015 QCCS 3555 at para 178 [Descheneaux].

5. McIvor SC, supra note 3 at para 298.

6. McIvor CA, supra note 4 at para 27.

7. Descheneaux, supra note 4 at paras 21-22, citing McIvor CA, supra note 4 at paras 14-23.

8. Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, s 15(1), Part I of the Constitution Act, 1982, being Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (UK), 1982, c 11 [Charter]. For evidence of the credence given to the claim that the Charter was a goad to Indian Act amendments, see Canada, Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, vol 4, Perspectives and Realities (Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, 1996) at ch 2, s 3.1. The Commission observed that “[t]he Charter accomplished overnight what the Canadian Bill of Rights and the Canadian Human Rights Act had been unable to do—motivating the government to eliminate provisions of the Indian Act that had been criticized for discriminating against Indian women” (ibid).

9. See Sébastien Grammond, Identity Captured by Law: Membership in Canada’s Indigenous Peoples and Linguistic Minorities (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2009) at 109. For a more recent example of the same form of argument, see Sarah E Hamill, “McIvor v Canada and the 2010 Amendments to the Indian Act: A Half-Hearted Remedy to Historical Injustice” (2010) 19 Const Forum Const 75, DOI: https://doi.org/10.21991/cf29363.

10. Gerard Hartley, “The Search for Consensus: A Legislative History of Bill C-31, 1969-1985” in Jerry Patrick White et al, eds, Aboriginal Policy Research: Moving Forward, Making a Difference, vol 5 (Thompson Educational, 2007) 5 at 24.

11. Ibid at 26.

12. Jo-Anne Fiske, “Constitutionalizing the Space to be Aboriginal Women: The Indian Act and the Struggle for First Nations Citizenship” in Yale D Belanger, ed, Aboriginal Self-Government in Canada: Current Trends and Issues (Purich, 2008) 309 at 312.

13. See Men, Masculinity, and the Indian Act (UBC Press, 2019) at 4, DOI: https://doi.org/10.59962/9780774860970.

14. Ibid at 5.

15. There is rich scholarship on this conflict. See generally Audra Simpson, Mohawk Interruptus: Political Life Across the Borders of Settler States (Duke University Press, 2014), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9780822376781 [Simpson, Mohawk]; Glen Sean Coulthard, Red Skin, White Masks: Rejecting the Colonial Politics of Recognition (University of Minnesota Press, 2014) at 79-104, DOI: https://doi.org/10.5749/minnesota/9780816679645.003.0004; Val Napoleon, “Extinction by Number: Colonialism Made Easy” (2001) 16 CJLS 113, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0829320100006608; Caroline Dick, “The Politics of Intragroup Difference: First Nations’ Women and the Sawridge Dispute” (2006) 39 Can J Pol Sci 97, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0008423906040686.

16. See generally Joanne Barker, “Gender, Sovereignty, and the Discourse of Rights in Native Women’s Activism” (2006) 7 Meridians 127, DOI: https://doi.org/10.2979/MER.2006.7.1.127; Sharon Donna McIvor, “Aboriginal Women Unmasked: Using Equality Litigation to Advance Women’s Rights” (2004) 16 CJWL 106 [McIvor, “Unmasked”]; Janet Silman, Enough is Enough: Aboriginal Women Speak Out (Women’s Press, 1987); Nellie Carlson, Linda Goyette & Kathleen Steinhauer, Disinherited Generations: Our Struggle to Reclaim Treaty Rights for First Nations Women and their Descendants (University of Alberta Press, 2013), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9781772121292.

17. See generally Emily Snyder, Val Napoleon & John Borrows, “Gender and Violence: Drawing on Indigenous Legal Resources” (2015) 48 UBC L Rev 593; Cannon, supra note 13.

18. Justice cannot be done to this rich and complex literature with a string of citations. For this reason, I offer indicative texts, rather than a comprehensive bibliography. See Kiera L Ladner, “Gendering Decolonisation, Decolonising Gender Commentary” (2009) 13 AILR 62; Simpson, Mohawk, supra note 15; Lina Sunseri, “Moving beyond the Feminism Versus Nationalism Dichotomy: An Anti-Colonial Feminist Perspective on Aboriginal Liberation Struggles” (2000) 20 Can Woman Studies 143; Joyce Green, “Constitutionalizing the Patriarchy: Aboriginal Women and Aboriginal Government” (1993) 4 Const Forum Const 110, DOI: https://doi.org/10.21991/C9908S; Bonita Lawrence, “Real” Indians and Others: Mixed-Blood Urban Native Peoples and Indigenous Nationhood (University of Nebraska Press, 2004) [Lawrence, Nationhood]; Lynn Gehl, “‘The Queen and I’: Discrimination Against Women in the ‘Indian Act’ Continues” (2000) 20 Can Woman Studies 64; Robert Alexander Innes, Elder Brother and the Law of the People: Contemporary Kinship and Cowessess First Nation (University of Manitoba Press, 2013); Pamela D Palmater, Beyond Blood: Rethinking Indigenous Identity (Purich, 2011), DOI: https://doi.org/10.59962/9781895830736 [Palmater, Beyond Blood].

19. See generally Pamela Palmater, “Genocide, Indian Policy, and Legislated Elimination of Indians in Canada” (2014) 3 Aboriginal Pol’y Studies 37, DOI: https://doi.org/10.5663/aps.v3i3.22225 [Palmater, “Genocide, Indian Policy, and Legislated Elimination”]; Audra Simpson, “On Ethnographic Refusal: Indigeneity, ‘Voice’ and Colonial Citizenship” (2011) 9 Junctures: J for Thematic Dialogue 67; Kathleen Jamieson, Indian Women and the Law in Canada: Citizens Minus (Minister of Supply and Services Canada, 1978); Silman, supra note 16; Carlson, Goyette & Steinhauer, supra note 16; Harold Cardinal, The Unjust Society: the Tragedy of Canada’s Indians (MG Hurtig, 1969); George Manuel, The Fourth World: An Indian Reality (Collier-Macmillan Canada, 1974); McIvor, “Unmasked,” supra note 16.

