In an earlier blogpost, we explained the amendments proposed to the Indian Act registration rules under Bill S-2. Since then, the Senate has proposed further changes to address long-standing injustices resulting from the second-generation cut-off.
Those changes are now being considered in the House of Commons and could be passed into law as early as this spring.
What is the second-generation cut-off?
In 1985, Bill C-31 introduced two distinct categories of registration under the Indian Act. Individuals registered under s. 6(1) automatically pass on status to their children. By contrast, anyone who is registered under s. 6(2) can only pass Indian status on to their children if the child’s other parent also has status.
This results in what is called the second-generation cut-off—after two consecutive generations of individuals with Indian status having children with non-registered or non-status persons, the third generation loses the right to Indian status under Canadian law.
Before 1985, non-Indian spouses of First Nations men were given Indian status, and so were their children. On the other hand, First Nations women who “married out” lost their Indian status, and so did their children. Because of this, descendants of First Nations women are disproportionately impacted by the second-generation cut-off.
Canada’s ongoing consultations regarding the second-generation cut-off
In June of 2022, the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples issued a report called, Make It Stop! Ending the remaining discrimination in Indian registration. That report recognized that the registration rules under the Indian Act have a greater impact on descendants of First Nations women than descendants of First Nations men. The Committee recommended the second-generation cut-off be repealed no later than June 2023.
In 2022, the federal government told the Senate Committee it needed time to consult with First Nations on the best possible solution(s) for replacing the second-generation cut-off. Last fall, the Minister of Indigenous Services advised the same Committee that still more time was needed to complete consultations to ensure that the solution to the second-generation cut-off fixes the problem in a way that addresses concerns raised by rights-holders.
Indigenous groups have emphasized the urgency of addressing this issue now, highlighting the very real consequences of forcing individuals, families and communities to wait any longer for this ongoing injustice to be corrected.
Senate amends Bill S-2
On December 4, 2025, the Senate made two very important amendments to Bill S-2:
Removal of the second-generation cut-off: Bill S-2 was amended to repeal s. 6(2) of the Indian Act (ending the second-generation cut-off) and replace it with a rule ensuring that every individual who has one parent with Indian status is also entitled to Indian status (the “one-parent rule”);
Deletion of non-liability clauses: the sections of Bill S-2 that said no one who has suffered discrimination related to enfranchisement or the second generation-cut-off can sue Canada have been removed.
In their Report, the Senate Committee recognized the importance of the commitments made in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, including the importance of acknowledging that authority for deciding who is a citizen of a First Nation must rest with that First Nation, since only they know who belongs to their community. The Committee also highlighted the importance of Canada providing adequate, sustainable and predictable funding to allow First Nations to administer programs and services to all their members, including those to be added because of these latest changes.
What's Next
The amendments to Bill S-2 proposed in the Senate are now before the House of Commons. Committee hearings to consider these changes are expected to resume early in 2026.
Patricia Lawrence is partner at First Peoples Law LLP. Patricia completed her Master of Law at the University of Auckland in New Zealand.
Contact Patricia and connect with her on LinkedIn.
First Peoples Law is a law firm dedicated to defending and advancing the rights of Indigenous Peoples in Canada. We work closely with First Nations to defend their Aboriginal title, rights and Treaty rights, uphold their Indigenous laws and governance and ensure economic prosperity for their members.
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