Question Period Note: Border Mobility, Jay Treaty, and Registration

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• The Government is working in partnership with First Nations to address their Canada-United States border- crossing issues given challenges experienced at the border for Indigenous Peoples.

• We are also working with the Government of the United States and are keen to see reforms, including a more standardized acceptance of the status card to cross the border by land and sea.

A right of entry to Canada for persons registered under the Indian Act (registered persons), whether or not they are Canadian citizens, has been a feature to Canadian immigration legislation since the 1976 Immigration Act. These is a right of entry under Section 19 of the Immigration Refugee Protection Act for registered persons. At land and marine ports of entry, U.S. border officials, by policy, should accept any valid version of the Secure Certificate of Indian Status and any valid version of the Certificate of Indian Status to cross the Canada–U.S. border. However, acceptance of status cards is at the discretion of the U.S. government. To enter the U.S. by air, an individual must have a valid passport. Under the 1794 Jay Treaty, Indigenous Peoples in the U.S. have the right to cross our borders freely. However, in 1956 the Supreme Court of Canada determined that the Jay Treaty is not in force in Canada.

As a person registered under the Indian Act entering the U.S. to reside (live or work), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services may ask the individual to provide documentation to prove the percentage of Indian blood required under U.S. law. Since the Government of Canada does not use blood quantum to determine entitlement to registration under the Indian Act, a person can request a letter of ancestry from ISC’s Genealogical and Archive Research Unit. The acceptance of ISC’s letter of ancestry is also at the discretion of the U.S. government.

Through the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act Action Plan, Canada is advancing efforts to address border issues through the commitment to amending the right of entry provision in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

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