The Native Women’s Association of Canada says it’s unhappy with the route Ottawa is taking to address the issue of matrimonial property on reserve.
The federal government says it plans to force a vote to bring Bill S-2 into law.
The bill would allow Ottawa to institute federal legislation on First Nations that don’t already have existing laws to deal with messy divorces.
For years, Native women’s groups have called for new rules to ensure women living on reserve get an equal share of assets when marriages break down.
Michele Audette is the president of the Native Women’s Association.
She says one of their representatives carried out a wide consultation on First Nations to get a sense of how communities would like to see this happen.
However, she says the government has essentially ignored their recommendations and decided to impose its own ideas.
“But if we don’t dialogue and work in silos, we’re just going to complain to every standing committee about every piece of legislation that is forced on us,” she says.
She says she has asked the minister of Aboriginal affairs to consider allowing the association to talk with various government agencies about this and other pieces of legislation.
Audette says the minister is considering the request.
In a release, Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt says he hopes the opposition parties will vote in favor of the government bill, because families on reserve have been waiting a long time for the legislation.