First Nations people applying for status waited too long for Indigenous Services Canada to make decisions
Report 1—Registration Under the Indian Act
Report metadata
- Tabling date:
- Audited entities:
- Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada
- Indigenous Services Canada
- Report type
- Auditor General reports
At a glance
Registration under the Indian Act allows First Nations people to access vital services like on‑reserve housing, financial aid for post-secondary education, and health benefits not covered through other programs or insurance plans.
In more than 80% of applications for registered status processed by Indigenous Services Canada headquarters, the department took longer than its 6‑month service standard to issue a decision. This included priority applications based on such characteristics as advanced age and health issues. Nearly 12,000 applications were backlogged, and close to 1,500 of these were more than 2 years old, including just under 200 priority applications.
We found that the department was unable to demonstrate that most officials making final decisions on applications had the required training and certification at the time those decisions were made. Furthermore, Indigenous Services Canada had committed to monthly monitoring of regional offices to ensure quality and consistency, but only about half of the monthly monitoring was performed from 2020 to 2023. Training and monitoring are important to support the accuracy and completeness of the registration process, which affect current and future applicants.
Indigenous Services Canada is mandated to gradually transfer responsibilities to First Nations communities. The department is providing training and funding to community-based registration administrators and trusted source organizations to support the delivery of the registration program. However, the funding formula for administrators has not been updated for more than 30 years and does not reflect their current responsibilities or costs. Also, there is no predictable and stable funding for trusted sources, because they must submit a budget proposal request each year for the department’s approval. These issues make it difficult to establish and sustain these vital partnerships.
Why we did this audit
- The registration process plays a central role in the recognition of First Nations people under Canadian law and is tied to various legal, cultural, and social rights and benefits.
- First Nations people should have access to a fair, transparent, and accessible registration process.
- The registration process can be complex, it is crucial that those who wish to navigate the registration process effectively understand clearly how it works.
Highlights of our recommendations
- Indigenous Services Canada should fully implement the policies and procedures that it has established for processing registration applications, including training and certification of officials making registration decisions, quality assurance processes, and monitoring and compliance reviews.
- Indigenous Services Canada should assess the effectiveness of its communications products on registration to determine whether the department is meeting the diverse needs of First Nations and should address any gaps identified.
- Indigenous Services Canada should engage with First Nations communities and tribal councils to review and update the funding model that it uses to compensate the work of community-based registration administrators so that their funding is commensurate with their responsibilities in helping to deliver the registration program.
Key facts and findings
- There have been a series of amendments to the Indian Act aimed at rectifying inequities, with the most recent amendments in 2019. As a result of these amendments, Indigenous Services Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada have received an increased number of registration applications.
- Indigenous Services Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada made decisions on about 140,000 registration applications from 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2024. Just over 58,000 of these were related to the 2017 and 2019 amendments to the Indian Act (Bill S‑3).
- It took on average just under 16 months to make a decision on registration applications processed at Indigenous Services Canada’s headquarters, exceeding its 6‑month service standard.
- Indigenous Services Canada took on average just under 3 years to make decisions on 37 protests, which is in addition to the time it took to make the decision to grant or deny Indian status.
- Indigenous Services Canada partnered with 22 trusted source organizations, and 647 community-based registration administrators across 582 First Nations communities, to help First Nations people with registration.
- Almost 30% of First Nations with a community-based registration administrator received only the annual minimum funding from Indigenous Services Canada.
In the 2023–2027 Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy, Indigenous Services Canada identified United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 10—Reduced Inequalities—as applicable to all of its programs. The Global Indicator Framework target 10.3 is to “ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies and actions in this regard.” In addition, in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act Action Plan 2023–2028, the Government of Canada committed to support the adoption of Bill C‑38, which seeks to address discrimination in the registration and membership provisions of the Indian Act.
Exhibit highlights
Timeline of developments under the Indian Act impacting registration
Text version
This timeline shows developments under the Indian Act that affected registration from 1876 to 2022.
In 1876, the Indian Act was enacted. It affected registration in 2 ways:
- First Nations women lost their status if they married men without Indian status.
- First Nations men retained their status regardless of whom they married. They could pass status on to women without Indian status when they married and to the children of that marriage.
