E/CN.4/2004/18/Add.2 page 13 and are unable to find a place in society. The situation of urban aboriginals is a matter of concern also to the extent that the resources allocated by the Government are chiefly intended for the reserves and are tied to the reserve-related resource-related Indian status. The resulting feeling of despair leads many aboriginals to resort to alcohol and drugs.7 34. The association Quebec Native Women Inc. complained to the Special Rapporteur about the discriminatory effects of the Indian Act, about the decision-making process in the bands and the bands’ customary attitudes towards them. They mentioned several negative effects of the Act, such as: the fact that it restricts an aboriginal woman’s chance of obtaining Indian status; that a child cannot be entered in the Indian register unless the identity of the father is known; that women experience difficulties transferring from one band to another owing to the need to obtain the consent of the band concerned; that it protects band councils that refuse to enrol members despite the right to membership stipulated in the Act; and that certain regulations prevent non-members from residing in a reserve, thus affecting non-aboriginal spouses and hence the children born of mixed marriages. On behalf of aboriginal women, the association rejects the Government’s argument that it does not want to interfere in the internal affairs of the First Nations. The association considers that Canada is obliged by the international treaties to which it is a party to protect the rights of all persons living within its borders. They also believe that improving their living conditions is the responsibility of the Canadian Government, in view of the past and present factors that have led to the dismemberment of aboriginal Nations. B. Persons of African origin, particularly Loyalists’ descendants in Nova Scotia 35. The Special Rapporteur has received a plea from descendants of the African-Canadian community in Nova Scotia to tell the story of Africville, which they see as emblematic of the situation of discrimination against Afro-Canadians.8 Africville was one of the settlements of Blacks who came to the shores of what is now known as Nova Scotia. It dates back to the 1700s and one of the first purchases of property deeds was recorded in 1848. Blacks who settled there came to Nova Scotia bound as slaves of the French, British, and Portuguese. They also came as Black British Loyalists, during the time of the American Revolutionary War in 1776; as Jamaican Maroons in 1796; and as American slaves who were promised freedom by the British during the War of 1812. These diverse groups would eventually settle the area that once stood overlooking the grand Bedford Basin that would grow to be Africville. Eighty families lived and worked in a self-reliant community, on their own property. 36. The period between 1913-1973 saw industrial growth at the expense of the residents of Africville. A bone-meal plant, a cotton factory, a rolling mill/nail factory, a slaughterhouse, and a port facility for handling coal were built within earshot of residential homes. In the 1950’s, the city dump was moved to within 100 metres of the westernmost group of Africville homes. 37. Not only had the city leaders surrounded Africville with unwanted, dirty and dangerous facilities, by 1915 they had made explicit their intention to use land occupied and owned by the people of Africville for industrial expansion. By 1960, the city of Halifax embarked on an urban renewal campaign, which would forcibly displace the residents of Africville in order to make room for industrial expansion. After 150 years of collusion between the provincial Government