The federal government has introduced legislation to ensure women on First Nations reserves have matrimonial property rights if their marriages dissolve, Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl said Tuesday.

Provincial laws governing the fair division of assets when marriages fail do not apply on reserves, and the federal Indian Act, which governs most aspects of life on reserves, does not address the subject.

The proposed legislation also includes a mechanism for First Nations communities to develop their own community-specific laws to deal with matrimonial property, Strahl said.

It also offers similar protection to women and children on reserves as the laws available to those off-reserve, he added.

"Our government is taking concrete, practical action to fill an intolerable, inexcusable legislative gap that has existed for far too long," Strahl said.

Aboriginal women's groups have argued the absence of matrimonial property laws has created hardship for women whose marriages break down, usually forcing them and their children to leave their reserves or move in with family members.

The bill was drafted following widespread consultations over the past year with interested parties, including the Native Women's Association of Canada and the Assembly of First Nations.