VANCOUVER — A proposed class-action lawsuit has been filed in Federal Court, claiming that the Canadian government improperly denies individuals status under the Indian Act if their ancestors gave up Indigenous status. The plaintiffs, Charles Wesley, Christopher Wesley, Sharon Nicholas, and Nicole Nicholas, filed their statement of claim in Vancouver this month. They are seeking damages for being deprived of the benefits associated with Indian status.

The lawsuit asserts that each plaintiff has at least one direct ancestor who was "enfranchised" under Canadian law, meaning they relinquished their Indigenous status in exchange for Canadian citizenship rights. This historical enfranchisement has resulted in the plaintiffs, along with their children and grandchildren, being ineligible to register for Indian status. Consequently, they are missing out on significant economic, educational, and health benefits.

The claim also highlights that the federal government has acknowledged that the registration provisions of the Indian Act are unconstitutional. This concession came during a legal challenge initiated by Sharon Nicholas and Nicole Nicholas in the B.C. Supreme Court, which was heard earlier this year, with a decision still pending.

Furthermore, the lawsuit argues that referring to enfranchisement as voluntary is misleading. The plaintiffs contend that many individuals were pressured into giving up their status, often under considerable duress. This pressure was sometimes a means to protect their children from being sent to residential schools. Additionally, the claim notes that women and children were automatically enfranchised if their husbands or fathers applied for enfranchisement.