Canada is under review this week for some of the most egregious violations of human rights: the discriminatory treatment of racialized persons and the continuing systemic barriers that prevent equality in the country.
While we are often considered a global leader on human rights, our record on racial discrimination illustrates a very different picture. On Monday and Tuesday, at the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), Canada will be called to account on several critical concerns, including:
- The inadequate underfunding and restrictions on eligibility for legal aid;
- The lack protection in cases of domestic violence where Indigenous women are affected;
- The overwhelming wage gap experienced by racialized women – as our colleagues at Colour of Poverty – Colour of Change have shown, Indigenous women with a university degree earn 33% less than non-Indigenous men with a university degree;
- The over-representation of racialized women in part-time and precarious employment;
- The disproportionate rates of Indigenous and Black children in Canada’s child welfare system;
- Inadequate housing on First Nations reserves, characterized by overcrowding, housing in need of repairs and other factors;
- The lack of implementation of the ruling by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal on denial of services to Indigenous children – this also includes the government’s new attempts to avoid responsibility by appealing the decision;
- The failure of the government to remove sex discrimination in the Indian Act; and
- Health inequalities of Indigenous peoples, which are exacerbated by unequal access to education, employment, income, housing and healthcare.
While these violations and issues span a wide range, a common thread underlies many of them: poverty.
The persistence of poverty for racialized persons in Canada is often driven by discrimination. For example, high rates of poverty and homelessness in Toronto have a direct link to discriminatory practices against renters on the basis of ethno-racial background. Colour of Poverty – Colour of Change also point out in their written submission to the Committee that the disproportionate levels of Black and Indigenous children in the child welfare system can be driven by racially-biased referrals; examples of this include black families referred because their children eat non-western food. Additionally, children who from racialized families may be apprehended because of lack of housing or other resources – a direct result of poverty.
This discrimination is often directly implemented by the government of Canada. In the context of Indigenous persons in Canada, this is particularly evident. Despite the fact that 1 in 2 status First Nations children live in poverty, the government has failed to follow an order by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal to ensure that services to Indigenous children are no longer denied as a result of jurisdictional disputes – services that are provided without barriers to others in Canada. In fact, the government has even gone so far as to appeal the decision of the tribunal to further avoid their obligations.
Another example of the failure of governments to take human rights actions is by the lack of action in amending the Indian Act to remove sex discrimination faced by Indigenous women, which remains to create a hierarchy between men and women. In fact, the Liberal government has taken steps to prevent removal of the discrimination, on the basis that more consultation is needed. As the Feminist Alliance for international Action points out, Canada has been consulting on the Act since the 1940s and already knows that this sex hierarchy is discriminatory.
Poverty and racial discrimination permeate beyond direct discriminatory acts on the part of the government – when discriminatory practices are implemented by private actors – like landlords or employers – the government still has a critical role under our international human rights obligations in regulating and enforcing non-discrimination.
In the face of the numerous areas of discrimination faced by racialized persons in Canada, some of our amazing colleagues in the fight to end poverty are in Geneva presenting at the review and make sure these issues come forward. This includes groups like the Feminist Alliance for International Action, Colour of Poverty – Colour of Change, First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada, and Aboriginal Legal Services.
Along with bringing these issues forward, these groups will also be calling for some important recommendations for CERD to consider. For example, they recommend that Canada:
- “centre the problem of the racialization of poverty in the national Poverty Reduction Strategy” Colour of Poverty – Colour of Change (in coalition with other groups)
- “[i]mplement the recommendations of the Auditor General of Canada, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, UN Special Rapporteur on rights of Indigenous peoples, the CEDAW Committee and other United Nations treaty bodies to address the socioeconomic crises faced by Indigenous women and girls.” Feminist Alliance for International Action (in coalition with other groups)
- “develop a national action plan in collaboration with Indigenous women’s organization to implement economic, social and cultural rights of Indigenous women to address the underlying causes that lead to greater susceptibility to violence, and ensure that these rights are justiciable in Canada.” Aboriginal Legal Services
- “immediately cease challenging legal proceedings which seek to assert the substantive equality rights of First Nations children in court or before human rights bodies.” – First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada
As Canada comes under the spotlight on racial discrimination this week, it’s a great opportunity for our governments to commit to real change. To watch the live video feed of the review on Monday from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm and Tuesday from 4:00 am to 7:00 am, click here. CWP will also be live tweeting the review. Follow our live Tweets here.
Michèle Biss is the Legal Education and Outreach Coordinator at Canada Without Poverty.
