The hefty price tag on righting historical wrongs

Righting historical wrongs comes with a price tag.

In the case of an amendment to the Indian Act that finally eradicated sexism embedded in the bill for 148 years, the cost could eventually be as high as $407 million per year.

This will be money well spent, but a meticulous report on the amendment by the Parliamentary Budget Officer released Tuesday warns of built-in uncertainty surrounding how many of those now eligible to register with the Indian Registry will actually do so.

Those numbers will tell us not only how many Canadians claim Indigenous ancestry but how many are prepared to self-identify as Indigenous.

Until the amendments finally passed in the House of Commons Monday night, sexism was just another reason that the act was seen as instrument of oppression.

Dating as far back as 1869, Indigenous women who married non-Indigenous men lost their status, along with the benefits of that status and their ability to pass status to their children. An Indigenous man who married a non-Indigenous woman not only maintained his status but was able to pass that status to his spouse and children.

This amendment was a response to a 2015 court ruling that determined the sexism had not been eradicated, despite previous government tweaks. Bill S-3 was not only a victory for equity, it was a victory for the Senate.

The government’s original proposal to deal with this discrimination was much more modest.

Under that proposal, it was estimated the start-up administrative cost would have been $19 million with annual costs of $55 million.

But the Senate would not budge and held to an amendment that essentially extends eligibility to anyone with First Nations ancestry.

The Liberal government, looking at a prolonged battle in which it would appear to be upholding sexism in the legislation, folded its tent last month and agreed to the Senate amendment.

The PBO estimated that would cost $71 million in administrative costs and $407 million per year in ongoing costs, $352 million more than the original plan sponsored by Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, Carolyn Bennett.

The PBO estimates 670,450 more persons would be eligible for the registry under these amendments. The original government bill envisioned 35,000, all of whom are immediately eligible.

The PBO estimates about 40 per cent of those eligible will register, but Robert-Falcon Ouellette, the Liberal MP for Winnipeg Centre who helped push for the Senate amendments, believes it will closer to 60 per cent.

In the 2016 census, 1,525,570 persons identified as having First Nations ancestry, a number that can’t be explained by natural growth.

It is a product of more Canadians selfidentifying as Indigenous, or as Ouellette, who is from the Red Pheasant First Nation in Saskatchewan put it, “today, it’s popular to be Indigenous.’’

Some will not apply because their Indigenous heritage is too distant, or because of their hatred for the Indian Act or they will not know they are eligible.

For others, the registration card is an affirmation of who they are, Ouellette told me. It has the potential to bring people back to their roots.

“It gives us recognition, that no matter what you’ve been told, you came from a proud people.’’

If nothing else, there are financial incentives.

The Indigenous on-reserve population would be eligible for $18,433 annually, government spending on education, health care, income assistance and a tax exemption for income earned on reserve.

Consultations with Indigenous leaders are still in the offing. Bennett’s office said they are expected to begin early in the new year, but with no deadline, just a commitment to listen to all voices.

Regardless, the government surrender on Bill S-3 is another sign of movement on Justin Trudeau’s signature Indigenous reconciliation efforts.

Last week, Jane Philpott, Minister of Indigenous Services, dropped a judicial review of a Canadian Human Rights Tribunal finding that it was discriminating against Indigenous children.

Monday, the loathed Indigenous Affairs and Northern Development officially came to an end as it’s now split into two departments, overseen by Philpott and Bennett.

By bureaucratic standards, the movement on that front, announced by Trudeau in August, was lightning quick.

And the government is supporting New Democrat Romeo Saganash’s private member’s bill that would fully implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples — which could ultimately have an impact on energy projects.

Sometimes this government has to be pushed in the right direction by the courts — or the Senate. But it is taking small steps in the right direction.