As Canada’s National Human Rights Institution, the Commission helps promote the human rights of Indigenous Peoples. We work to address systemic discrimination and improve access to justice. We also engage with Indigenous rights-holders and advocate alongside them.
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Advancing Indigenous rights is part of the Commission’s ongoing work. We advocate for Indigenous rights in Canada, take part in public interest litigation to address systemic discrimination, and work to improve equity and access to justice.
We advocate for human rights in Canada. We speak out, raise awareness, and advocate for Indigenous rights in Canada by:
We prevent discrimination. We use research, engagement, and lived experience to help inform policy changes that can prevent discrimination across Canadian institutions. We also help resolve discrimination disputes through mediation and litigation. These cases can lead to changes in policies and programs that impact the lives of many people in Canada. We do this by:
We resolve human rights complaints. In accordance with the Canadian Human Rights Act, we receive and screen complaints from people who believe they have experienced discrimination or harassment.
The Commission helps resolve human rights cases through mediation, settlement and litigation. Some cases can also help address systemic discrimination across Canada. The examples below show Indigenous rights cases where the Commission took part to represent the public interest.
This historic human rights case exposed Canada’s discriminatory underfunding of child and family services for First Nations. After a complaint filed by Cindy Blackstock and the Assembly of First Nations in 2007, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruled in its 2016 landmark ruling that the federal government’s underfunding of child welfare services for First Nations children on reserve was discriminatory. The Canadian Human Rights Commission welcomed the decision, having led litigation on the case and pursuing the issue on behalf of the public interest for nearly a decade. In June 2019, a new law formally recognized that First Nations, Inuit and Métis governments have a right to control their own child and family services. In 2023, the Commission welcomed the Federal Court’s approval of a settlement related to the case. While concerns remain about implementation resources, we see this case as a positive step towards improving life and achieving equality for this and future generations of First Nations children and their families.
In this case, Mr. Jeffrey Ewert alleged that the tests used by Correctional Service Canada to assess and predict offender risk may not produce relevant and valid results for Indigenous offenders. In its 2018 decision (Ewert v. Canada, 2018 SCC 30), the Supreme Court of Canada agreed, finding that Correctional Service Canada (CSC) failed to meet its legal obligations by not confirming the accuracy of the testing tools. The Court recognized that inaccurate assessments could unfairly classify Indigenous prisoners as higher risk, leading to discriminatory outcomes. The Canadian Human Rights Commission intervened in the case, and the ruling reinforced the need for CSC to ensure its practices are fair and responsive to the unique circumstances of Indigenous offenders.
In their human rights complaint, the Matson and Andrews families raised questions about how Indian status is outlined by the Indian Act — who can quality for it, and who can pass it on to their children. The Matson family complaints relate to historically sexist discrimination in the Indian Act that imposed different consequences for women than men when it came to marriage. The Andrews family complaints relate to historically racist discrimination in the Indian Act that could strip someone of their Indian Status, in certain circumstances. The families and the Commission together argued that this historic discrimination continues to have impacts today that violate the Canadian Human Rights Act.
The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal dismissed their complaints, saying the Canadian Human Rights Act cannot be used to directly challenge discrimination that is written into a law passed by Parliament.
We disagreed, and filed appeals. Our appeal went all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, which in 2018, upheld the Tribunal’s decisions. Essentially, this Supreme Court ruling means that people cannot use the human rights system when they are denied benefits because of the wording of federal legislation. Instead, they will have to use the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and go through the civil courts. This can be expensive and time-consuming. For many families, it is simply not a feasible option for seeking justice. The Commission, having advised Parliament before against Canada’s piecemeal approach to resolving issues of gender discrimination in the Act, shared publicly that it was disappointed by this ruling.
Mr. Matson then filed a petition with the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, who in March 2022 issued a decision in his favour, finding that the provisions of the Indian Act in question amounted to discrimination against Indigenous women and their descendants, and urging Canada to amend the legislation and address this discrimination.
For more than 30 years, Section 67 of the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA) prevented First Nations people living or working on reserve from filing human rights complaints related to discrimination arising from the Indian Act. As a result, both the federal government and First Nations governments were largely shielded from such complaints, limiting access to justice for many First Nations individuals.
