Matrimonial Real Property: A People’s Report.

The Native Women’s Association of Canada held workshops across Canada last year concerning the issue of matrimonial real property on reserve, and the People’s Report is a detailed summary of what was voiced by Aboriginal women across Canada. The NWAC will be hosting a press conference to officially launch the report and to discuss the pending legislation and non-legislative issues.

Next week’s return of Parliament includes the launch of the much-awaited “Matrimonial Real Property: A People’s Report.”

Enforcing its call to mend a "legislative gap" that slights aboriginal women living on reserves, the Native Women's Association of Canada released a report Monday it says should give the government all the information it needs to fix the policy.

The NWAC is urging Ottawa to amend the law to give native women who live on reserves the same rights afforded to other Canadian women when they undergo broken marriages or divorces.

When a marriage breaks down in Canada, an ex-husband cannot, for instance, sell the family home without the consent of his ex-wife. Such is not the case for people who live on reserve land, where laws for the fair division of assets after failed marriages do not apply.

Under the federal Indian Act, which governs most aspects of reserve life, there is no mention of "matrimonial real property."
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People's Report: "What We Heard"