Recently the Canadian government enacted legislation that gives the same human rights to First Nation members living on reserve as Canadians in the rest of Canada. Previously, native people on reserves were exempt from the Canadian Human Rights Ac. When the Act was passed in 1977, Native reserves were only going to be temporarily excluded from the Act while the federal government made significant changes to the Indian Act. This did not happen, leaving residents of reserves vulnerable to potential abuses by the federal government or their chiefs and council. For more information about the changes to the human rights legislation for reserve members, take a look at the following:

• Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - Repeal of Section 67 of the Canadian Human Rights Act - Frequently Asked Questions
• CBC story - Human rights protection extended to reserves
• Centre for Constitutional Studies - Federal Human Rights Legislation Now Applies to Reserves
• Canadian Human Rights Commission - Canadian Human Rights Commission Applauds Extension of Rights Laws to First Nations

In memory of all the missing and murdered women and children, aboriginal women are walking from Victoria, BC to Ottawa from June to September 2008. Gladys Radek, who lost a niece to the Highway of Tears, launched the Walk4Justice to draw attention to all the missing and murdered women across Canada. The website, www.missingpeople.net has more information and links about the walk. Walk4Justice has created an online petition to gather the names of all the missing and murdered First Nations women across Canada. If you know someone who has been missing or murdered, Walk4Justice asks you to sign the online petition. Also see a Working TV video of the start of the march.

A Fraser Institute, What is Poverty? Providing Clarity for Canada (in PDF), claims that despite recent census data that showed increased levels of poverty across Canada, poverty has remained between 4-6% for the past decade. A entry in the Wellesley Institute blog, claims the Fraser Institute is defining poverty out of existence with a measure that doesn't even make sense in real life.