Carey Price is challenging Canadian law after his children were denied Indigenous status. The former Montreal Canadiens star testified that the Indian Act's second-generation cutoff is unfairly stripping rights from his family.

This issue has become a big topic in Indigenous communities. Many leaders say the current law unfairly takes away Indigenous status from future generations. The rule means that if two generations of an Indigenous family have children with partners who do not have Indigenous status, the next generation can lose official status rights.

Carey Price, a former goalie of the Montreal Canadiens, who is also a member of the Ulkatcho First Nation, told the committee that his children were denied Indigenous status because of the second-generation cut-off rule.

Price said his children share the same Indigenous heritage as his cousin’s children. Yet only his cousin’s kids received status cards.

"I thought it should be pretty straightforward, being that my cousin's children are the exact same heritage and bloodline as my own," said Price. "I think it's very unfair that my cousin's kids can say they have their status card and mine don't."

Carey Price is the son of Lynda Price, who also spoke before the committee. Lynda Price and her brother both married spouses without status. But Lynda married after 1985, when the second-generation cut-off rule started.

Canada’s Parliament is now discussing Bill S-2. The bill aims to change the Indian Act rules and remove this cut-off rule so future generations can keep their Indigenous status.

Carey Price Supports Indigenous Leaders as Debate Over Indian Act Rule Grows

Many Indigenous leaders want Bill S-2 to pass because they believe the current law unfairly removes Indigenous status from future generations.

However, some leaders also worry that the federal government will still control who can officially be recognized as First Nations.

Marilyn Slett, elected chief of the Heiltsuk First Nation and secretary for the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, has her say on the matter.

She has warned the committee that the second-generation cutoff is slowly reducing Indigenous populations after generations of discrimination and assimilation policies.

"After 150 years of forced assimilation and denial of rights, we are facing mathematical genocide before our eyes," Marilyn Slett said.

She also said leaders should stop delaying discussions and immediately act against discrimination and human rights violations affecting Indigenous people.

"The discrimination and the violation of human rights is not a topic that we should be consulting on; it's something that we should be moving on and acting on, and this is why we’re here today."

The debate about the second-generation cut-off rule has received more public attention because of people like Carey Price. His involvement has helped many Canadians learn about a policy they did not know much about before.

For many Indigenous families, the issue is not only about legal status but also about identity, culture, and preserving connections for future generations. People who support Bill S-2 hope the changes will protect Indigenous heritage and stop old federal rules from taking it away.

Written by

Kapil Manghnani

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason