Facing racism when using status cards is 'near-universal' experience, UBCIC report finds

Discrimination, racism and confusion are "near-universal" experiences for Indigenous people who use status cards in everyday transactions, according to a new report from the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs (UBCIC).

A survey released with the report found 99 per cent of respondents had been mistreated when they used the government-issued cards to purchase goods or services, either with subtle micro-aggressions or overt racism.

"This experience is profoundly negative, particularly for those experiencing other compounding and overlapping forms of oppression and shapes people's behaviour for a lifetime," read the 72-page report, published Tuesday.

UBCIC commissioned the independent report as part of its standing in the since-settled human rights complaint filed by Maxwell Johnson, a Heiltsuk man who was wrongfully arrested when he tried using his status card to open a bank account in 2019.

A status card is a piece of government ID for someone who identifies as status Indian, as defined by the federal Indian Act. 

The cards, which have been a valid piece of identification in Canada for more than 65 years, can be used for health coverage, dental expenses, to cross the Canadian-American border, to open bank accounts and for specific tax exemptions. 

At certain institutions, like banks, customers need a second piece of ID. In Johnson's case, bank staff phoned police, wrongly believing his status card was fake.

As part of its report, UBCIC surveyed 1,026 people in June about their experience using status cards for a tax exemption or as ID at five different types of retail and service businesses, like clothing stores or insurance brokers.

All but four respondents said they had faced discrimination.

"It doesn't happen every single time, but it will happen eventually if you use your status card on a repeated basis," said the report's author, Harmony Johnson, or sɛƛakəs.

"That experience of racism and discrimination using status cards is particularly acute for those that are experiencing other forms of overlapping oppression — people who are gender diverse [or] sexually diverse experience this double- whammy of oppression," she said.

Respondents said the racism was often more subtle than bold: nearly three-quarters said clerks acted as though status cards were a "hassle," while another 63 per cent said staff didn't believe or understand the cards to be acceptable ID.

More than 60 per cent said clerks were simply rude after seeing the cards, despite being polite to other customers.