7. Technical briefing deck

Bill S-13, An Act to amend the Interpretation Act and to make related amendments to other Acts

Context

Non-Derogation Clauses (NDCs)

Purpose and Objective

  1. The federal Interpretation Act is a technical statute providing a uniform standard for the interpretation of all federal legislation. By including an NDC in this Act, all federal laws would be read as including an NDC, thus highlighting the importance of section 35 rights.
  2. Adding an NDC to the Interpretation Act and repealing most NDCs found in other legislation would bring greater consistency across laws.
  3. By removing the need for Indigenous peoples to press for NDCs whenever the government introduces legislation potentially affecting section 35 rights, we would advance reconciliation.
  4. Including an NDC in the Interpretation Act is an early deliverable under section 5 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (UNDA), which requires that measures be taken to ensure the consistency of laws with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
  5. Indigenous partners identified the NDC legislative initiative as a continuing priority during the UNDA Action Plan consultation and cooperation process, and it is included in the UNDA Action Plan. The passage of Bill S-13 would mark the successful completion of a Shared Priority in the Action Plan.

Consultation and Cooperation

Overview of Bill

The following changes to the Interpretation Act are proposed:

  1. Add a non-derogation clause to the Interpretation Act
  2. Include an explanation of the meaning of “Indigenous peoples” for the purpose of the NDC in the Interpretation Act.
  3. Includes related amendments to repeal most NDCs in current legislation.
  4. Harmonizes the NDC in the Mackenzie Valley Resources Management Act with the NDC in the Interpretation Act
  5. Provides for coordinating amendments related to Bill C-35, Bill C-21 and Bill C-49 which are currently before Parliament.
  1. Adding a NDC to the Interpretation Act
    • The Bill would amend the Interpretation Act to include a standardized NDC.
    • If an NDC is included in the federal Interpretation Act then all federal laws will be read as including an NDC.
    • This removes the need to include NDCs in future bills.
    • This approach addresses concerns arising from the variation in wording between existing NDCs.
  2. Including an explanation of the meaning of “Indigenous peoples” for the purpose of the NDC in the Interpretation Act
    • To ensure clarity regarding the expression “Indigenous peoples” in the NDC, it is important to explain that this is to be understood as a reference to First Nation, Inuit and Métis peoples of Canada.
    • The Bill’s definition of the term “Indigenous peoples” indicates that the expression has the same meaning as “aboriginal peoples of Canada” in subsection 35(2) of the Constitution Act, 1982 for the purpose of the NDC, which reads as follows:
      35(2) In this Act, aboriginal peoples of Canada includes the Indian, Inuit and Métis peoples of Canada.
  3. Related amendments to repeal most NDCs in current legislation
    • Indigenous partners expressed that repealing all existing NDCs was no longer the preferred approach.
    • Most Indigenous partners favoured a partial repeal which would allow some NDCs to be retained if there were Indigenous peoples who wished to retain NDCs in legislation that impacts them directly and specifically.
  4. The Bill harmonizes the NDC in the Mackenzie Valley Resources Management Act with the NDC in the Interpretation Act
    • The Tłı̨chǫ Government and the Délı̨nę Got’ı̨nę Government (DGG) were consulted as required by the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act (MVRMA).
    • The NDC in the MVRMA was retained to ensure that the benefits from another provision in the MVRMA that makes consultation mandatory before amending the Act were retained.
    • However, the Bill aligns the NDC in the MVRMA with the wording of the NDC in the Interpretation Act.
  5. The Bill provides for coordinating amendments related to Bill C-35, Bill C-21 and Bill C-49 which are currently before Parliament.
    • Bill C-35, the Canada Early Learning and Child Care Act, and Bill C-21, An Act to amend certain Acts and to make certain consequential amendments (firearms), both include an NDC.
    • There are coordinating amendments in this Bill S-13 that could lead to the repeal of the NDCs in Bill C-35 and Bill C-21, should Bill S-13 be adopted after the adoption of those Bills.
    • Bill C-49, An Act to amend the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation Act and the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts, amends the Canada–Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation Act and the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act to, among other things, change their titles.
    • There are coordinating amendments in Bill S-13 to address the changes in Bill C-49.