20. George R, Proclamation, 7 October 1763 (3 Geo III), reprinted in RSC 1985, App II, No 1. See also John Borrows, “Wampum at Niagara: The Royal Proclamation, Canadian Legal History, and Self-Government” in Michael Asch, ed, Aboriginal and Treaty Rights in Canada: Essays on Law, Equality, and Respect for Difference (UBC Press, 2008) at 155, DOI: https://doi.org/10.59962/9780774853071-008; Jeremy Webber, “Relations of Force and Relations of Justice: The Emergence of Normative Community Between Colonists and Aboriginal Peoples” (1995) 33 Osgoode Hall LJ 623, DOI: https://doi.org/10.60082/2817-5069.1636.

21. See Constitution Act, 1867 (UK), 30 & 31 Vict, c 3, s 91, reprinted in RSC 1985, Appendix II, No 5.

22. Reserves are lands allotted to First Nations by the Crown; land is held in common and cannot be bought, sold, or mortgaged by individuals. Ordinarily, people without Indian status cannot live on reserve. Grammond, supra note 9 at 20.

23. See Jo-Anne Fiske, “Political Status of Native Indian Women: Contradictory Implications of Canadian State Policy” (1995) 19 Am Indian Culture & Research J 1 at 8, DOI: https://doi.org/10.17953/aicr.19.2.217215u557043668 [Fiske, “Political Status”].

24. See Bonita Lawrence, “Gender, Race, and the Regulation of Native Identity in Canada and the United States: An Overview” (2003) 18 Hypatia 3 at 6, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/hyp.2003.0031.

25. See Fiske, “Political Status,” supra note 23 at 7.

26. This literature is extensive. See e.g. Simpson, Mohawk, supra note 15; Kimberly TallBear, Native American DNA: Tribal Belonging and the False Promise of Genetic Science (University of Minnesota Press, 2013), DOI: https://doi.org/10.5749/minnesota/9780816665853.001.0001; Palmater, Beyond Blood, supra note 18; Innes, supra note 18.

27. See Grammond, supra note 9 at 78.

28. This literature is extensive. See generally Aaron Mills, “The Lifeworlds of Law: On Revitalizing Indigenous Legal Orders Today” (2016) 61 McGill LJ 847, DOI: https://doi.org/10.7202/1038490ar; Val Napoleon & Hadley Friedland, “An Inside Job: Engaging with Indigenous Legal Traditions through Stories Special Issue - Indigenous Law and Legal Pluralism” (2015) 61 McGill LJ 725, DOI: https://doi.org/10.7202/1038487ar; Sylvia McAdam (Saysewahum), Nationhood Interrupted: Revitalizing Nêhiyaw Legal Systems (UBC Press, 2019), DOI: https://doi.org/10.59962/9780774880312; Shiri Pasternak, Grounded Authority: The Algonquins of Barriere Lake Against the State (University of Minnesota Press, 2017).

29. For an overview of historical evolution of federal regulation of Indian identity, see Beverley Jacobs, “Gender Discrimination under the Indian Act: Bill C-31 and First Nations Women” in Gayle Michelle MacDonald, Rachel L Osborne & Charles C Smith, eds, Feminism, Law, Inclusion: Intersectionality in Action (Sumach Press, 2005) at 175.

30. See Lawrence, Nationhood, supra note 18 at 54.

31. Ibid at 55.

32. Palmater, “Genocide, Indian Policy, and Legislated Elimination,” supra note 19 at 40-44.

33. McIvor SC, supra note 3 at paras 127-28.

34. See An Act to Amend the Indian Act, SC 1985, c 27.

35. See Sally M Weaver, Making Canadian Indian Policy: The Hidden Agenda 1968-70 (University of Toronto Press, 1981) at 52-53, DOI: https://doi.org/10.3138/9781487584849.

36. Memorandum from BL Strayer, Director, Constitutional Review Section, Privy Council Office to PA Bisonnette, Under-Secretary of State for External Affairs, (10 April 1969), Ottawa, Library and Archives of Canada (RG 25, vol 14958, file 45-CDA-13-3-1, pt 2).

37. Supra note 19 at 1.

38. Indian Chiefs of Alberta, “Citizens Plus” (2011) 1 Aboriginal Pol’y Studies 188 at 192, DOI: https://doi.org/10.5663/aps.v1i2.11690.

39. Cautioning against extinguishment of treaties and the right to consultation formed the backbone of the Indian Association of Alberta’s position in Attorney General of Canada v Lavell. See 1973 CanLII 175 (SCC). See also Harold Cardinal, The Rebirth of Canada’s Indians (Hurtig, 1977) at 110.

40. For example, the National Indian Brotherhood’s model legislation for reforming the Indian Act stressed Indigenous control over band membership. See Descheneaux, supra note 4 (Evidence, Study Team of the Indian Association of Alberta, for the National Indian Brotherhood, “Report of Indian Act Study Team, presented to Minister Judd Buchanan” (31 October 1974)) [on file with author].

41. Donna Doss, “George Manuel Airs His Views On Non-Status Women” (1971) 3 The Indian Voice 7, cited in Patricia Miranda Barkaskas, The Indian Voice – Centering Women in the Gendered Politics of Indigenous Nationalism in BC, 1969-1984 (MA Thesis, University of British Columbia, 2009) [unpublished] at 21, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0067761.

42. See Descheneaux, supra note 4 (Evidence, JC de Montigny Marchand, Deputy Secretary to Cabinet, Privy Council Office, “Memorandum to the Prime Minister: Joint Committee of Cabinet and the National Indian Brotherhood” (3 January 1978) at 1933-34) [on file with author] [PCO to Prime Minister Memo, 3 January 1978].

