Canada's Auditor General, Karen Hogan, reported that Indigenous Services Canada is failing to process First Nations status applications under the Indian Act within the required six-month timeline, with average processing times nearing 16 months and appeals taking almost three years. This delay prevents many First Nations people from accessing essential benefits like housing and education aid. Hogan recommended clearer service standards and annual reporting, which the department agreed to.
Feds moving too slow to process First Nations status applications: AG
First nationsIndigenousFirst NationsIndian actAuditor generalIndian Act
AI Summary
TL;DR: Key points with love ❤️Canada's Auditor General, Karen Hogan, reported that Indigenous Services Canada is failing to process First Nations status applications under the Indian Act within the required six-month timeline, with average processing times nearing 16 months and appeals taking almost three years. This delay prevents many First Nations people from accessing essential benefits like housing and education aid. Hogan recommended clearer service standards and annual reporting, which the department agreed to.
Trending- 1 1876: Indian Act enacted.
- 2 1994: Funding formula for community-based processing centres last substantially changed.
- 3 April 2019 - March 2024: Period of applications examined in the audit.
- 4 June 10, 2025 (Tuesday): Karen Hogan released her audit report.
- 5 Ongoing: Indigenous Services Canada is working in partnership with First Nations communities to improve registration services.
- 6 Future: Registration process for First Nations will eventually be transferred to First Nations communities.
- Many First Nations people are unable to access on-reserve housing, financial aid for post-secondary education, and health benefits due to delays
- A backlog of nearly 12,000 applications exists
- The department agreed to implement recommendations for clearer service standards and annual reporting
- The registration process will eventually be transferred to First Nations communities
What: Canada's Auditor General found that Indigenous Services Canada is failing to process First Nations status applications within the required six-month timeline.
When: June 10, 2025 (Tuesday, when the audit was released). The audit examined applications from April 2019 to March 2024.
Where: Canada (specifically Indigenous Services Canada, federal government).
Why: The department exceeded service standards, took too long to process applications and appeals, lacked proper training/certification for decision-makers, failed to monitor regional offices, and community-based processing centres are underfunded with an outdated funding model (unchanged since 1994).
How: Karen Hogan's audit examined a sample of 140,000 applications, revealing average processing times of nearly 16 months and appeal times of nearly three years, with a backlog of 12,000 applications.