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Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women considers the reports of Canada
25 October 2016
Introducing the report, Linda Savoie, Senior Director-General, Women’s Program and Regional Operations, Status of Women Canada, said that the federal elections in Canada in 2015 had brought a change in the direction of the country: the Prime Minister had declared his commitment to gender equality and had appointed the first fully-fledged Minister on the status of women, who had developed a detailed framework of results which would serve as a roadmap towards full gender equality in all walks of life in Canada. Gender-based violence continued to present a real obstacle to achieving substantial gender equality in Canada, together with the gender pay gap, particularly for indigenous women, women with disabilities, and women from visible minorities. Canada was aware that tackling discrimination and marginalization required tackling sexists and racist attitudes entrenched in systems and institutions. Also introducing the reports, Margaret Buist, Director-General, Social Policy and Programs, Department of Indigenous and Northern Affairs, spoke about the high rate of violence against indigenous women and girls and said that a National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Canada had been established. Its mandate was to examine and report on systemic causes of all forms of violence that indigenous women and girls experienced, identify patterns of violence and explain why it occurred, and examine institutional policies and practices implemented in any jurisdiction in response to violence by indigenous women and girls.
In the ensuing dialogue, Committee Experts commended Canada for its leadership role in the promotion and protection of human rights of women, both domestically and internationally, but were v concerned about structural factors leading to persistent gender inequality in employment, education, wages, political and public participation. The epidemic violence against women was another symptom of that inequality, and Canadian women continued to be at a high risk of intimate partner violence, despite all measures taken. Committee Experts were in particular concerned about discrimination and violence against women and girls: First Nations and aboriginal in particular, but also Inuit, Métis, racialized and women from visible minorities, and were alarmed that the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Canada lacked human rights framework and an explicit reference to the examination of public policies and practices including by the police. Experts urged Canada to adopt a national gender equality strategy and policy, as well as a federal strategy to address gender-based violence, and to adopt temporary special measures to address those areas where measures taken so far did not work.
In her concluding remarks, Ms. Savoie said that Canada would use the Committee’s conclusions as yet another tool to accelerate the progress and address the gaps across the provinces and territories.
The delegation of Canada included representatives of the Status of Women Canada, the Department of Public Safety, the Department of Justice, the Department of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, the Strategic and Intergovernmental Relations, the Employment and Social Development Canada, the Government of Ontario, the Government of Quebec, and the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations Office at Geneva.
The Committee will reconvene in public tomorrow, 26 October, at 10 a.m. to consider the combined fifth and sixth periodic reports of Burundi CEDAW/C/BDI/5-6.
Report
The combined eighth and ninth periodic reports of Canada can be read here: CEDAW/C/CAN/8-9.
Presentation of the Report
LINDA SAVOIE, Senior Director-General, Women’s Program and Regional Operations, Status of Women Canada, said that Canada placed great value on the work and recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. The way in which Canada dealt with federalism was characterised by cooperation, responsibility and a shared commitment of all governments – federal, provincial and territorial – to fulfil the international obligations of Canada. The federal elections in Canada in 2015 had brought a change in the direction of the country. The Prime Minister had declared himself a feminist and was committed to gender equality; he had appointed the first fully-fledged Minister on the status of women, and the federal cabinet which for the first time in history was composed of equal number of women and men. The Ministry for Status of Women in Canada had developed a detailed framework or results aligned with the Sustainable Development Goal of gender equality, which would provide a roadmap towards full gender equality in all walks of life in Canada.
Gender-based violence continued to present a real obstacle to achieving substantial gender equality in Canada, together with the gender pay gap, particularly for indigenous women, women with disabilities, and women from visible minorities. Canada was aware that tackling discrimination and marginalization required addressing sexists and racist attitudes entrenched in systems and institutions. Since the last review in 2008, Canada had instituted a number of programmes and measures that sought to further address the persistent inequalities experienced by women and girls, including the gender wage gap, the new Canada Child Benefit and the development of poverty reduction strategy. Most jurisdictions in Canada had in place legislations, provisions or policies that addressed gender wage gap discrepancies within the public services, and some had legislation which required equal pay for work of equal value in the private sector.
