How Canada stops forced sterilization of Indigenous women

This episode is about forced and coerced sterilization of Indigenous women and girls in Canada. Please listen with care.

In 2025, Senator Yvonne Boyer, Ontario's first Indigenous senator, proposed a bill to criminalize forced and coerced sterilization. If passed, Bill S-228 will amend the Criminal Code to ensure that forced sterilization would be included in the definition of aggravated assault, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

The bill follows Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission - the TRC. The TRC was meant to bring a "fair and lasting" resolution to the legacy of Indian residential schools, and by extension, Canadian colonialism. One of the Calls to Action from the TRC was for Canada to hold a national inquiry into the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. That Inquiry dealt with a wide range of concerns, including forced and coerced sterilizations.

This Red Dress Day, host and producer Nam Kiwanuka features Harmony Redsky from the Survivors Circle for Reproductive Justice. Harmony reveals how one survivor was sterilized as recently as 2024. The episode discusses the history of forced and coerced sterilization, the organization's survivor-led initiatives, and the current push for legislative change to criminalize these violations.

Special thanks to Pam Palmeter for production support.

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If you, or someone you know, is struggling with mental health, visit any of the following resources for support: Canada.ca/mental-health Kids Help Phone Call 1-800-668-6868 (toll-free) or text CONNECT to 686868.

Research links:

1. Survivors Circle for Reproductive Justice
   https://www.reproductivejusticesurvivors.ca/ 
2. Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement
   https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1100100015576/1571581687074 
3. UN Special Rapporteurs Highlight Forced Sterilization of Indigenous Women in Canada
   https://cglj.org/2019/07/18/un-special-rapporteurs-highlight-forced-sterilization-of-indigenous-women-in-canada/ 
4. Canada indigenous women were coerced into sterilisations, lawsuit says
   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/27/canada-indigenous-women-sterilisation-lawsuit 
5. National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
   https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1448633299414/1534526479029 
6. Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action
   https://nctr.ca/about/truth-and-reconciliation-commission-of-canada-calls-to-action/ 
7. Hundreds gather to celebrate Murray Sinclair's legacy with round dance in Winnipeg
   https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/murray-sinclair-round-dance-9.7059423 
8. Report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
   https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/g16/000/97/pdf/g1600097.pdf?OpenElement 
9. A legacy of colonialism: Senate Bill S-228 aims to criminalize the forced sterilization of women
   https://www.ipolitics.ca/2025/08/07/a-legacy-of-colonialism-senate-bill-s-228-aims-to-criminalize-the-forced-sterilization-of-women/ 
10. Rather than a ‘chilling effect’, Bill S-228 provides protection from forced sterilization
    https://healthydebate.ca/2026/04/topic/bill-s228-protection-forced-sterilization/ 
11. A federal bill aimed at protecting women could actually cause harm
    https://healthydebate.ca/2026/03/topic/bill-s228-sterilization-womens-health/ 

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