43. See Descheneaux, supra note 4 (Evidence, Indian and Northern Affairs, “Discussion Paper: Indian Act Revision” (10 November 1978)) [on file with author].

44. See Cardinal, supra note 19 at 110-11, 140.

45. See Dale A Turner, This is Not a Peace Pipe: Towards a Critical Indigenous Philosophy (University of Toronto Press, 2006) at 27; Paul Tennant, Aboriginal Peoples and Politics: The Indian Land Question in British Columbia, 1849-1989 (UBC Press, 1990) at 163. Note that the National Indian Brotherhood changed its name to the Assembly of First Nations. For more on the twentieth-century Indigenous political landscape, see Emma Feltes & Glen Coulthard, “Introduction: The Constitution Express Revisited” (2022) 212 BC Studies 13; Sarah A Nickel, Assembling Unity: Indigenous Politics, Gender, and the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBC Press, 2019); Laurie Meijer Drees, The Indian Association of Alberta: A History of Political Action (UBC Press, 2002); Peter McFarlane, Brotherhood to Nationhood: George Manuel and the Making of the Modern Indian Movement (Between the Lines, 1993).

46. See Kathleen Jamieson, “Multiple Jeopardy: The Evolution of a Native Women’s Movement” (1979) 2 Atlantis: Critical Studies in Gender, Culture & Soc Justice 157.

47. See Carlson, Goyette & Steinhauer, supra note 16 at 63-69.

48. The decision in Attorney General of Canada v Lavell radically impacted this landscape, but a full discussion of its implications is beyond the scope of this article. See generally supra note 39.

49. Descheneaux, supra note 4 (Evidence, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, “Memorandum to Cabinet: Indian Act Revision” (15 March 1979) at 6) [on file with author].

50. See Descheneaux, supra note 4 (Evidence, Joint Sub-Committee of Cabinet and National Indian Brotherhood on Indian Rights and Claims, “Extract from Minutes” (31 October 1977)) [on file with author]; PCO to Prime Minister Memo, 3 January 1978, supra note 42.

51. See PCO to Prime Minister, 3 January 1978, supra note 42.

52. See Report of the Human Rights Committee, HRC, 36th Sess, UN Doc A/36/40 (1977) at 166-75. See generally Carlson, Goyette & Steinhauer, supra note 16; Silman, supra note 16.

53. See Descheneaux, supra note 4 (Evidence, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, “Public Report: The Elimination of Sex Discrimination in the Indian Act” (1 August 1982) at 1) [on file with author]; Sally M Weaver, “First Nations Women and Government Policy, 1970-1992: Discrimination and Conflict” in Sandra D Burt, Lorraine Code & Lindsay Dorney, eds, Changing Patterns: Women in Canada, 2nd ed (McClelland & Stewart, 1993) 92 at 106-107.

54. Letter from FEK Chandler, Acting Director, UN Social and Humanitarian Affairs Division to Secretary of State for External Affairs (5 October 1981), Ottawa, Library and Archives Canada (RG 25-A-3-C, vol 15919, file 45-13-4-6, pt 3) at 2.

55. See Roy Romanow, “Aboriginal Rights in the Constitutional Process” in Menno Boldt, J Anthony Long & Leroy Little Bear, eds, The Quest for Justice: Aboriginal Peoples and Aboriginal Rights (University of Toronto Press, 1985) at 73, DOI: https://doi.org/10.3138/9781442657762-012.

56. For examples on the Indigenous side, see National Indian Brotherhood, Structure of Framework Legislation (16 November 1983), Toronto, York University, Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections, Michael Posluns Fonds, (1989-020/009, File 07); House of Commons, Indian Self Government in Canada: Report of the Special Committee on Indian Self Government (12 October 1983) at 54-56 (Chair: Keith Penner).

57. House of Commons, Standing Committee on Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Subcommittee on Indian Women and the Indian Act, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, 32-1, No 1 (9 September 1982) at 2:49 (Jane Gottfriedson) [Indian Women and the Indian Act Minutes (9 September 1982)].

58. See e.g. House of Commons, Standing Committee on Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Subcommittee on Indian Women and the Indian Act, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, 32-1, No 3 (10 September 1982) at 3:37 (Donna Tyndell, United Native Nations), 3:49 (Viola Robinson, Native Council of Nova Scotia).

59. Ibid at 3:73 (Clem Chartier).

60. See House of Commons, Standing Committee on Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Subcommittee on Indian Women and the Indian Act, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, 32-1, No 5 (14 September 1982) at 5:97 (Chief R K Miskokomon, Grand Council Chief, Anishinabek Nation).

61. Indian Women and the Indian Act Minutes (9 September 1982), supra note 57 at 2:54 (Jane Gottfriedson).

62. House of Commons, Standing Committee on Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Subcommittee on Indian Women and the Indian Act, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, 32-1, No 1 (8 September 1982) at 1:110 (Marlyn Kane). The Indian Homemakers’ Association of British Columbia also criticized the government’s willingness to pass decision-making power, and injustice, onto band councils. See House of Commons, Standing Committee on Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Subcommittee on Indian Women and the Indian Act, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, 32-1, No 4 (13 September 1982) at 4:59 (Rose Charlie).

63. See Descheneaux, supra note 4 (Evidence, Cabinet Committee on Priorities and Planning, “Minutes” (6 March 1984) at 38) [on file with author].

64. Descheneaux, supra note 4 (Evidence, John C Munro, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, “Addendum to Memorandum to Cabinet: Amendments to Eliminate Discrimination Based on Sex from the Indian Act and Proposals for the Reinstatement of Individuals who Lost Status and Band Membership due to Discriminatory Sections of the Indian Act” (10 May 1984) at 7) [on file with author] [MIAND, Memorandum: Addendum to Indian Act Proposals, 10 May 1984].

