APTN National News
OTTAWA–The Harper government has introduced a bill in the Senate to deal with matrimonial property rights.
Bill S-2 is supposed to protect the rights of women and children living on reserve in the case of divorce.
Reserves are not covered by provincial marriage laws and the Indian Act is silent on the subject.
The bill was introduced in the Senate Wednesday.
“It has been more than 25 years since the Supreme Court of Canada acknowledged that people living on reserves in Canada lack similar matrimonial real property rights and protections as other Canadians,” said Aboriginal Affairs John Duncan in a statement. “Our government is taking concrete action to address this unacceptable situation.”