MARGARET BUIST, Director-General, Social Policy and Programs, Department of Indigenous and Northern Affairs, also in the introduction of the reports, spoke about high rate of violence against indigenous women and girls and the steps taken to end that violence. Reaffirming its commitment to reconciliation with indigenous peoples, Canada had accepted the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and was working with key partners in designing an engagement strategy for developing a national reconciliation framework. In May 2016, Canada had declared its full support, without reservations, to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and was committed to its full implementation. In June 2016, governments and indigenous peoples had agreed to establish the framework for a new Federal/Provincial/Territorial and Indigenous Forum (FPTIF) to strengthen the partnership in addressing issues of importance to indigenous peoples including violence against women and girls. The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Canada had been established, with the mandate to examine and report on systemic causes of all forms of violence that indigenous women and girls experienced, identify patterns of violence and explain why it occurred, and examine institutional policies and practices implemented in any jurisdiction in response to violence by indigenous women and girls. The inquiry would be truly national and all provinces and territories had agreed to adopt the Terms of Reference under their respective Public Inquiries Acts.
LINDA SAVOIE, Senior Director-General, Women’s Program and Regional Operations, Status of Women Canada, concluded by saying that Canada was proud of its accomplishments in achieving gender equality and the implementation of the Convention. Canada remained to address the challenges in cooperation with all governments and by adopting an inclusive, open and transparent approach.
Questions by Experts
Committee Expert commended Canada for its leadership role in the promotion and protection of human rights of women domestically and internationally. The Indian Act had been amended in 1985 and 2011 to rectify discriminatory provisions against women, but was still found by the Constitutional Court not to guarantee full equality for Indian women. What measures would be taken to amend that act and ensure equality for women? Canada had not yet recovered from the budget cuts of the 1990s, which had severely impacted access of women to legal aid – what measures were being taken to ensure gender-responsive or sensitive budgeting for legal aid?
Another Expert took up the issue of human rights violations committed by Canadian mining activities abroad and noticed that many victims still faced obstacles in accessing justice in the Canadian system, particularly women. A number of companies still did not meet basic standards of human rights in their operations. What measures were being taken to ensure full access to justice for women outside of the Canadian territory for human rights violations committed by Canadian mining companies? What were the intentions of Canada concerning the establishment of an Extractive Sector Ombudsperson to receive complaints, undertake investigations and offer advisory services to the Government and the private sector?
Turning to the women and peace and security issues, the Expert noted that Canada was the first country to develop the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security in 2010, and asked about steps taken to address the issues of reporting and accountability in relation to the implementation of the plan.
Concerning the status of the Convention in the Canadian legal system, the Expert asked how the obligations under the Convention were being implemented in the federal structure and across the jurisdictions.
Welcoming the setting up of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Canada as recommended by the Committee, the Expert noted some concerns, including the lack of a human rights framework in its terms of reference, the lack of explicit reference to the examination of public policies and practices including by the police, and the absence of indigenous women organizations in this process.
Replies by the Delegation
Responding to the questions on access to justice for women, a delegate said that a number of measures were being taken in that regard. Free legal aid represented an important element in women’s access to justice, and all jurisdictions operated programmes which provided free legal aid to persons with low or no income. In 2016, the Federal Government had substantially increased the free legal aid budget: by USD 88 million over the next five years and 30 million per year thereafter, in order to improve access to justice in criminal matters for vulnerable and marginalized Canadians. It was expected that indigenous women and girls, as well as indigenous men, and persons with mental health problems, would benefit from that programme throughout the country. In Quebec in 2016, the threshold for admissibility for free legal aid had gone up by 6.7 per cent, which allowed single persons working on a minimum wage to access free legal aid. Any person receiving social aid was automatically admissible for free legal aid.