65. See Descheneaux, supra note 4 (Evidence, Cabinet Committee on Priorities and Planning, “Minutes” (15 May 1984) at 29-31) [on file with author].

66. Ibid at 22.

67. Ibid.

68. Ibid at 23. The National Indian Brotherhood changed its name to the Assembly of First Nations.

69. Ibid at 24-26.

70. Ibid at 26.

71. See Descheneaux, supra note 4 (Evidence, Paul M Tellier, Indian and Northern Affairs, “Memorandum: Speaking Notes for Minister - Removal of Discriminatory Aspects of the Indian Act” (8 October 1981) at 1) [Tellier, Speaking Notes, 8 October 1981] [on file with author].

72. Descheneaux, supra note 4 (Evidence, John C Munro, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, “Discussion Paper for Cabinet: Amendments to Remove the Discriminatory Section of the Indian Act” (2 October 1981) at 45) [on file with author].

73. Ibid at 43.

74. Ibid at 39.

75. Ibid at 29.

76. Ibid at 31.

77. Tellier, Speaking Notes, 8 October 1981, supra note 71 at 3.

78. National Action Committee Meeting with Pierre Trudeau, Leader of the Liberal Party, during the Election Campaign of 1980 - Transcript (Kay Macpherson, 12 February 1980), Ottawa, University of Ottawa Archives, Special Collections Canadian Women’s Movement Archives Fonds (X10-1, Series 1, Box 65) at 2 [NACSW-Trudeau Meeting].

79. Ibid at 3.

80. See Bill C-47, An Act to Amend the Indian Act, 2nd Sess, 32nd Parl, 1984.

81. I use the odious terms “half-blood” and “quarter-blood” as they were the terms used by those inside and outside government in discussing these reforms.

82. See “Bill C-47, An Act to amend the Indian Act,” 3rd reading, House of Commons Debates, 32-2, vol 4 (29 June 1984) at 5327-41.

83. See Canada, Cabinet, Revised Cabinet Minutes, CBM-1985-001-85 (Privy Council Office, 17 January 1985) [on file with author] [Cabinet Minutes, 17 January 1985].

84. Ibid at 67; Canada, Cabinet Committee on Priorities and Planning, Minutes, CMPP-1984-710-84 (Privy Council Office, 4 December 1984) at Annex 6 [on file with author].

85. See Donald Savoie, The Politics of Public Spending in Canada (University of Toronto Press, 1990) at 132, DOI: https://doi.org/10.3138/9781487580117.

86. See Cabinet Minutes, 17 January 1985, supra note 83 at 111.

87. See Linda Hossie, “Crombie Facing Conflict over Indian Issues,” The Globe and Mail (17 December 1984) M2.

88. Canada, Cabinet Committee on Priorities and Planning, Minutes, CMPP-1984-711-84 (Privy Council Office, 13 December 1984) at 13 [on file with author] [Cabinet Minutes, 13 December 1984].

89. Ibid at 23.

90. Ibid at 4.

91. I refer to first- and second-class status to aid reader comprehension. In the draft legislation, these categories of status were described by the sections of the Indian Act, where first-class corresponds to s 6(1) and second-class corresponds to s 6(2).

92. See Descheneaux, supra note 4 (Evidence, David Crombie, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, “Memorandum to Cabinet: Removal of Discrimination from the Indian Act” (24 January 1985) at 3) [on file with author] [Crombie, Cabinet Memo, Indian Act, 24 January 1985].

93. See DN Sprague, “The New Math of the New Indian Act 6(2) + 6(2) = 6(1)” (1995) 10 Native Studies Rev 47.

94. See Descheneaux, supra note 4 (Evidence, Assembly of First Nations, “Resolution 2: Resolution to Remove Discrimination against Indian People by Indian Act” (17 May 1984)) [on file with author]; Descheneaux, supra note 4 (Evidence, Assembly of First Nations & Native Women’s Association of Canada, “Statement on Bill C-47” (1 June 1984)) [on file with author].

95. Cabinet Minutes, 13 December 1984, supra note 88 at 5.

96. See Descheneaux, supra note 4 (Evidence, James Lahey, Director, Policy Planning and Development to David Crombie, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, “Memorandum to Minister: Removal of Discrimination from the Indian Act, Briefing in preparation for Cabinet Committee on Social Development” (30 January 1985) at 2) [on file with author] [Lahey, Briefing for Minister, 30 January 1985].

97. See Crombie, Cabinet Memo, Indian Act, 24 January 1985, supra note 92 at para 47.

98. See Descheneaux, supra note 4 (Evidence, FR Drummie, Associate Deputy Minister, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, “Memorandum for the Minister: Removing Discrimination from the Indian Act” (11 January 1985)) at 2 [on file with author] [INAC, Memorandum Re Indian Act, 11 January 1985].

99. Ibid.

100. Ibid at 3.

101. Canada, Cabinet Committee on Priorities and Planning, Minutes, 1985-6B-85CMPP (Privy Council Office, 7 February 1985) at 13 [on file with author] [Cabinet Minutes, 7 February 1985].

102. INAC, Memorandum Re Indian Act, 11 January 1985, supra note 98 at 6.

103. See “Bill C-31, An Act to amend the Indian Act,” 2nd reading, House of Commons Debates, 33-1, No 2 (1 March 1985) at 2644 (Hon David Crombie).

104. House of Commons, Standing Committee on Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, 33-1, No 12 (7 March 1985) at 12:8 (Hon David Crombie) [SCIAND, MPE, 7 March 1985].

105. “Bill C-31, An Act to amend the Indian Act,” 3rd reading, House of Commons Debates, 33-1, No 4 (12 June 1985) at 5686 (Hon David Crombie).

106. “Bill C-31, An Act to amend the Indian Act,” 2nd reading, House of Commons Debates, 33-1, No 4 (10 June 1985) at 5565 (Keith Penner).

107. House of Commons, Standing Committee on Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, 33-1, No 17 (18 March 1985) at 17:21-22 (Eric Robinson).

