Read on for all the details as shared on the Indigenous Services Canada website.

 

Former and current members of the Canadian Armed Forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Context

A service members agreement was developed by the Government of Canada, 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 due to their service 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 founding membership under the 2008 agreement 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

Those persons will now be eligible to submit documentation proving their service so as to meet the group acceptance criterion. Applicants will still need to meet the self-identification criterion, the connection to a pre-Confederation Mi’kmaq community criterion and the Canadian Indian ancestry criterion, as set out in the 2008 agreement and the supplemental agreement.

Process

Persons denied under the group acceptance criterion can expect to get a letter in January 2023. They will have 45 days from the date of the letter to provide the required documents. The only documents accepted will be those proving service in one of the groups listed under Opportunity. Applicants may want to reach out to the CAF or the RCMP to obtain documents proving their service. 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.