Just wanted to advise my readers of a correction to my Jan. 2 post “Colonialism, the Mayan prophecy, and why #IdleNoMore is such a huge deal.”
Bill C-45 Indian Act changes
It was my understanding at the time that I composed the original post, that the changes to the Indian Act within Bill C-45 applied to the absolute surrender of reserve lands along with their “designation,” which typically amounts to a lease or conditional surrender. I was mistaken. The relevant sections of the Indian Act – 37, 39 and 40 – have been amended to facilitate designation, but not absolute surrender. The rules governing absolute surrender have not been substantially changed under this particular piece of legislation.
Clarification on Bill S-8: Safe Drinking Water for First Nations
Originally I wrote that this bill, first tabled by the Senate last year, would cause the federal government to cut off its funding for water infrastructure on First Nations reserves. What I meant was, the federal government would impose requirements for infrastructural upgrades on First Nations reserves, but would not provide sufficient funding to assist First Nations councils and governments to meet those requirements. An amended version of this bill will likely emerge soon, perhaps in the spring of 2013; whether it will include additional funding for infrastructural upgrades remains to be seen.
The original blog post has been updated with alterations to the points mentioned above.
Here's the thing... 