Pursuant to Order made Wednesday, May 22, 2013, the House resumed consideration of the motion of Mr. Valcourt (Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development), seconded by Mr. O'Connor (Minister of State), — That Bill S-2, An Act respecting family homes situated on First Nation reserves and matrimonial interests or rights in or to structures and lands situated on those reserves, be now read a third time and do pass.
The House proceeded to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the amendment of Ms. Crowder (Nanaimo—Cowichan), seconded by Mrs. Hughes (Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing), — That the motion be amended by deleting all the words after the word “That” and substituting the following:
“the House decline to give third reading to Bill S-2, An Act respecting family homes situated on First Nation reserves and matrimonial interests or rights in or to structures and lands situated on those reserves, because it:
(a) is primarily a Bill about the division of property on reserve but the Standing Committee on the Status of Women did not focus on this primary purpose during its deliberations;
(b) fails to implement the ministerial representative recommendation for a collaborative approach to development and implementing legislation;
(c) does not recognize First Nations jurisdiction or provide the resources necessary to implement this law;
(d) fails to provide alternative dispute resolution mechanisms at the community level;
(e) does not provide access to justice, especially in remote communities;
(f) does not deal with the need for non-legislative measures to reduce violence against Aboriginal women;
(g) makes provincial court judges responsible for adjudicating land codes for which they have had no training or experience in dealing with; and
(h) does not address underlying issues, such as access to housing and economic security that underlie the problems on-reserve in dividing matrimonial property.”.
The question was put on the amendment and it was negatived on the following division:
YEAS: 124, NAYS: 149