Indian Act changes tabled in House

The federal government tabled legislation Thursday that could see more than 45,000 Canadians recognized as status Indians under changes to the Indian Act.

The changes come after Ottawa lost a court challenge addressing the different ways that men and women are treated when it comes to Indian status under the Indian Act.

In 1985, Ottawa changed the rules for women who married non-natives. They would retain their status, as would their children, but not their grandchildren.

The rules are different, however, for Indian men. A man who married a non-native can pass status to two generations.

Last year's court decision has prompted the government to extend Indian status for one more generation. This means grandchildren of such a union will now have native status, but not great-grandchildren.

The financial impact of the move is not yet known, Minister of Indian Affairs Chuck Strahl told reporters outside the House of Commons Thursday.

"If every single person that was eligible applied, you might end up with a change in the Indian status membership of about eight percent in the country," he said.

However, many of the people that might apply would not necessarily want to move to a reserve, Strahl added.

"A lot of these people are urban aboriginal people who have made a life off reserve and so because of that it's almost impossible to guess and it would be a complete guess as to the financial impacts."

The government is also in talks with national aboriginal organizations about other issues that came up during the consultation period but are outside the scope of the bill, including membership on reserves, voting privileges and Indian citizenship, Strahl said.