In terms of additional amendments to the Indian Act, Canada was committed to further examining the Indian registration process in a collaborative manner. The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Canada was based on the human rights approach: the process was led by indigenous women, while one Commissioner had been appointed expressly because she was a human rights expert. Advisory groups, set to include members of indigenous women’s organizations, would be available to assist during the conduct of the Inquiry. The Inquiry was mandated to look into systemic issues and institutional policies and practices; its priorities had been established following the consultation process – two top priority issues would be policing and child welfare.
Answering the question concerning the implementation of the Convention in the federal system, a delegate explained that Canada had a dualist legal system and did not incorporate full texts of treaties in the domestic laws. The obligations under the Convention were implemented through a large body of law, including Constitution, and a range of policies and programmes, in the territories and provinces. Governments across the country had specific jurisdiction over issues such as health or education, while on others, such as policing, the responsibility was shared. The legal system in Canada ensured that women throughout the country enjoyed a uniform level of legal protection: measures adopted by governments in Canada were subject to the constitutional review, particularly for equality standards; the Supreme Court had the jurisdiction over the entire territory of Canada; courts had adopted similar approaches to equality issues; and the provincial and territorial human rights laws, or anti-discrimination laws, were very similar to the federal law.
On access to justice for women victims of human rights violations committed outside of Canada, in the context of extractive industries, a delegate said that Canada encouraged all companies to implement human rights standards, and believed that voluntary norms were an appropriate approach. A series of steps had been taken to promote responsible behaviour of companies abroad, such as corporate social responsibility practices and had linked the compliance with corporate social responsibility and due diligence with access to government support. Canada was currently reviewing its National Action Plan on women, peace and security 2010-2015, in cooperation with civil society organizations.
In the follow-up questions, a Committee Expert wondered how implementation of the Convention worked in practice on the federal level and, by a way of example, noted the proposal contained in the Bill C16 on gender identity and expression to be included in the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Canada Human Rights Act. When adopted and included in the Human Rights Act, would it ensure the protection on the basis of gender identity and expression throughout the country, or did each territory or province need to pass a specific legislation?
Responding, a delegate said that Bill C16 contained other two elements in addition to inclusion of gender identity and expression in the list of prohibited grounds for discrimination. Those were two amendments to the Criminal Code of Canada - which applied across the country and the jurisdictions - and would prohibit gender identity and expression as grounds for hate speech, and ensure that crimes motivated by gender identity and expression issues were considered during sentencing. As for the Canadian Human Rights Act, the new provisions would apply to the Federal Government and the federally supported or regulated industries, such as airlines for example; it would not apply directly in territories and provinces.
Questions by Experts
A Committee Expert stressed that ensuring compliance with the Convention across the sub-state units was the responsibility of the State party and asked how that was being done. It was noted that only 29 out of 101 federal department agencies had committed to gender-sensitive budgeting, and the Expert asked about the plans to adopt the national gender equality strategy and policy to address structural factors leading to persistent gender inequality. Adoption of temporary special measures could be relevant to some areas identified as playing in role in gender inequality, such as poverty, lack of housing, unemployment, and others.
Replies by the Delegation
A delegate said that in the federal system of Canada, different jurisdictions had the ability to tailor responses to their specific needs. The newly elected Federal Government had forcefully supported the agenda of gender equality, and its leadership and commitment had an impact across the jurisdictions. The momentum was felt throughout the federal family, and those actions had also been enhanced by direct investments in the status of women to ensure that strong gender-based analysis was implemented across jurisdictions, to speed up the achievement of gender-sensitive policies and programmes. There was a particularly strong engagement of civil society organizations with the Government which supported their capacity to remain engaged on all issues that advanced gender equality.
In her follow-up questions, the Expert asked about ways and means to enhance the work and commitment to gender equality of the Federal Government and Prime Ministers on the territorial and provincial levels.
