In its original form it restored status under the Indian Act to a limited group of 3,000 to 5,000 people affected by historic enfranchisement provisions, including individuals who gave up their status voluntarily to keep their children out of residential schools or to vote in federal and provincial elections.

Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) Minister Mandy Gull-Masty has a deadline of April 2026 to fix the law.

But after hearing from 57 witnesses, the Senate Standing Committee on Indigenous Peoples amended the bill.

Their changes go far beyond the scope of Nicholas, aiming to resolve broader discrimination by ending the second-generation cutoff altogether.

The amendments would also eliminate the “unknown paternity” clause, which currently denies status to children of status mothers if the father is unnamed.