Community Consultation on proposed Kahnawake Residency Law tonight

05/23/2017

The Kahnawà:ke Legislative Coordinating Commission would like to remind the community that a Community Consultation meeting will be held this evening for the proposed Kahnawà:ke Residency Law.

The meeting will be held at the Knights of Columbus Hall. It will begin at 6pm sharp and end at or before 8:30pm.

The proponents wish to gain consensus on:

1. the urgency of the law
2. the purpose and scope of the law
3. a mandate to move the law forward using the Urgent Process, as indicated in the Community Decision Making Process (CDMP)

The proposed law is being categorized as Type I – Urgent, as it is a fundamental law that affects the entire community. Based on the Descheneaux Decision, the Federal government has been directed by the Superior Court to amend the Indian Act by July 2017. The amendments would allow for a significant number of people to be entitled to be registered as Mohawks of Kahnawà:ke, despite not meeting the requirements of the Kanien’kehá:ka of Kahnawà:ke Registry.

Should the community give the Mandate to move forward, Hearings on the proposed law would begin the following Tuesday, May 30th. If the Mandate is not given, the topic will continue on May 30th.