108. “Bill C-31, An Act to amend the Indian Act,” 2nd reading, House of Commons Debates, 33-1, No 4 (11 June 1985) at 5619 (Sheila Finestone) [House of Commons Debates, 11 June 1985].

109. House of Commons, Standing Committee on Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, 33-1, No 14 (13 March 1985) at 14:24 (Sheila Finestone & Hon David Crombie) [SCIAND, MPE, 13 March 1985].

110. “Bill C-31, An Act to amend the Indian Act,” 2nd reading, Senate Debates, 33-1 (17 June 1985) at 1044 (Hon Joyce Fairbairn) [Senate Debates, 17 June 1985]; ibid at 1046 (Hon Leonard Marchand).

111. House of Commons, Standing Committee on Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, 33-1, No 34 (23 April 1985) at 34:37 (Keith Penner) [SCIAND, MPE, 23 April 1985]; ibid (Hon David Crombie).

112. Ibid at 34:52-3 (Jim Manly).

113. Descheneaux, supra note 4 (Evidence, Theresa Nahanee, Legislative Assistant, Office of the Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs, Note to Minister of Indian Affairs (12 February 1985) at 2) [on file with author] [Nahanee, Briefing for Minister, 12 February 1985] .

114. House of Commons, Standing Committee on Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, 33-1, No 21 (20 March 1985) at 21:23 (Gordon Peters, Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians) [SCIAND, MPE, 20 March 1985].

115. Ibid at 21:7 (Regena Crowchild).

116. Ibid at 21:9 (Mary Lightning).

117. House of Commons, Standing Committee on Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, 33-1, No 24 (26 March 1985) at 24:25 (Gail Stacey-Moore, Native Women’s Association of Quebec) [SCIAND, MPE, 26 March 1985].

118. See e.g. House of Commons, Standing Committee on Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, 33-1, No 13 (12 March 1985) at 13:20 (George Watts, Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council) [SCIAND, MPE, 12 March 1985].

119. SCIAND, MPE, 26 March 1985, supra note 117 at 24:92 (Ardith Cooper).

120. Ibid at 24:43 (Charlotte Bush).

121. House of Commons, Standing Committee on Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, 33-1, No 19 (19 March 1985) at 19:30 (Doris Ronnenberg, Native Council of Canada - Alberta).

122. Ibid at 19:18 (Ron George).

123. House of Commons, Standing Committee on Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, 33-1, No 28 (28 March 1985) at 28:56 (Marlyn Kane).

124. See Cabinet Minutes, 7 February 1985, supra note 101 at 13.

125. See SCIAND, MPE, 13 March 1985, supra note 109 at 14:25 (Hon David Crombie).

126. Ibid.

127. See SCIAND, MPE, 23 April 1985, supra note 111 at 34:47 (Jim Manly).

128. Descheneaux, supra note 4 (Evidence, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Briefing Note on Bill C-31 (6 June 1985) at 23) [on file with author] [Briefing Note on Amendments].

129. Ibid at 2.

130. Descheneaux, supra note 4 (Evidence, Hon David Crombie’s Annex B to Addendum to Memorandum to Cabinet (1 May 1985) at 17) [on file with author].

131. See SCIAND, MPE, 23 April 1985, supra note 111 at 34:49 (Stan Schellenberger); ibid at 34:49 (Warren Allmand).

132. Crombie, Cabinet Memo, Indian Act, 24 January 1985, supra note 92 at para 46.

133. Nahanee, Briefing for Minister, 12 February 1985, supra note 113 at 3.

134. See Lahey, Briefing for Minister, 30 January 1985, supra note 96 at 2.

135. Ibid at 8.

136. Crombie, Cabinet Memo, Indian Act, 24 January 1985, supra note 92 at para 34.

137. INAC, Memorandum Re Indian Act, 11 January 1985, supra note 98 at 2.

138. Ibid at 3.

139. Ibid.

140. Cabinet Minutes, 7 February 1985, supra note 101 at 14.

141. See House of Commons, Standing Committee on Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, 33-1, No 31 (17 April 1985) at 31:10 (Jim Manly) [SCIAND, MPE, 17 April 1985]; ibid (Hon David Crombie); SCIAND, MPE, 23 April 1985, supra note 111 at 34:11 (Warren Allmand).

142. Briefing Note on Amendments, supra note 128 at 53-54.

143. SCIAND, MPE, 7 March 1985, supra note 104 at 12:9-10 (Hon David Crombie).

144. Ibid at 12:16 (Hon David Crombie).

145. Senate Debates, 17 June 1985, supra note 110 at 1045 (Hon Joyce Fairbairn).

146. Ibid at 2130 (Hon Leonard Marchand).

147. See SCIAND, MPE, 12 March 1985, supra note 118 at 13:34 (Bill Traverse).

148. House of Commons, Standing Committee on Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, 33-1, No 16 (14 March 1985) at 16:56 (Caroline Ennis, Women of the Tobique Reserve).

149. SCIAND, MPE, 13 March 1985, supra note 109 at 14:14 (Jim Manly).

150. Ibid at 14:15 (Hon David Crombie).

151. SCIAND, MPE, 17 April 1985, supra note 141 at 31:12 (Hon David Crombie).

152. Ibid.

153. Ibid at 31:13.

154. See Crombie, Cabinet Memo, Indian Act, 24 January 1985, supra note 92 at para 34.

155. Senate, Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Second and Third Proceedings on: The Examination of Bill C-31, “An Act to Amend the Indian Act,” 33-1, No 17 (20 June 1985) at 17:7-8 (Hon David Crombie).

156. See Senate, Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, First Proceedings on: The Examination of Bill C-31, “An Act to Amend the Indian Act,” 33-1, No 16 (18 June 1985) at 16:8 (James Lahey).