The Commission advocated for the repeal of Section 67 for many years, arguing that it denied First Nations people the same human rights protections available to other Canadians. The Commission published two reports to this effect: first, A Matter of Rights in October 2005, and then Still a Matter of Rights in January 2008.
Parliament repealed Section 67 in 2008, and by June 2011 people living and working on reserve could fully file human rights complaints against both the federal government and First Nations governments.
This marked a significant advancement in access to human rights protections for First Nations communities. The repeal also led to a substantial increase in new and complex complaints at the Commission. The Commission wrote a special report to Parliament on its preparations for the new human rights protections to come into effect (Now a Matter of Rights).
We also conducted extensive outreach and education initiatives to raise awareness of human rights and complaint processes in culturally appropriate ways. Building on this work, the Commission held national roundtables with Indigenous women and their advocates in 2013-2014 to better understand barriers to accessing human rights justice. The resulting report, Honouring the Strength of our Sisters, identified 21 barriers, including lack of awareness, language challenges, systemic issues, and the ongoing impacts of colonization. The lessons learned continue to shape the Commission’s engagement with Indigenous rights-holders today.
The Commission speaks out, raises awareness, and advocates for Indigenous rights in Canada. We use research, engagement and lived experience to help to inform policy changes that can prevent discrimination across Canadian institutions. We also provide advice to Parliament and raise Indigenous human rights issues in our submissions to the United Nations. You can find below examples of this work, or you can find more of our publications or statements on Indigenous issues.
In June 2026, the Commission submitted a letter to the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs, in which it echoed the calls of First Nations rights holders, communities, and advocates to bring an end to the persistent gender-based discrimination present in the registration provisions of the Indian Act. Namely, the Commission called for the Committee to pass Bill S-2, An Act to amend the Indian Act (new registration entitlements), with amendments proposed by the Standing Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples. The proposed amendments to the legislation would eliminate the second-generation cut off rule that prohibits First Nations women who marry non-status individuals from passing their status on to their grandchildren.
We continue to advocate for the creation of independent, Indigenous-led human rights mechanisms in Canada. In April 2023, the Chief Commissioner appeared before the Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples (APPA) where she expressed the Commission’s support for the establishment of an independent Indigenous-led human rights mechanism to better protect Indigenous Peoples’ rights. This is in keeping with the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls’ Call for Justice 1.7, which recommended the establishment new Indigenous human rights mechanisms like ombudspersons and tribunals.
In 2024, the Commission also participated in engagements with the Crown-Indigenous Relations Ministerial Special Representative, Jennifer Moore Rattray, and subsequently welcomed her 2024 report.
Several reports have been produced on this topic since, including:
The Commission participated in the consultations of the task force on modernizing the Employment Equity Act, a law that we help to administer. The Commission’s submission to the task force advocated for replacing the term “Aboriginal Peoples” with “Indigenous Peoples,” updating the definition to include First Nations, Inuit and Métis, and ensuring it is consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. The Employment Equity Act Review Task Force released its final report in December 2023.
In March 2023, the Commission met with and provided a submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples during his visit to Canada. The Commission highlighted key human rights concerns affecting Indigenous peoples, particularly Indigenous people with disabilities, including barriers to accessing essential services and supports, a lack of accessible and affordable housing, and concerns about how accessibility legislation is applied in First Nations communities. Following the visit, the Special Rapporteur issued a report identifying significant human rights gaps faced by First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples and provided recommendations for Canada to address them.
In December 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada released its Final Report, concluding seven years of work documenting the history and enduring impacts of the residential school system on Indigenous children, families, and communities.
The Commission supported the TRC throughout its work, including participation in seven national gatherings centred on the Seven Grandfather Teachings. At the final gathering, then Acting Chief Commissioner David Langtry served as an Honorary Witness and presented baby blankets as Expressions of Reconciliation, which are now preserved in the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation’s Bentwood Box collection.
The Commission welcomed the TRC’s findings, and continues to urge Canada to implement the 94 Calls to Action without delay. The Commission continues to advocate for the investigation of former residential school sites and encourages Canadians to learn the truth about this history.
Anyone in Canada can file a discrimination complaint under the Canadian Human Rights Act if they believe they were discriminated against by the federal government or a federally regulated organization.
See File a discrimination complaint to find information on the complaint process.
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