Experts of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women Commend Canada’s Childcare Programme, Ask about Women’s Representation on Boards of Private Sector Companies and Gender-Based Violence against Indigenous Women
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women today concluded its consideration of the tenth periodic report of Canada, with Committee Experts praising Canada’s childcare programme, and raising questions about the lack of representation of women on the boards of private sector companies and gender-based violence against indigenous women by extractive industry workers.
One Committee Expert said the State’s childcare programme was very effective in increasing women’s labour participation. However, the Expert noted that there were shortages in places and staff in some childcare centres. How was the Government addressing this?
Another Committee Expert asked if there were mandatory reporting mechanisms for gender representation in large private organizations, where women occupied just one-fifth of board positions. Just six per cent of management roles were held by women of colour. How was the Government addressing these issues?
A Committee Expert noted an increased level of gender-based violence against indigenous women caused by influxes of male extractive industry workers in indigenous communities. How was the State party ensuring that the free, prior and informed consent of indigenous women was sought regarding extractive activities?
Introducing the report, Gail Mitchell, Assistant Deputy Minister, Departmental Programmes and Operations, Department of Women and Gender Equality of Canada and head of the delegation, said that in 2018, Canada implemented several measures that strengthened its national machinery to advance women's equality, including the establishment of the Department for Women and Gender Equality Canada. The Canadian Gender Budgeting Act of 2018 incorporated gender-responsive budgeting into legislation.
In the 2021 federal budget, the delegation reported, the Government had devoted 9.2 billion Canadian dollars into ongoing investment in early learning and childcare. This funding promoted access, affordability and inclusion in childcare. Fees had already been reduced by around 50 per cent on average across the country. Work was ongoing to address shortcomings in places and staff.
On women’s representation in the private sector, the delegation said that in 2024, legal amendments were made to require private employers to disclose statistics on the representation of women and equity-deserving groups. The Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy was supporting women to obtain careers in fields that were traditionally male dominated.
The Government had developed a plan of action to address violence related to the influx of extractive industry workers in indigenous communities, the delegation said. It provided funding for training for workers on respecting women’s rights, activities to identify risks, and capacity building activities to prepare communities for the arrival of workers. This work had also been expanded to the shipping industry.
In closing remarks, Ms. Mitchell said the dialogue had been rich, with important contributions from Committee Experts and civil society. The Committee had asked many questions that the State party would do its best to follow up on.
Marion Bethel, Committee Rapporteur and Acting Chair, in her concluding remarks, said that the dialogue had provided insight on the situation of women and girls in Canada. The Committee would develop recommendations that would aim to strengthen implementation of the Convention for the benefit of all women and girls in the State.
The delegation of Canada consisted of representatives from the Department of Justice; Department of Women and Gender Equality; Federal Secretariat on Early Learning and Child Care Employment and Social Development; Department of Public Safety; Statistics Canada; Department of Environment and Climate Change; Department of Global Affairs; Department of Canadian Heritage; Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs; Quebec Ministry of International Relations and la Francophonie; and the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations Office at Geneva.
The Committee will issue concluding observations on the report of Canada at the end of its eighty-ninth session on 25 October. All documents relating to the Committee’s work, including reports submitted by States parties, can be found on the session’s webpage. Meeting summary releases can be found here. The webcast of the Committee’s public meetings can be accessed via the UN Web TV webpage.
The Committee will next meet in public at 10 a.m. on Thursday, 17 October to consider the ninth periodic report of Japan (CEDAW/C/JPN/9).
Report
The Committee has before it the tenth periodic report of Canada (CEDAW/C/CAN/10).
Presentation of Report
GAIL MITCHELL, Assistant Deputy Minister, Departmental Programmes and Operations, Department of Women and Gender Equality of Canada and head of the delegation, said that since its last appearance before the Committee, Canada had made progress in advancing gender equality, but recognised that there was still work to be done. Canada remained committed to eliminating all forms of discrimination against women and girls. The State was advancing key priorities regarding respect for the rights of indigenous women and girls, the elimination of gender-based violence, and the empowerment of women and gender-diverse people in the economy and leadership. Canada was also deeply committed to accelerating reconciliation and renewing its relationship with First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.
Following a 2016 recommendation from the Committee, Canada's federal, provincial and territorial governments endorsed a ten-year National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence in 2022. Combined funding from federal, provincial and territorial governments to address and prevent gender-based violence was more than one billion Canadian dollars over four years, starting in 2022-2023. This funding contributed to measures such as building capacity to prevent violence through educational resources and other prevention initiatives. The first annual report on implementation of this funding would be published this year.