Questions by Experts
An Expert asked about steps taken to address the epidemic of violence against women within Canada, and said that women in Canada continued to be, despite all measures taken, at high risk of intimate partner violence. Support services to victims of violence remained to be underfunded, particularly in rural areas. What was being done to ensure that social services did not penalize women – particularly indigenous women and girls – victims of violence, and to ensure that they were adequately funded and coordinated? Without comprehensive data on violence against women, it was not possible to evaluate the success of measures taken to address it. Pending the adoption of a national action plan on violence against women, Canada was in the process of adopting the Federal Strategy on gender-based violence – could the delegation inform about its content, scope, budget, and specific measures?
Another Expert noted the very low rate of complaints of violence filed with the police – less than 30 per cent of women victims of violence reported it – which was a vote of no confidence in the police and justice institutions and mechanisms. In case of violence against indigenous women and girls, often the police were the perpetrators. The delegation was asked about the possibility of establishing an independent oversight of the police, availability of legal aid to women including to women in shelters, and cyber violence and cyber bullying.
Commending the efforts deployed by Canada to address the rampant trafficking in women in the country, an Expert stressed the need for disaggregated data on victims and perpetrators, and asked how the anti-trafficking structures addressed specific vulnerabilities of indigenous women and girls and minority women, measures to support victim identification, and procedures applicable to foreign women victims of trafficking. Noting the links between prostitution, trafficking in persons, and sexual exploitation, the Expert said, according to some, demand for sexual services fuelled human trafficking, and asked whether Canada envisaged decriminalizing all women and girls in prostitution without any conditions and criminalizing demand.
Replies by the Delegation
The delegation informed that the Ministry of Status of Women had been given a mandate to develop a federal strategy to address gender-based violence; it would be anchored on prevention, support to victims, and access to justice, and complemented with a strong focus on data. The entire strategy would be examined though intersectional lenses, and would include all the questions that the Committee raised, and that Canada was well aware of. Some provinces were quite advanced in addressing violence against women, whether it was sexual violence or intimate partner violence, and the Federal Government wished to ensure that the new strategy ensure that everyone worked in a cohesive manner.
Following the report of the national police overview on missing and murdered indigenous women, an identifier had been put in all reports on homicide, where the aboriginal identity of victim or perpetrator was marked. Speaking of an independent police oversight, a delegate said that allegations of police mistreatment of indigenous women were of great concern to the Government, and efforts were in place that all of them be adequately addressed through a number of mechanisms and processes: the public complaint process which was independent; internal investigative process; and if allegations were criminal in nature, an independent criminal investigation was conducted by an outside agency.
There were more than 660 shelters in the country, said the delegation. Canada was developing a national housing strategy, which would also address the issue of shelters for victims of violence. With regard to cyber violence, a delegate explained that Canada spoke of cyber bullying and not cyber violence; the prevention of bullying in schools had been included as a priority in the national crime prevention strategy since 2012, in order to ensure that bullying behaviour was not tolerated and was prevented. The national campaign on cyber bullying was launched to explain the consequences of bulling online and how and when it can pass over to criminal act. In relation to the repeal of Section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act, a delegate explained that numerous provisions in the Criminal Code protected identifiable groups, including women, from hate speech; the Canadian Human Rights Act continued to prohibit harassment in employment and in provision of goods and services, which applied online as well.
The national action plan on human trafficking had ended on 31 March 2016, but the funding continued to be allocated for efforts to fight trafficking in persons. The plan was currently under evaluation, and it might be recommended that it not be renewed. The Anti-Trafficking Task Force was comprised of eight government agencies, which met quarterly and had twice-a-year conferences with provincial counterparts.
Regarding torture by non-State actors, Canada considered that acts of violence constituted torture in line with the Convention against Torture and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which required a level of state involvement. The Bill C242 on inflicting torture was a private member bill which sought to introduce in the Criminal Code a crime of torture committed by private individuals. After passing two readings in the Parliament, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights had recommended that the bill not proceed further as the amendments proposed by the Bill might be redundant in light of existing Criminal Code provisions.
