2025-26 Response to Parliamentary committees and external audits
Response to parliamentary committees
Response to the Thirteenth Report of the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs, entitled Braiding Learning with Healing: A Pathway to Improving Graduation Rates and Successful Outcomes for Indigenous Students.
Report presented to the House of Commons on Thursday, October 23, 2025
In 2025-26, the following Parliamentary Committee reports required a response:
The report presents what the committee heard from witnesses in December 2024, as well as the committee's findings and recommendations. The first section of this report discusses First Nations, Inuit and Métis witness testimony regarding Indigenous identity. First Nations can register for "status" under the Indian Act which is used to determine eligibility for some federal programs. The remainder of the report discusses barriers to Indigenous economic development and Indigenous participation in federal procurement.
The Government Response (PDF) was presented to the House on Thursday, February 23, 2026.
Response to audits conducted by the Office of the Auditor General of Canada (including audits conducted by the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development)
Report 1—Registration Under the Indian Act
The audit focused on whether Indigenous Services Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada effectively and efficiently managed the registration process under the Indian Act. There were seven recommendations addressed to Indigenous Services Canada. The departmental responses to address the recommendations can be found in the report (see page 24 of 28) in the section titled "Recommendation and Responses (PDF)" (tabled June 9, 2025).
Follow-up on Programs for First Nations
The follow-up report focused on whether Indigenous Services Canada made satisfactory progress in implementing the recommendations included in six previous audit reports of the Office of the Auditor General of Canada issued between 2015 and 2022. The purpose of the recommendations was to improve the programs and services in First Nations communities and, in turn, the lives of First Nations people. There were 34 recommendations addressed to Indigenous Services Canada. Assessment of Indigenous Services Canada's progress in implementing past recommendations, including key findings, can be found in the report (see page 14 of 36) in the section titled "Progress in Implementing Past Recommendations (PDF)". The departmental overall response to the Auditor General of Canada's Follow-up on Programs for First Nations can be found in the report (see page 29 of 36) in the section titled "Indigenous Services Canada's Response (PDF)" (Tabled October 21, 2025).
Departmental Progress in Implementing Sustainable Development Strategies— Poverty Reduction
This audit focused on whether the selected federal organizations contributed to meeting the poverty reduction target in the 2022-2026 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy by providing measurable departmental actions and by achieving expected results for these actions and whether they reported the results achieved. There was one recommendation addressed to Indigenous Services Canada. The departmental response to address the recommendation can be found in the report (see page 33 of 49), in the section titled "Recommendation and Responses (PDF)" (Tabled November 5, 2025).
Response to audits conducted by the Public Service Commission of Canada or the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages
During the 2025-26 fiscal year, no audits were conducted by the Public Service Commission of Canada or the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages implicated Indigenous Services Canada.