157. See Crombie, Cabinet Memo, Indian Act, 24 January 1985, supra note 92 at para 41.

158. SCIAND, MPE, 26 March 1985, supra note 117 at 25:10, 15 (David Brown, Treaty Eight Group).

159. House of Commons, Standing Committee on Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, 33-1, No 35 (25 April 1985) at 36:17-24; House of Commons, Standing Committee on Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, 33-1, No 36 (26 April 1985) at 36:50-68; Canada, Cabinet, Minutes (Privy Council Office, 9 May 1985) CBM 1985 009-85 at 6-12 [Cabinet Minutes, 9 May 1985] [on file with author].

160. See House of Commons, Standing Committee on Indian Affairs and Northern Development, First Report, 33-1, No 37 (30 April 1985) at 37:7-8.

161. See Briefing Note on Amendments, supra note 128 at 11-13, 40-42, 50.

162. House of Commons, Standing Committee on Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, 33-1, No 37 (30 April 1985) at 37:39 (Jack Shields).

163. Ibid at 37:23, 37:28 (Jack Shields).

164. See House of Commons Debates, 11 June 1985, supra note 108 at 5652 (Hon David Crombie).

165. Ibid at 5652 (Keith Penner), 5652 (Jim Manly).

166. Prodding towards self-sufficiency was not a new policy, however. See Shiri Pasternak, “The Fiscal Body of Sovereignty: To ‘Make Live’ in Indian Country” (2016) 6 Settler Colonial Studies 317 at 324-27, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/2201473X.2015.1090525.

167. House of Commons, Standing Committee on Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, 33-1, No 35 (24 April 1985) at 35:18 (Jack Shields).

168. Cabinet Minutes, 9 May 1985, supra note 159 at 7 [translated by author].

169. Cabinet Minutes, 13 December 1984, supra note 88 at 24.

170. Sally M Weaver, “Indian Policy in the New Conservative Government, Part I: The Nielsen Task Force of 1985” (1985) 2 Native Studies Rev 1 at 14.

171. Minister of Supply and Services Canada, Improved Program Delivery: Indian and Native Programs. A Study Team Report to the Task Force on Program Review, April 1985, Catalogue No CP32-50/12-1985E (MSSC, April 1986) at 22 [Nielsen Task Force Report].

172. See Weaver, supra note 170 at 12.

173. See Nielsen Task Force Report, supra note 171 at 35.

174. Ibid at 25-83.

175. Weaver, supra note 170 at 17.

176. “Fired Civil Servant Won’t Be Prosecuted: Ottawa Declines to Pursue Man Accused of Leaking Cabinet Paper,” The Gazette (7 September 1985) A7.

177. See “Prosecution Over Leak Unnecessary, MP Says,” The Globe and Mail (30 July 1985) 5. Price’s lawyer, Thomas Berger, a former judge of the British Columbia supreme court and stalwart defender of Indigenous peoples, claimed that Price was the victim of selective prosecution and Tory abuse of power. The charges were eventually dropped. Ian Mulgrew, “Tory Prosecution Unfair, Berger Submission Says,” The Globe and Mail (20 August 1985) 1.

178. Kirk Lapointe, “Drastic Cuts Proposed in Native Programs,” The Globe and Mail (18 April 1985) 1.

179. See Canada, Cabinet Committee on Priorities and Planning, Minutes, CMPP-1985-015-85 (Privy Council Office, 18 April 1985) at 4 [on file with author] [Cabinet Minutes, 18 April 1985].

180. Lapointe, supra note 178.

181. Cabinet Minutes, 18 April 1985, supra note 179 at 4.

182. Richard Price, “NSR Comment” (1986) 2 Native Studies Rev 65 at 71.

183. David C Hawkes, Negotiating Aboriginal Self-Government: Developments Surrounding the 1985 First Ministers’ Conference (Institute of Intergovernmental Relations, 1985) at 20.

184. See Jeff Sallott, “Mulroney Says Native Programs Will Not Be Cut,” The Globe and Mail (19 April 1985) 1.

185. See House of Commons Debates, 33-1, vol 3 (8 May 1985) at 4521 (Jim Fulton).

186. See Weaver, supra note 170 at 23.

187. See Linda McQuaig, “NDP Says Cabinet Ministers Backed Native Spending Cuts,” The Globe and Mail (8 May 1985) 5.

188. A buffalo jump was a technique used by Indigenous people to hunt buffalo by herding them and then driving them off the side of a cliff. See Stephen Bindman, “Natives May Lose Funding, Secret Cabinet Report Urges $311-Million Cut,” Ottawa Citizen (8 May 1985) A20.

189. House of Commons Debates, 33-1, vol 4 (12 June 1985) at 5692 (Jim Manly).

190. Ibid.

191. See the text accompanying note 143.

192. Ibid.

193. Senate Debates, 33-1, vol 1 (17 June 1985) at 1044 (Hon Joyce Fairbairn).

194. See House of Commons Debates, 33-1, vol 3 (7 May 1985) at 4476 (Rt Hon Brian Mulroney); House of Commons Debates, 33-1, vol 3 (10 May 1985) at 4607 (Rt Hon Brian Mulroney).

195. See House of Commons Debates, 33-1, vol 3 (8 May 1985) at 4521 (Hon Erik Nielsen).

196. See House of Commons Debates, 33-1, vol 3 (7 May 1985) at 4476 (Hon David Crombie).

197. See House of Commons Debates, 33-1, vol 3 (10 May 1985) at 4615-43.

198. To compare the views on self-governance, see text accompanying note 183 (for Mulroney) and text accompanying note 95 (for Crombie).

199. See Sally M Weaver, “Indian Policy in the New Conservative Government, Part II: The Nielsen Task Force in the Context of Recent Policy Initiatives” (1986) 2 Native Studies Rev 1 at 17-19 [Weaver, “Part II”].