Follow-up Questions by Experts and Replies by the Delegation
In a series of follow-up questions, Experts took a good note of the explanations concerning the evolution of the concept of cyber bullying and urged the delegation to re-introduce Section 13 in addition to current criminal responses, in order to provide civil remedies to hate speech and harassment; efforts to avoid re-victimization of victims of trafficking, address specific vulnerabilities of indigenous women and girls to sexual exploitation, particularly poverty, and to address over-representation of indigenous girls in the foster care system and to ensure their protection from trafficking and exploitation.
Responding, a delegate stressed that cyber violence was an extension of the violence that women and girls experienced in their day-to-day lives, and Canada wanted to have a number of tools available to ensure that women and girls felt safe online, but also to ensure that providers of platforms could be held responsible – and accountable - for online safety. Canada was willing to explore not only legislative measures, but any other measures which would ensure safety online because it was well aware that holding women and girls responsible for their online behaviour alone did not work. The Federal strategy on gender-based violence would explore some of those options.
The best approach in the legislation was to respect what the Supreme Court outlined in the Bedford decision in terms of decriminalization of prostitution. The 2014 Law had made it illegal to purchase the sexual services but legal to sell them; the law had not yet been evaluated, but Canada was committed to evaluating the impact.
Canada was funding projects which addressed harmful traditional practices, on a small scale but throughout the country. It had been found that a very challenging element was the language on the basis of which to engage with community, and there were also concerns about safety of victims. One-size did not fit all in terms of addressing harmful traditional practices, and Canada was still in a learning phase on how to address the issue with respect for the communities. The issue of harmful traditional practices would be addressed by the federal strategy on gender-based violence strategy.
Questions by Experts
An Expert saluted the first gender-balanced Canadian Cabinet, and said that major concerns about political participation of women remained: only 26 per cent of members of the Federal Parliament were female, while the recent defeat of the bill proposing funding support to political parties which nominated equal number of women in their candidate bills had sent a worrying signal. What was being done to eliminate structural obstacles to the political participation of women and participation in public life, and in particular the participation and representation of indigenous and aboriginal women, and women from visible minorities?
Replies by the Delegation
Canada shared concerns about the low representation of women in the Federal Parliament, but there were no plans envisaged at the moment to introduce quotas or temporary special measures. The Ministry for the Status of Women planned on launching three calls to address structural and systemic barriers – in the Parliament, in the corporate world – in collaboration and through projects with civil society organizations. Those investments would continue, and would focus on empowering women, and enabling civil society organizations to seek funding from the Ministry for their advocacy on barriers women faced.
In September 2016, 64 per cent of the federally appointed judges were women, but that information did not tell the full story: there was a need to put a strong gender and diversity lenses on all appointments to Ordering Councils. Data was being collected which would enable the Ministry to advise the Government on measures to take. It was a source of pride for Canada that of eight Supreme Court justices, four were women; the Chief Justice was a woman as well.
An Expert asked follow-up questions concerning gender composition of executive and judicial bodies at the provincial and territorial levels. Why was Canada so reluctant to adopt quotas and other temporary special measures while it was obvious that other measures taken did not work? On the use of quotas, a delegate replied that the natural response of Canada was that of cooperation, collaboration and persuasion.
As far as the participation of women in diplomatic and foreign service was concerned, a delegate said that 878 out of more than 1,900 active employees were women. In terms of employment categories, women represented 48 per cent of the foreign service officials, 42 per cent of the rotational management group, and less than 15 per cent in other categories. It was interesting to note that 74 per cent of the staff of the Canadian Permanent Mission in Geneva were women.
Questions by Experts
Regarding access to education, a Committee Expert asked about the budgetary resources allocated to education of indigenous peoples; strategies in place to ensure that all education needs of all aboriginal groups were met on and off reservations, on an equal footing with non-aboriginal groups; an assessment of the initiatives aimed at improving educational outcomes of aboriginal and First Nation girls and women. How many aboriginal women were on the waiting list for post-secondary education – the figure the Committee had was of almost 10,000 women – and what were the plans to absorb them in the education system? What strategies were in place to address specific barriers girls faced in completing secondary education? The delegation was asked to provide education-related data and statistics in order to fill the gap in the information the Committee had about the enjoyment of the right of education by women in Canada.
