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;
And of 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 debate continued.