UN Committee criticizes Canada

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An international panel of judges and human rights experts has told Canada it needs to get serious about protecting the human rights of Indigenous people who live within its borders.

The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights concluded its autumn session on Dec. 4 by issuing conclusions and recommendations after listening to reports from five nations, including Canada.

The committee released its findings after listening to three weeks of reports from the nations which are all parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. This international treaty has 137 signatory nations. The 18-member committee has the power and responsibility to oversee the implementation of the terms of the treaty.

Every five years, states that have ratified the treaty must report to the committee and answer questions. During this session, Canada was criticized by the committee for not following the committee's recommendations from 1993. That was the last time Canada appeared before the committee, "when it adopted policies at federal, provincial and territorial levels which exacerbated poverty and homelessness among vulnerable groups at a time of strong economic growth and increasing affluence."

The committee voiced its approval of several Supreme Court of Canada rulings dealing with equality provisions of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and also praised Canada for appointing a Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.

But it slammed Canada for not taking steps to make the terms of the international treaty binding within its boundaries, citing the lack of legal recourse under Canadian law for those who might claim that the covenant has been violated. The committee also chided Canada for failing to make legislative or constitutional changes that would allow the federal government to pressure provinces that violated the terms of the covenant, noting that under the present arrangement provinces could not be forced to comply.

The committee noted there is still a "gross disparity" between the economic, social and cultural situation of Aboriginal people and most Canadians" and urged Canada to implement the recommendations of the Royal Commission.

The committee report frowned on Canada's policy of extinguishment of Aboriginal rights, and raised questions about the federal policy of devolving programs to provincial governments, asking what the federal government could or would do if provincial governments violated the terms of the convenant. The committee also wanted to know what was being done about the self-determination ambitions of Canada's Aboriginal peoples and asked what the rights the Aboriginal people of Quebec would have if Quebec separated.

In reporting to the committee, federal officials assured the members that Canada has reversed the trend towards social spending cuts and pointed to Indian Affairs Minister Jane Stewart's Agenda for Action with First Nations as proof that Canada was addressing the problems of its Indigenous peoples.

The Grand Council of the Crees was the only Native group that attended the committee meetings. Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come summed up his impressions of Canada's answers to the committee during a speech at Carleton University in Ottawa on Dec. 10.

Calling the committee report "one of the most significant developments in recent years concerning the human rights of Aboriginal peoples in Canada," Coon Come launched into his own stinging indictment of Canada's reaction to the report.

"The reaction of the government was swift and predictable," he said. "Ministers Herb Grey and Lloyd Axworthy stated that the UN committee had relied on 'outdated' data, thus implying that things are now fine."

The grand chief argued that things are not fine. He argued that an analysis of spending on First Nations programs showed that per capita spending for Native people has dropped by three per cent since 1983 while per capita spending for non-Aboriginal Canadiansas risen over the same period by 24 per cent.

"We are growing tired of the propaganda that is being used to continue to oppress and dispossess us," he said. "By short-changing Aboriginal peoples in the way the federal governments do as compared to per capita spending on non-Aboriginal Canadians, the federal government is actually enriching the federal treasury at our expense."