Section 1.2 of the Canadian Human Rights Act: Balancing Collective and Individual Rights and the Principle of Gender Equality Prepared by the Native Women’s Association of Canada July 2010 The opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Canadian Human Rights Commission. [...] Beverley McLachlin, “Racism and the Law: The Canadian Experience,” (2002) 1 J. Law & Equality 7. 2 of exclusion and subordination of various racialized groups from the colonial period to the middle of the 20th century; second, a phase from the mid-20th century up to the adoption of the Charter in 1982 where legal concepts of equality relied on “treating likes alike” and third, the adoption of the [...] As the Balancing Collective and Individual Rights Report notes, one of the most persistent, contentious and high-profile gender equality issues affecting First Nations women has been the impact of the Indian Act on the determination of individual identity through the definition of terms such as “Indian” and “band member” and the issue of discrimination based on sex. [...] I do not see this as a failure of the organizing and politicking of Aboriginal women but as a demonstration of the helplessness and powerlessness of Aboriginal people in Canadian society and the inability of Canadian law makers to respond to the issues in the way that Aboriginal Peoples experience them.”17 Approaches to realizing the principle of gender equality in a First Nations context will con [...] Part III of the Balancing Individual and Collective Rights Report is intended to provide “a general context for understanding the documented and potential impacts of the Indian Act and its accompanying policies and programs on the social institutions and interactions most relevant to the application of the Canadian Human Rights Act to First Nations”41 through a review of legal commentary and socia
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