In 2018, Canada implemented several measures that strengthened its national machinery to advance women's equality, including the establishment of the Department for Women and Gender Equality Canada. The Canadian Gender Budgeting Act of 2018 incorporated gender-responsive budgeting into legislation and required the Government to consider the impact of policies on all Canadians, particularly women and marginalised groups. The Gender Results Framework, the Government’s vision for gender equality, was also put in place.
In 2021, Canada passed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act to advance the implementation of the Declaration, and in 2023, the State released a detailed action plan to implement the Act. This action plan included 181 measures to advance transformative change and reconciliation with indigenous peoples over the next five years, including measures to address violence against indigenous women, girls and gender-diverse people. Following a recommendation from the Committee, the State established an independent national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women and girls, and in response to the inquiry’s findings, a national action plan was launched. The Federal Government had also developed an indigenous justice strategy and made investments to provide safe spaces and transitional housing for indigenous women, children and gender-diverse people experiencing and fleeing violence.
In 2017, Parliament adopted a bill that added “gender identity or expression” to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Act and to the list of characteristics of identifiable groups protected from hate propaganda in the Criminal Code. In 2022, the first “Federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan” was launched. It aimed to advance rights and equality for this community, prioritising community work and establishing a Partnership Committee between this community and the Government. Canada had also developed the Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics Hub, and invested 170 million dollars in 2021 in advancing the Disaggregated Data Action Plan. Data collection on sex and gender at birth had been standardised.
Since 2019, the Government had also launched two anti-racism strategies that represented an investment of over 200 million dollars. Last month, Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate was also unveiled. It provided more support to victims of hate and at-risk communities, investing 273.6 million dollars over six years.
In 2021, the Government made investments up to 30 billion dollars over five years to build a Canada-wide early learning and childcare system with provinces, territories, and indigenous partners. Over 750,000 children were already benefitting from the system; eight provinces and territories were delivering regulated childcare for an average of 10 dollars or less. In 2023, Canada’s labour force participation rate among core-aged mothers with young children was at a record 79.7 per cent, nearly four percentage points higher than pre-pandemic levels, and the overall labour force participation rate of women aged 25 to 54 reached an all-time high of 85.5 per cent.
The women entrepreneurship strategy aimed to increase women-owned businesses’ access to the financing, networks, and expertise they needed to start up, scale up, and access new markets. In January 2023, Canada ratified the International Labour Organization Violence and Harassment Convention, which came into force in January 2024.
Canada had been pursuing a feminist foreign policy since 2016 through the Feminist International Assistance Policy; the Trade Diversification Strategy, with its inclusive approach to trade; and the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security. Canada ranked as a top Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development bilateral donor for the share of aid supporting gender equality for the past five years. It continued to rank among the top donors investing in women’s rights organizations and ending violence against women and girls, as well as in sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Questions by a Committee Expert
DAPHNA HACKER, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Canada, said Canada had made many efforts to address gender equality, including the commendable federal strategy for gender equality. Canada had closed 76.5 per cent of the gender gap. There had been an almost overwhelming number of reforms aiming to promote gender equality over the reporting period. How did the State party ensure that the substantial funds invested and the various programmes created to promote gender equality were effective? Did the State party have plans to improve disaggregated data on gender, ethnicity, race and other characteristics?
The current framework for responding to treaty body recommendations reportedly did not engage sufficiently with civil society. How would the framework be improved? There had been few programmes targeting men and promoting positive masculinity. What was the State party doing to address masculinised stereotypes and to encourage men to take up care roles?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said the national action plan to end gender-based violence included multi-level actions to engage men and boys, including educational programmes. The federal “It’s Not Just” campaign aimed to raise men and boys’ awareness about various forms of violence, including technology-assisted violence.
For years, Statistics Canada had collected statistics through the national census. In 2021, data on gender was collected in the census for the first time. A disaggregated data action plan was also launched in 2021, which aimed to improve data on marginalised groups. There were plans to add questions on gender identity and ethnicity in future surveys. Funding was also being provided to regional partners to improve their disaggregated data.
In Quebec, childcare aimed to develop the potential of children and support women’s labour participation. Daily costs for childcare users were around 10 dollars, thanks to Government subsidies. This had helped to increase the regional employment rate to over 90 per cent.
The federal body providing follow-up to recommendations from United Nations human rights mechanisms planned to launch more formalised and frequent engagement with indigenous peoples and other stakeholders regarding the implementation of these recommendations. A national database tracking the implementation of these recommendations was being piloted. Women and Gender Equality Canada was working to implement the Committee’s recommendations and reported on efforts to promote gender equality annually.
Questions by Committee Experts
DAPHNA HACKER, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Canada, asked if there was a protocol for integrating inputs from civil society into policy planning and if there was media coverage of the Government’s interaction with stakeholders.
Another Committee Expert said the childcare programme was very effective in increasing women’s labour participation, but there were shortages in places and staff in some childcare centres. How was the Government addressing this?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said the Government engaged broadly with civil society when conducting surveys. Depending on the topic, there was more or less engagement with the media.
In the 2021 federal budget, the Government had devoted 9.2 billion dollars into ongoing investment into early learning and childcare. This funding promoted access, affordability and inclusion in childcare. A national advisory council on early learning was also established. The Government aimed to create 22,000 new places in childcare by 2026. Fees had already been reduced by around 50 per cent on average across the country. Work was ongoing to address shortcomings in places and staff, and the Government was monitoring the situation in collaboration with civil society.
Questions by Committee Experts
One Committee Expert asked how the work of Canada’s various bodies promoting gender equality was coordinated? Did these bodies have a sufficient budget and a national presence? What communication did they have with women’s organizations?
Another Committee Expert noted the State party’s efforts to achieve gender equality. Significant challenges remained, however. Marginalised women continued to experience significant barriers to public participation. In 2024, temporary special measures were issued to increase women’s representation in politics and science, technology, engineering and maths fields. Were these measures effective? Was their implementation being independently reviewed? How had the State party modernised the Employment Equity Act? How did the State party ensure that temporary special measures were inclusive of marginalised women?
The Committee appreciated the State party’s ratification of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. To what extent were indigenous peoples involved in deciding their future?
DAPHNA HACKER, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Canada, said that the Gender-Based Analysis Plus Initiative reportedly remained insufficient. Were there plans to improve it? What were the barriers to engaging with civil society?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said the Gender Results Framework included key actions to end gender-based violence, reduce poverty and promote gender equality. It was underpinned by data collection. The Government was engaging regularly with stakeholders, including civil society organizations, which it supported with funding to implement projects as part of the framework.
Over 30 per cent of representatives in Canada’s Government were women. Women held prominent positions in the Government, including Deputy Prime Minister. The Supreme Court had five women judges and four male judges. Around 47 per cent of judges in the judiciary were women, and women represented 47 per cent of Canada’s heads of missions in its foreign service.
A taskforce had been set up to review the Employment Equity Act, which had produced a report with recommendations to modernise the Act in 2023. The recommendations included measures to make terminology and definitions in the Act more inclusive. Consultations were currently being held on proposed revisions.
The Government had several mechanisms to engage with indigenous partners. There were legally established mechanisms for engagement with these partners on specific topics, such as missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. The Government had met with over 100 civil society organizations to discuss this topic. There were multiple sources of funding for building indigenous capacity.
The Government had been working with various stakeholders to strengthen the Gender-Based Analysis Plus Initiative. Engagement with civil society on different issues was ongoing at all levels of Government; the Government was working to address gaps in this engagement.
Questions by Committee Experts
One Committee Expert said Canada had implemented several positive measures to address gender-based violence. However, the media continued to portray women in stereotyped manners. Was the State party considering mechanisms for holding media accountable for harmful stereotypes? There had been an alarming increase in hate speech against indigenous and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons. There was also reportedly a culture of misogyny within the mounted police. Were there plans to address these issues?
Women continued to experience intimate partner violence at rates three times higher than men. Did the State party plan to expand the Criminal Code’s definition of domestic violence to include psychological abuse and coercive control? What measures were in place to ensure that survivors received effective remedies? The national action plan on missing and murdered indigenous women and girls was commendable, but more than 50 per cent of the plan’s measures were yet to be fully implemented. How would the Government speed up these efforts? How would the Government tackle the continued practice of female genital cutting and ensure that medical practitioners were aware of regulations concerning free, prior and informed consent?
Another Committee Expert said that between 2018 and 2022, the majority of trafficking victims in Canada were young women. Disaggregated data on trafficking for all regions of Canada was still not available. In some regions, police did not have sufficient resources to address trafficking. How did the national action plan on trafficking address these challenges? How did the Government ensure compensation for victims, including by seizing traffickers’ assets?
Legislation from 2014 prohibited the purchase of sex and defined prostitution as a form of exploitation. The act was in line with the Committee’s general recommendation 36. The Government needed to continue with the implementation of the act. What had been done to protect women in prostitution and ensure that marginalised women had means of obtaining livelihood other than prostitution?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said Canada had implemented initiatives to make it easier for women to participate in the workforce, including measures supporting access to childcare, parental benefits, and legislation ensuring equal pay for equal work. The Media Code prevented the broadcasting of material that was stigmatising on the basis of gender. Data collected under the Gender Equality Framework included indicators on efforts to address gender stereotypes.
Several institutional reforms had been made to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, including the establishment of a harassment resolution body. Work was underway to ensure a safe workplace for employees. The police had also taken steps to enhance the Gender-Based Analysis Plus Initiative.