In 1985, amendments to the Indian Act (Bill C‑31) included 2 changes:
- First Nations women who married men without Indian status no longer lost their status.
- First Nations women who had previously lost their status through marriage to men without Indian status became eligible to apply for registration, as did their children.
In 2011, amendments to the Indian Act (Bill C‑3) included allowing the grandchildren of First Nations women (who had lost their status because they had married men without Indian status) to apply for status.
In 2017 and 2019, amendments to the Indian Act (Bill S‑3) included allowing descendants of First Nations women (who previously lost their status) to apply for status.
In 2021, First Nations people launched litigation regarding enfranchisement, which was a process through which First Nations people lost their status and certain rights and benefits provided by the Indian Act.
In 2022, the litigation was put on hold to find a legislative solution, which became Bill C‑38. The bill had not been passed by the end of the legislative session in January 2025.
Main steps in the review of an application for registration
Text version
This flow chart shows the main steps in the review of an application for registration from receipt of an application to the decision on it.
An application can be received in the following ways:
- in person at a departmental kiosk
- from a First Nations community-based registration administrator or a trusted source organization
- by mail
The application is then processed to confirm the applicant’s identity and to assess the application for completeness.
If necessary, the department may send a letter to seek more information from the applicant such as a birth, marriage, or adoption certificate. If the applicant is unable to obtain records, the department may assist them by contacting a provincial or territorial agency directly.
To arrive at an application decision, there are 2 steps:
- review all documents submitted and available information within departmental records
- review the recommended decision
The department then sends a letter to the applicant to communicate the decision to grant or deny status.
Source: Adapted from Indigenous Services Canada
Indigenous Services Canada had not made a decision for more than 2 years on nearly 1,500 applications in the backlog
Text version
This donut chart shows that 11,816 applications had been in the backlog for more than 6 months and that 1,468 applications (or 12%) had been waiting for a decision for more than 2 years. Following are the details of the application backlog:
- 7,768 applications (or 66%) had been waiting for a decision for 6 months to 1 year
- 2,580 applications (or 22%) had been waiting for a decision for 1 to 2 years
- 1,174 applications (or 10%) had been waiting for a decision for 2 to 5 years
- 165 applications (or 1%) had been waiting for a decision for 5 to 10 years
- 129 applications (or 1%) had been waiting for a decision for more than 10 years
Note: Under 6 months is within the service standard. Percentages have been rounded.
Source: Based on data from Indigenous Services Canada
Overall funding for the Indian registration program operations increased since 2019–20 while funding for community-based registration administrators remained largely unchanged
Text version
This bar graph breaks down the funding for the Indian registration program between 2019–20 and 2023–24 into 3 categories:
- funding for the Indian registration program operations
- funding to First Nations and tribal councils for community-based registration administrators
- funding to trusted source organizations, which started in the 2022–23 fiscal year
Overall, operating expenses for the Indian registration program increased from 2019–20 to 2023–24, and funding to First Nations and tribal councils for community-based registration administrators increased in 2020–21 and then remained largely unchanged for 4 years.
In 2019–20, the operating expenses for the Indian registration program were just over $14.4 million and the funding to First Nations and tribal councils for community-based registration administrators was just over $4.3 million, the lowest in the 5‑year period.
In 2020–21, the operating expenses for the Indian registration program were nearly $18.0 million and the funding to First Nations and tribal councils for community-based registration administrators was just over $7.2 million.
In 2021–22, the operating expenses for the Indian registration program were just over $19.6 million and the funding to First Nations and tribal councils for community-based registration administrators was just over $7.0 million.
In 2022–23, the operating expenses for the Indian registration program were just over $19.1 million, the funding to First Nations and tribal councils for community-based registration administrators was just over $7.4 million, and the funding to trusted source organizations to help people submit registration applications was just over $965 thousand. This was the first year that funding was allocated to trusted source organizations.
In 2023–24, the operating expenses for the Indian registration program were just over $25.1 million, the funding to First Nations and tribal councils for community-based registration administrators was just over $7.0 million, and the funding to trusted source organizations to help people submit registration applications was just over $3.0 million.
Source: Based on data from Indigenous Services Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada