Reprinted with permission from Embassy, May 8, 2013
For Canadian Aboriginal communities struggling with unsafe water and failing sanitation systems, the United Nations likely seems quite distant and potentially irrelevant. It is probably viewed as equally immaterial—if it is thought of at all—by any Canadians living in precarious housing or fighting to make ends meet.
But when the UN’s 82 member delegations gathered in Geneva on April 26 to review Canada’s human rights performance, the plight of marginalized Canadians was at the top of their agenda.
The Universal Periodic Review, or UPR, is a mechanism used by the UN Human Rights Council, established in 2006, for peer assessment of the fulfillment of human rights obligations. First reviewed in 2009, Canada’s turn is up again.
However, it isn’t just the international community that is concerned about Canada’s human rights record. Civil society organizations here at home—including Citizens for Public Justice, Amnesty International, and the Wellesley Institute—have continued to raise red flags regarding Canada’s failure to take action on a range of issues.
In their submission to the UPR, Citizens for Public Justice made three calls to the federal government: to act on the recommendations of parliamentary committees and put into action a national poverty elimination strategy; to implement commitments made for Aboriginal rights through the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; and to uphold economic, social, and cultural rights by passing into law an act to ensure secure, adequate, accessible, and affordable housing for Canadians.
The poverty rate in Canada has hovered around 10 per cent over several decades, rising during periods of difficulty and falling modestly during periods of economic strength. But the average low-income family now lives on an income that is only two-thirds of the poverty line. Low-income working-age singles, in turn, live on a mere 55 per cent. Poverty impedes people’s access to basic resources. It leads to insecurity and limits the opportunity to fully participate in one’s community. It is also directly connected with poor health.
Aboriginal peoples have consistently experienced higher rates of poverty—a situation often aggravated by isolation, poor housing, crumbling infrastructure, a lack of potable water, and limited access to education and employment.
Poverty strategy calls rejected
Housing is a key element: many living in poverty face the added challenge of rising housing costs. Close to 25 per cent of Canadians are required to pay more than they can afford for housing or depend on subsidized housing.
Government programs and transfers currently do not ensure that all Canadians have enough income for well-being—in fact, income supports for working-age Canadians have weakened since the 1990s. And, according to the Wellesley Institute, as of this year, overall federal spending on housing programs will have dropped 18 per cent since 1989.
Canada remains among the world’s wealthiest countries. And still, the federal government rejected the 2009 UPR recommendation that Canada implement a national poverty eradication strategy. What is more, as recently as Feb. 27, members of Parliament voted down the Secure, Adequate, Accessible, and Affordable Housing Act, which would have led to the development of a much needed national housing strategy.
They’re doing all they can, they say, encouraging jobs and growth—and besides, social programs are outside their jurisdiction. But the policy-making and redistributive powers of the federal government cannot be overlooked. Health-care regulation provides an important example of an issue for which there are mechanisms that effectively transfer selected decision-making powers to Ottawa. Similarly, the federal government must accept its role in promoting our collective well-being and eliminating poverty.
Canada’s lack of action on social, economic, and cultural rights is only exacerbated by disrespect for the UN process. In a joint submission to the UPR, a group of 62 Canadian NGOs (led by Amnesty International) highlighted two overarching challenges.
The first is what they refer to as “the Canadian government’s failure to institute a transparent, effective and accountable system for ensuring full and proper implementation of the country’s international human rights obligations.” And the second, “a notion that there should be little or no international oversight of Canada’s human rights record because Canada’s record is better than other countries or because poverty and hunger are less severe in an affluent country like Canada.”
The desperate situations that continue to play out—exemplified by the current state of emergency in Attawapiskat—make it clear that Canada can no longer rest on its laurels as an international human rights leader.
Canada has committed to responding to the UPR recommendations by September. It may be naïve to expect anything significant in that response or the “action” that follows. One thing is certain, however: that Canadian civil society organizations, including Citizens for Public Justice, will continue to hold a light to the contraventions of human rights that exist in this land of plenty, until the time when everyone’s rights are respected.
CPJ will join other civil society and Aboriginal organizations tomorrow, Tuesday, May 28, in a consultation with federal, provincial and territorial government officials (convened by the Department of Canadian Heritage) to provide input into the development of the official response. At this meeting, we will continue to urge government officials to take action on poverty, Aboriginal rights, and affordable housing.