200. See Weaver, supra note 170 at 30.

201. Ibid at 27.

202. Cabinet Minutes, 18 April 1985, supra note 179 at 5.

203. See Canada, Cabinet Committee on Priorities and Planning, Minutes, CMPP-1985-017-85 (Privy Council Office, 23 April 1985) at 30 [on file with author].

204. See Weaver, “Part II,” supra note 199 at 11-12.

205. See “Across Canada Indians Fear Effects of Law,” The Globe and Mail (9 July 1985) P4.

206. See Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Re-assessing the Population Impacts of Bill C-31, by Stewart Clatworthy, Catalogue No R2-363/2004E-PDF (INAC, 26 February 2001) at viii.

207. Ibid at 18.

208. Ibid at 38.

209. Ibid at 42.

210. Stewart Clatworthy, “Impacts of 1985 Amendments to the Indian Act on First Nations Populations” in Jerry P White, Paul S Maxim & Dan Beavon, eds, Aboriginal Conditions: Research as a Foundation for Public Policy (UBC Press, 2003) 63 at 88, DOI: https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.59962/9780774851794-006/html.

211. See Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Registered Indian Demography: Population, Household and Family Projections, 2004–2029, Catalogue No R2-457/2007E-PDF (INAC, 2007), online (pdf): publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2008/inac-ainc/R2-457-2007E.pdf [perma.cc/J92K-Q7TY].

212. For contrast, the Canadian population growth rate over the same period was projected to decline from 0.8 per cent to 0.6 per cent. See ibid.

213. See Canada, Parliamentary Information and Research Service, Bill C-3: Gender Equity in Indian Registration Act, by Mary C Hurley & Tonina Simeone, Publication No 40-3-C3-E (Library of Parliament, 15 November 2010) at 5, online (pdf): publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2010/bdp-lop/ls/403-c3-1-eng.pdf [perma.cc/5TAL-MKVX].

214. See Statistics Canada, Aboriginal Peoples in Canada: Key Results from the 2016 Census, Catalogue No 11-001-X (SC, 25 October 2017) at 3, online (pdf): www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/daily-quotidien/171025/dq171025a-eng.pdf?st=UMxVQNJ- [perma.cc/J75E-KB62] [Statistics Canada, 2017].

215. See Statistics Canada, Indigenous Population Continues to Grow and is Much Younger than the Non-Indigenous Population, Although the Pace of Growth Has Slowed, Catalogue No 11-001-X (SC, 21 September 2022) at 7, online (pdf): www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/daily-quotidien/220921/dq220921a-eng.pdf?st=Lv40u7Jg [perma.cc/34LN-HZMB].

216. See Statistics Canada, 2017, supra note 214 at 1.

217. See Canada, Parliamentary Information and Research Service, Bill S-3: An Act to Amend the Indian Act in Response to the Superior Court of Quebec Decision in Descheneaux c Canada (Procureur général), by Norah Kielland & Marlisa Tiedemann, Publication No 42-1-S3-E (Library of Parliament, 12 March 2018) at 6, online: lop.parl.ca/staticfiles/PublicWebsite/Home/ResearchPublications/LegislativeSummaries/PDF/42-1/s3-e.pdf [perma.cc/EQH9-PH5E] [Bill S-3].

218. See Indigenous Services Canada, The Final Report to Parliament on the Review of S-3: December 2020 (ISC, 2020), online: sac-isc.gc.ca/eng/1608831631597/1608832913476 [perma.cc/A7KZ-VKVE] [ISC, Final Report].

219. See Green, supra note 18 at 113.

220. For an empirical study of the immediate aftermath of Bill C-31 and the barriers experienced by returnees, see Lilianne Ernestine Krosenbrink-Gelissen, Sexual Equality as an Aboriginal Right: The Native Women’s Association of Canada and the Constitutional Process on Aboriginal Matters, 1982-1987 (Verlag Breitenbach, 1991) at 195-208.

221. See John Borrows, “Contemporary Traditional Equality: The Effect of the Charter on First Nations Politics” in David Schneiderman & Kate Sutherland, eds, Charting the Consequences: The Impact of Charter Rights on Canadian Law and Politics (University of Toronto Press, 1997) 169 at 177, DOI: https://doi.org/10.3138/9781487583422-008.

222. See McIvor, “Unmasked,” supra note 16; Green, supra note 18.

223. Statistics Canada, Census in Brief: Housing Conditions Among First Nations People, Métis and Inuit in Canada from the 2021 Census, Catalogue No 98-200-X (SC, 21 September 2022) at 4, online: www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/as-sa/98-200-x/2021007/98-200-x2021007-eng.pdf [perma.cc/A26U-ESQ2]. In 2024, the Auditor General of Canada stated, “This is the fourth time since 2003 that we have raised concerns about housing in First Nations communities, and—20 years later—many of these concerns persist.” Auditor General of Canada, Housing in First Nations Communities, Report 2, FA1-27/2024-1-2E-PDF (AG, 2024).

224. See McIvor SC, supra note 3; Descheneaux, supra note 4; Gehl v Canada (Attorney General), 2017 ONCA 319; Landry c Procureur général du Canada (Registraire du registre des Indiens), 2017 QCCS 433; Hele c Attorney General of Canada, 2020 QCCS 2406.

225. See Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Articles of Agreement, Contract No 20-06-6006/6 (DIAND, 1 September 2006) at 20, 29 [on file with author].

226. Bill C-3, An Act to promote gender equity in Indian registration by responding to the Court of Appeal for British Columbia decision in McIvor v Canada (Registrar of Indian and Northern Affairs), 3rd Sess, 40th Parl, 2010 (assented to 15 December 2010), SC 2010, c 18.

227. See Bill S-3, supra note 217 at 3.

228. See Indigenous Services Canada, “The Exploratory Process on Indian Registration, Band Membership and Citizenship: Highlights of Findings and Recommendations” (last modified 5 December 2018), online: www.sac-isc.gc.ca/eng/1358354906496/1565361390714 [perma.cc/576Y-RHNW].

