OTTAWA — Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice said his government will likely appeal a major court ruling that would expand the number of aboriginals qualifying for services by hundreds of thousands.
In a statement released by his office yesterday, the minister said he would need a ruling from a higher court than the B.C. Supreme Court, which released the judgment last week.
"I expect that the decision will be appealed, although that decision has not yet been made," Mr. Prentice said. "The [B.C. Supreme Court] decision is a significant one and it is reasonable to expect that the final decision will have to be made at a higher appellate level."
The appeal would come in spite of recently released internal documents showing Ottawa has been fighting the issue in court fully expecting to lose.
The B.C. Supreme Court decision could transform the way Ottawa deals with aboriginals. It struck down part of a 1985 change to the Indian Act called C-31 on the grounds that it discriminates against natives who trace their roots through their female forebears. The court also raised concern about what is known as the "second-generation cutoff" in which many grandchildren of people who were status Indians in 1985 are now being denied status due to marriages with non-natives.
For the most part, Ottawa has limited its legal obligation to "status Indians," a term it created that currently applies to about 700,000 people. That leaves out hundreds of thousands of Canadians with aboriginal heritage.
Indian Affairs documents obtained by NDP MP Jean Crowder show the department was bracing for "disruption" and rising costs after an expected defeat.
Ms. Crowder said the documents show it is time for Ottawa to stop the legal battles and craft a way forward with aboriginal groups, several of whom have also urged Ottawa not to appeal. "This government has been talking about how it's a champion of human rights, so if they appeal that decision, I wonder how they are going to justify that," she said, in reference to a bill introduced by Mr. Prentice to allow the Human Rights Act to apply on reserves.
Liberal Indian affairs critic Anita Neville agreed. "I'm disappointed he's appealing," she said. "More taxpayers' dollars should not go into fighting aboriginal women after the years of discrimination they've endured."