S’ouvrir aux Amériques: Introduction to the Special Edition

Historically, Canada has acted as a human rights champion on the international scene, has spearheaded many promising initiatives, and encouraged other States to adopt policies to better comply with international standards. However, United Nations bodies have frequently addressed complaints regarding Canada for allegedly violating human rights treaties to which it is a party. These relate to a series of recurring issues. For instance, in 2017, the Human Rights Implementation Project found that “the most frequent topics […] are those related to rights of Indigenous (Aboriginal) persons and/or peoples, removal (deportation, extradition) from Canada, and discrimination based on various grounds (sex, language, religion, etc.).” Petitions made to the Organization of American States (OAS) reflect a similar trend. Five of the six petitions alleging a violation of rights protected in the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man that the OAS has deemed admissible relate to the rights of Indigenous peoples or individuals facing deportation. The Canadian State has responded to some of these concerns regarding human rights violations, though not necessarily as a result of pressure from international bodies. For example, a number of commissions have been created to learn more about situations where human rights had allegedly been violated, including the Commission of Inquiry into Certain Events at the Prison for Women in Kingston (Arbour Commission), the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP/Commission Erasmus Dussault), the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC), and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. After the publication of each of the Commissions’ final reports, the State has committed to fulfilling at least some of the recommendations made to address the violations documented. Most notably, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau committed to fulfilling all 94 of the TRC’s Calls to Action. Conversations with civil society organizations, however, reveal important problems with governmental commitment to improving the human rights situation in Canada, especially for persons and groups placed in situations of vulnerability, such as Indigenous women. A few examples will suffice. At a basic level, civil society groups deplore the lack of centralized human rights mechanisms such as a human rights ombudsman. On a related note, some describe a tendency on the part of the federal government to resort to the jurisdictional confusion that results from the division of powers to avoid taking action on certain issues or ratifying certain human rights instruments by claiming that such matters are the responsibility of the provinces, not the federal government. Yet even when Canada does ratify human rights treaties, civil society actors declare that Canada simply does not fully implement the recommendations that the bodies created by these treaties make. Others denounce a similar lack of political will domestically, for example when the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal issues a non-compliance order against the government. Regarding the TRC’s Calls to Action more specifically, the Yellowhead Institute concluded that “Canada is failing residential school Survivors and their families,” having only fulfilled eight of the 94 Calls to Action. Significantly, this was one Call to Action less than in 2019. In addition to inaction, some civil rights groups have alleged that previous Canadian authorities have sometimes taken action against these groups, including via financial reprisals and surveillance. Reprisals can be direct or indirect, as when the government cancels an organization’s status as a not-for-profit, thereby limiting its capacity to receive certain forms of funding. Though some Canadian civil society organizations have concerns regarding the lack of will on the part of the Canadian government to work toward fully respecting human rights, it must be said that they are not using all the tools at their …