Ethan Macleod, a Canadian resident from the Cree Nation of Mistissini, was Christmas shopping over 500 kilometres away in Gatineau, Quebec. He hoped for good holiday deals but found some stores would not honour the Indian Act tax exemptions for Indigenous shoppers. Under section 87 of the Indian Act, Indigenous people with Indian status cards should get GST/HST and PST exemptions when buying goods on or delivered to a reserve. However, Macleod noticed this rule is not always followed off reserves. Some Quebec stores only offer limited tax relief. For example, Simon’s, a Canadian-owned shop, refused to remove taxes. “They told me, if I want to use my status card, I have to get it shipped to my community, and on top of it, I'm going to be paying those shipping fees,” Macleod said. On the other hand, Japanese-owned Uniqlo accepted his Indian status card without questions. Macleod asked, “Why are we getting more respect from outside, international companies compared to our own country?” Macleod avoids stores that refuse exemptions. Melissa Ratte, a Cree Nation consumer protection officer, says confusion comes from complex laws. “The law from the Indian Act and the federal law, unfortunately that is a big misunderstanding with Cree shoppers,” she explained. Only the Kanien’kehà:ka people from Kahnawà:ke have a special deal for point-of-sale GST removal in Quebec. Angela Ottereyes, a Cree parent and student in Montreal, shared her frustration. “It’s kind of embarrassing sometimes. I've had instances where it was accepted before and now they're not,” she said. Ratte hopes Quebec will copy Ontario’s clearer policies. “There's so much that our government can do in terms of changing policies. Maybe they could try to bring it here in Quebec, like what Ontario did,” she said. For Macleod, tax exemptions are about respecting Indigenous rights. He said, “You're Indigenous, you're in your homeland. You should be proud to get that tax exemption.”