The situation of women in work in Canada was alarming: they were overwhelmingly more likely to be unemployed, underpaid and suffered sexual harassment at work. Canada had been requested by many international organizations to address the significant gender wage gap, including repressing the Equitable Compensation Act of 2006, which referred the issue of equal pay on the collective bargaining. Structural issues causes that were holding women back had to be addressed in a comprehensive manner, including by ensuring affordable childcare services across the country, implementing a minimum wage policy, addressing the alarming levels of poverty among single mothers, and introducing paths from part-time work to full-time employment. Canada should also address the situation of temporary foreign workers.
Turning to the issue of health, a Committee Expert asked about the causes and possible solutions for the lack of correspondence between the law on abortion and the provision of abortion services throughout the country, a plan to conduct a study on negative impact on women of unwanted pregnancies they were unable to terminate due to unconscientious objection or administrative problems, and the strategy to reduce the consumption of opiate-based drugs.
Replies by the Delegation
A delegate stressed that Canada recognized that education was a cornerstone of success, and said that the Government worked with provinces and territories, as well and with indigenous groups in providing education. Government made direct budget transfers to provincial and territorial governments, and was also providing direct support to individuals through loans, grants and credits. New initiatives in that regard had been recently announced. The Government was further supporting the education of education of aboriginal children all the while respecting the principle of First Nations’ control of education. Between 2006 and 2011, the proportion of aboriginal women on reserve with a high school diploma had risen from 37 to 40 per cent; aboriginal women were outperforming aboriginal men in high school completion. However, the high school completion rate of aboriginal women was much lower than the rate of non-aboriginal women: 40 percent vs. 89 percent. The Government had just announced a significant investment the education of the First Nations: CAD 2.6 billion over five years, starting in 2017, and almost CAD half a billion for educational infrastructure on reserve.
The Government of Quebec had been employing efforts to facilitate the entry of women into professions traditionally held by men, by providing scholarships for women who chose areas such as science and technology.
In response to the questions raised on wage gap and labour market participation, a delegate said that the Government had announced that it would be pursuing the Early Learning and Child Care Framework in order to enable greater participation of women in the labour market, and had already made an initial investment of CAD 500 million. The Government had tabled a discussion paper on poverty discussion, and was currently conducting consultations and discussions with stakeholders in order to identify and put in place a poverty reduction framework. The Government had recently accepted the recommendations made by the Parliament in its report on pay equity, and would be proceeding with the development of revised legislation in consultation with key stakeholders, with the target of 2018 for the implementation of the legislation.
A parental insurance scheme in Quebec had made it possible to significantly increase the income of single woman families, and to increase their chances of finding a job. The programme had been running for ten years and had contributed to 750,000 new births. The Children Care Network services had been running from the 1990s, though which subsidized childcare places were being provided for 230,000 children across Quebec. As a result of those initiatives, the number of women with children under the age of three who were in work had increased from 41 per cent 2006 to 61 per cent in 2016, driving the income increase of both single woman families, and families with children with both parents.
Canada had guidelines for sexual health education, which had been in place for more than 20 years, and had been revised several years ago, with supplements being added occasionally on a number of various topics of interests. Ontario had changed its sexual education curriculum in 2015 to better reflect contemporary concerns of students, who were taught on a number of topics ranging from healthy relationships, online safety, consent, the risk of sexting, healthy eating, and others, and was taught in 11 languages.
Access to abortion services was a challenge in remote and rural areas; at the moment there was a commitment to establish abortion services in the last jurisdiction which did not have it. Canada recognized the need to manage the situation regarding conscientious objection to abortion in order to ensure that physicians provided adequate health services to Canadian women.
