Qalipu Mi'kmaq First Nation enrolment process update

Context

A service members agreement was developed by the Government of Canada, the Qalipu Mi'kmaq First Nation and the Federation of Newfoundland Indians to establish criteria for accepting former and current members of the CAF and the RCMP as Qalipu founding members based on the special place of honour they hold in the Mi'kmaw culture as protectors of Canada and their communities. The agreement applies to persons who were part of the enrolment process between 2008 and 2012 but were denied founding membership based on the group acceptance criterion.

Opportunity

The agreement applies to persons who had applied for founding membership and who were denied enrolment as founding members based on the 2008 agreement group acceptance criterion and who, on September 22, 2011, were or had been:

• officers or non-commissioned members of the CAF serving in the Regular Force or the Primary Reserve after completing basic training, including those honourably released

or

• serving in the Canadian Rangers, including those honourably released

or

• police officers of the RCMP, including special constables and reservists appointed pursuant to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act, excluding those dismissed with cause

and

• applicants for founding membership under the 2008 agreement

Process

Persons denied based on the group acceptance criterion were sent a letter on January 31, 2023, that included:

1. a declaration form
2. an acknowledgement and release form

To have your application considered, you had to respond to that letter and provide proof of your service by submitting documentation to demonstrate group acceptance under the terms of the new agreement, establishing that you became a member of the CAF or the RCMP on or before September 22, 2011, date of the formation of the Qalipu Mi'kmaq First Nation.

If you were no longer a member of the CAF or the RCMP on September 22, 2011, you had to provide:

1. the date your service ceased
2. the reason for the cessation of your service, for example, voluntary or compulsory retirement or release, disability

To be considered, you had to:

1. complete the declaration form
2. sign the declaration form and the acknowledgement and release form
3. provide certified true copies of acceptable documentation that proves you were a member of the CAF or the RCMP on or before September 22, 2011
4. send the documents to
   
   Enrolment Committee
   Indigenous Services Canada
   Box 9100
   Winnipeg MB  R3C 0M9

Deadline

Your response had to be postmarked no later than March 17, 2023, or the date specified on the letter sent to you.

If you didn’t respond by that date, the Enrolment Committee or the Appeal Master won’t consider your application further. The existing decision of the Enrolment Committee to reject your application for founding membership will remain in effect.

Documentation

All service record documents must be certified true copies to be accepted.

A certified true copy is a photocopy of a document, judgment or record that is signed and attested to as an accurate and complete reproduction of the original document by a notary public, commissioner of oaths or any other public official authorized to accept affirmation or oaths in the province, state, or country in which you live.

Acceptable documentation:

• CAF release certificate, detailing the category for release
• military personnel document, for active CAF members only
• identification card issued by the CAF
• Veteran's Service Card, for former CAF members
• certificate of service, for former CAF members
• service number, for former and current members of the CAF and the RCMP
• statement of employment issued by the RCMP indicating date service began and, if applicable, reason for and date of service cessation
• service card issued by the RCMP indicating date service began
• other documents that include the department of service, dates of service and, if applicable, reason for release will be referred to be the implementation committee for determination on acceptability

Update on the process

An incomplete submission letter was sent on May 16, 2023, to those applicants who provided their documentation with missing or incomplete information, including:

• the declaration form
• a signature on the declaration form
• a signature on the acknowledgement and release form
• a witness signature on the acknowledgement and release form
• the proof of service
• a certified true copy stamp on the proof of service

The applicants receiving the letter have 30 days to submit their documents and the missing or incomplete information to:

Enrolment Committee
Indigenous Services Canada
Box 9100
Winnipeg MB  R3C 0M9

Your response must be postmarked no later than June 15, 2023.

If you do not respond by that date, the Enrolment Committee or the Appeal Master won’t consider your application further. The existing decision of the Enrolment Committee to reject your application for founding membership will remain in effect.

Acknowledgement and release

Applicants who are members of the class proceeding certified before the Federal Court entitled Gregory Charles Collins v. The Attorney General of Canada and the Federation of Newfoundland Indians and bearing Court File No. T-2044-19 can continue participating in the class action, subject to the terms of the acknowledgment and release as referenced in Chapter 6 of the service members agreement.

Specifically, the acknowledgement and release will require applicants who are members of the class action to acknowledge that any damages, expenses, and/or losses, incurred or being incurred, that they can claim as class action members, cease to accrue as of the date the recognition order is amended to make them a founding member.

For applicants who aren't members of the class action, acknowledgement and release will require them to release the Government of Canada, the Federation of Newfoundland Indians, the Qalipu Mi'kmaq First Nation, and their respective officers, councillors, directors, servants, employees or agents, from, without any exception, all causes of action, claims, and demands relating to the applicants seeking registration under the Indian Act, including through and/or in relation to the enrolment process for founding membership in Qalipu as outlined in the 2008 agreement and the supplemental agreement, and any failure to provide the applicants with benefits comparable to those available to other persons registered under the Indian Act.

Acknowledgement and release will only come into effect as of the date an applicant becomes a founding member, which is the date that the recognition order is amended to add to the founding members list of the Qalipu Mi'kmaq First Nation the names of applicants who were successful under the service members agreement.

If you have any questions about the impact acknowledgment and release may have on your rights or entitlements in the class action, contact the class counsel:

• Telephone: 1-800-315-5570
• Email: qalipuclassaction@kmlaw.ca

The documents provided will be sent to the Enrolment Committee for assessment and decision. Decisions will be communicated in the summer of 2023 and will provide information on next steps.

Note that if an applicant's Canadian Indian ancestry was not assessed previously, it will be reviewed from their original application package.