229. See Descheneaux, supra note 4.

230. See Procureure générale du Canada c Descheneaux, 2017 QCCA 1238 at paras 18-19, 22-23.

231. See Indigenous Services Canada, “Bill S-3: Eliminating Known Sex-Based Inequities in Registration” (last modified 13 September 2022), online: www.sac-isc.gc.ca/eng/1467214955663/1572460311596 [perma.cc/JW72-KK9T].

232. Ibid.

233. See Bill C-38, An Act to amend the Indian Act (new registration entitlements), 1st Sess, 44th Parl, 2022 (first reading 14 December 2022).

234. In January 2022, Canada entered into an abeyance agreement regarding this Charter challenge. See Indigenous Services Canada, “First Nations Families and Canada Agree to Put Litigation on Hold While Working to End the Legacy of ‘Enfranchisement’ Under the Indian Act” (last modified 3 March 2022), online: www.canada.ca/en/indigenous-services-canada/news/2022/03/first-nations-families-and-canada-agree-to-put-litigation-on-hold-while-working-to-endvthe-legacy-of-enfranchisement-under-the-indian-act.html [perma.cc/SRX5-YZ55].

235. See Canada, Parliamentary Information Education and Research Services, Bill C-38: An Act to Amend the Indian Act (New Registration Entitlements), by Marlisa Tiedemann, Publication No 44-1-C38-E (Library of Parliament, 29 March 2023) at 1, online (pdf): lop.parl.ca/staticfiles/PublicWebsite/Home/ResearchPublications/LegislativeSummaries/PDF/44-1/44-1-C38-E.pdf [perma.cc/DPV7-YU2B].

236. See “Bill C-38, An Act to amend the Indian Act (new registration entitlements),” 2nd reading, House of Commons Debates, 44-1, No 294 (22 March 2024) at 21911.

237. See Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, Annex A: Minister’s Special Representative final report on the collaborative process on Indian registration, band membership and First Nation citizenship, by Claudette Dumont-Smith (CIRNAC, May 2019), online: www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1561561140999/1568902073183 [perma.cc/7TYJ-GU66].

238. See ISC, Final Report, supra note 218.

239. See Senate, Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples, Make it stop! Ending the remaining discrimination in Indian registration (June 2022) (Chair: Hon Brian Francis) at 6-7.

240. See Views adopted by the Committee under article 5(4) of the Optional Protocol, concerning communication No. 2020/2010, HRC, 142th Sess, UN Doc CCPR/C/124/D/2020/2010 (2019) at para 8; Views adopted by the Committee under article 7(3) of the Optional Protocol, concerning communication No. 68/2014, CEDAW, 81st Sess, UN Doc CEDAW/C/81/D/68/2014 (2022) at para 18.10.

241. For an overview of the minorities within minorities problem, see Avigail Eisenberg & Jeff Spinner-Halev, eds, Minorities within Minorities: Equality, Rights and Diversity (Cambridge University Press, 2005), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511490224.

242. For more on feminist theory in this context, see Monique Deveaux, Gender and Justice in Multicultural Liberal States (Oxford University Press, 2006) at 127-55, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199289790.001.0001.

243. Alfred H Kelly, “Clio and the Court: An Illicit Love Affair” (1965) SCLR 119 at 126, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/scr.1965.3108786.

244. See Laura Kalman, The Strange Career of Legal Liberalism (Yale University Press, 1996). But see Matthew J Festa, “Applying a Usable Past: The Use of History in Law” (2008) 38 Seton Hall L Rev 479.

245. Local Knowledge: Further Essays in Interpretive Anthropology (Basic Books, 1983) at 173.

246. Jeremy Webber, The Constitution of Canada: A Contextual Analysis (Hart, 2015) at 187.

247. Note that the s 1 analysis does not provide the government with a trump card. Some claims for deference are disallowed; notably, the government cannot justify a Charter breach by arguing that it was simply too expensive to respect Charter rights. See Schachter v Canada, 1992 CanLII 74 at 709 (SCC); Reference re Remuneration of Judges of the Provincial Court of Prince Edward Island, 1997 CanLII 317 at para 283 (SCC).

248. McIvor CA, 2009, supra note 4 (Factum, Appellant at paras 84, 93).

249. McIvor SC, 2007, supra note 3 at para 298 [emphasis added].

250. For other instances of this form of critique, see Gwen Brodsky et al, “Gosselin v Québec (Attorney General)” (2006) 18 CJWL 189; Reem Bahdi, “Narrating Dignity: Islamophobia, Racial Profiling, and National Security Before the Supreme Court of Canada” (2018) 55 Osgoode Hall LJ 557, DOI: https://doi.org/10.60082/2817-5069.3293.

251. Reinhart Koselleck, The Practice of Conceptual History: Timing History, Spacing Concepts, translated by Todd Samuel Presner (Stanford University Press, 2002) at 14, DOI: https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781503619104/html.

252. See Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism (Verso, 1991); Constantin Fasolt, “The Limits Of History In Brief” (2005) 6 Historically Speaking 5, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/hsp.2005.0048.

253. See Renisa Mawani, “Law’s Archive” (2012) 8 Annual Rev L & Soc Science 337 at 351-58, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-102811-173900.

254. See Christopher Tomlins, “‘Be Operational, or Disappear’: Thoughts on a Present Discontent” (2016) 12 Annual Rev Law & Soc Science 1 at 18-20, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-021116-043949.

255. Shoshana Felman, The Juridical Unconscious: Trials and Traumas in the Twentieth Century (Harvard University Press, 2002) at 30 [emphasis in original].

256. Ibid at 31.

257. See Annelise Riles, “A New Agenda for the Cultural Study of Law: Taking on the Technicalities” (2005) 53 Buff L Rev 973, DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.558605.

258. See Costas Douzinas, “Theses on Law, History and Time” (2006) 7 Melbourne J Intl L 13.