Indian registrar defends removing status from 738 Essipit Innu members

Indian Registrar Claire Thie told the Senate that removing the status of 738 members of the Essipit Innu First Nation followed long reviews that found too few primary sources.

We do not take these decisions lightly.

— Claire Thie, Indian Registrar

The registrar

Not enough primary sources

The lawyers

An unreasonable burden

At issue is a 1795 census of the Innu of what is now Essipit, long accepted as proof but now treated by the registrar as a secondary source, which lawyers say sets an unreasonable burden of proof.

Guillaume St-Gelais Dubé, who got his status in 2023 and put his savings into a house in the community, now has two years to regularize his situation or leave and sell it.

What's next

The two families have gone to the Federal Court to overturn the decision, and Ottawa has asked the court to reject their request to keep status in the meantime.

Canada · 14 d ago

Indian registrar defends removing status from 738 Essipit Innu members

Indian Registrar Claire Thie told the Senate that removing the status of 738 members of the Essipit Innu First Nation followed long reviews that found too few primary sources.

We do not take these decisions lightly.

At issue is a 1795 census of the Innu of what is now Essipit, long accepted as proof but now treated by the registrar as a secondary source, which lawyers say sets an unreasonable burden of proof.

Guillaume St-Gelais Dubé, who got his status in 2023 and put his savings into a house in the community, now has two years to regularize his situation or leave and sell it.

The two families have gone to the Federal Court to overturn the decision, and Ottawa has asked the court to reject their request to keep status in the meantime.

Indian registrar defends removing status from 738 Essipit Innu members

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