Follow-up Questions and Replies by the Delegation
HIV non-disclosure was prosecuted in Canada and carried heavy sentences including to life imprisonment, and offenders were registered as sexual offenders making their access to housing and employment difficult. The provisions on disclosure were not very clear, and the delegation was asked whether prosecution would be limited to only those cases where there was an intend to infect, as recommended by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. Criminalization of drug use had not brought an end to drug use, said the Exert and asked about the position of Canada in international discussions based on harm reduction, and whether Canada would go for full decriminalization. What would the mechanism be on the strategy to increase women’s participation in the labour market by increasing the provision of childcare?
Responding, a delegate said that Canada was actively pursuing a public health approach to drug policy, and was also implementing a harm reduction policy in relation to drug use. Currently, Canada was conducting a revision of its criminal system to facilitate greater use of mandatory minimal penalties, attached specifically to drug-related offences, and was also taking steps to legalise marihuana.
Questions by Experts
An Expert commended Canada for taking active measures to implement Articles 13 and 14 of the Convention, and the Committee’s concluding observations on equality of women in economic and social life, and yet the proportion of women of vulnerable groups living in poverty was of concern: 30 per cent of First Nations women, 28 per cent of Inuit and Métis women, 20 per cent of immigrant women, 28 per cent of racialized women, 27 per cent of women with severe disabilities, and 28 per cent single mothers. First Nations communities suffered childcare crisis, water and sanitation crisis, housing crisis, suicide crisis, poverty crisis and crisis of culture and language. Women in rural areas in Canada still suffered multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence, including by men who arrived to indigenous areas as part of business projects.
Replies by the Delegation
In response to those questions, it was said that Canada recognized that the relevance and urgency to address all the serious issues that Committee Experts flagged, poverty in particular. The Government was anxious to implement a gender based analysis and see women living in poverty not as a uniform group, but to address their various experiences of poverty specifically. Government was making a historic investment in the socio-economic wellbeing of indigenous communities: CAD 8.5 billion allocated for education, childcare, housing infrastructure, and community solutions. Women represented 44 per cent of income-assisted beneficiaries, and measures were in place to support transition from assistance to employment.
An extensive engagement across the country had been taken to refine programmes for the benefit of the urban aboriginal population. A number of concrete steps were being taken to support families and individuals living in poverty, including the setting up the Canada Child Benefit which helped families with the cost of childcare.
Questions by Experts
An Expert asked about family property legislation that applied on reserve; measures that could be put in place to improve communication between criminal and civil courts in issues of domestic violence in order to ensure safety and protection of children; the Federal Divorce Act still contained the maximum contact provision, which was unsatisfactory in that it did not take violence against women and domestic violence; and child custody and support payments.
Replies by the Delegation
A delegate said that numerous consultations had been undertaken in the design phase of the Matrimony Act in order to ensure the protection of spouses; the federal provisional orders were not applicable to self-governing First Nations, unless they declared themselves under the protection of the legislation. There was no homogenous law governing family affairs, but it was important to say that the best interest of the child was the guiding principle across the jurisdictions. There were times where the Criminal Law and the Family Law were in conflict, and there were several small-scale pilot projects being run to understand what could work in that regard, and to create synergies between provinces which were seeking solutions.
Follow-up Questions and Replies by the Delegation
On the situation of women in detention, a Committee Expert asked about steps taken in provincial criminal systems to ensure adequate treatment of women with mental health problems and to remedy the current the overrepresentation of indigenous women.
A delegate confirmed that indigenous women were disproportionately represented in the Canadian correctional system: 36.3 per cent as compared to indigenous communities representing four per cent of the population of Canada. Canada was not practicing solitary confinement, but rather administrative segregation, although that was not where it wanted its prison population to be.
Concluding Remarks
LINDA SAVOIE, Senior Director-General, Women’s Program and Regional Operations, Status of Women Canada, said that Canada would use the Committee’s conclusions as yet another tool to accelerate the progress and address the gaps across the provinces and territories.
YOKO HAYASHI, Committee Chairperson, commended Canada for its efforts and encouraged it to address various recommendations which the Committee would issue with the purpose of more comprehensive implementation of the Convention throughout the State party.
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