Hate crimes had increased dramatically over the past few years, disproportionately targeting marginalised groups. The Government had launched an anti-hate action plan recently, which aimed to empower communities to identify and prevent violence, promote a sense of trust within communities, provide support for victims of hate-motivated crimes, and improve the availability of data on hate crimes.
Canada was committed to addressing gaps in the Criminal Code related to gender-based violence. The Government supported a bill proposing the creation of a new offence of coercive control. The bill was currently before the Senate and would facilitate investigation and prosecution of the offence. The Government had implemented reforms to the Criminal Code to better protect women and girls from gender-based violence. Victims and survivors of crime now had the right to information and to seek restitution. Canada had also made funding available to support victims to access the justice system. Free legal advice was provided to survivors of sexual assault.
The Government of Quebec had made considerable efforts to address gender-based violence. In 2021, it established a specialised tribunal for gender-based violence and established training for members of the judiciary on the subject. An electronic bracelet was used to ensure that perpetrators of violence could not approach their victims.
Annual reports were being produced on the implementation of the federal pathway on missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. Most of the goals of the pathway were being advanced and two of them had been completed. A ministerial representative had engaged with over 600 civil society organizations and with governments on the proposal to establish an indigenous rights ombudsperson, and consideration of this proposal was ongoing.
Canada’s foreign assistance included measures to address sexual and gender-based violence and harmful practices such as female genital mutilation and cutting. Informed consent policies were administered at the local level.
The national strategy to combat human trafficking was funded by an investment of over 52 million dollars over five years. Federal and provincial tables were in place to assess the implementation of the plan. A national awareness raising campaign on trafficking was also in place. The Government was working on the next iteration of the strategy, which would be informed by recent evaluations and consultations with domestic and international stakeholders, including victims.
Canada was very concerned about the safety of persons engaged in the sex trade. New offences were added in 2019 that criminalised the procurement of others to provide sexual services. The Government continued to protect persons who provided sexual services, providing them with services suited to their diverse needs. It was providing funding to prevent gender-based violence against women in the sex trade and to end stigmatisation of these women. Canada’s model aimed to reduce demand for the sex trade while ensuring protection for women involved in sex work.
Questions by Committee Experts
A Committee Expert said the most recent federal budget did not commit specific funding to improve indigenous women’s safety; would this be addressed? There was a lack of research on femicide, which was not recognised as a distinct crime. Were there plans to do this?
DAPHNA HACKER, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Canada, asked if the Government ensured that persons who fled domestic violence and gender-based violence had access to shelter. How many journalists and media workers had been trained related to gender stereotyping? Had there been a decline in gender stereotyping in the media?
Another Committee Expert said the Education Act referenced online bullying, but more than four in five students had reported experiencing online violence. How was the State party responding to this growing pandemic?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said the Justice Victims Fund provided support for victims of gender-based violence and domestic violence. The national action plan to end gender-based violence provided funding to over 100 indigenous groups.
There was no single definition of femicide in domestic legislation, but the conduct that it referred to was covered by the Criminal Code, which took into account aggravating factors, including evidence that the crime was motivated by hate related to gender. Gender-related homicide offenders received longer sentences overall than other homicide offenders. The rate of gender-related homicides had generally declined since 2001. A disproportionate percentage of victims were indigenous.
Nova Scotia provided assistance to victims fleeing violent family situations. Funding was provided for nine transition houses, crisis lines and housing support payments.
Questions by Committee Experts
A Committee Expert commended the State party for its strong representation of women in its foreign service, with women making up 53 per cent of this service. However, women’s representation in other areas remained a concern. Were there mandatory reporting mechanisms for large private organizations, where women occupied just one-fifth of board positions? Were there policies for increasing women’s representation in politics? Just six per cent of management roles were held by women of colour. How was the Government addressing these issues?
What progress had been made to adopt draft legislation on hate speech? Would the State party consider adopting legislation that allowed for the removal of online hate speech against women?
Another Committee Expert congratulated Canada on its numerous legislative reforms and investments related to nationality rights for indigenous women, and its extensive efforts to overcome the legacy of the colonial period. When would the State’s additional report on the Optional Protocol be submitted? How had State investments helped to better protect indigenous women and girls from violence and address the root causes of this violence?
How was the Government working to inform indigenous women and girls on their rights to nationality and indigenous status? How many indigenous women and girls had benefitted from legal reforms related to this? What measures were in place to eliminate discrimination against women in their ability to transfer indigenous status? How accessible and affordable was the registration process?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said that in 2024, legal amendments were made to require financial institutions and other private employers to disclose statistics on the representation of women and equity-deserving groups.
The Online Harms Act was currently in its second reading. This was a priority bill for the Government. The bill included a duty for social media services to remove sexualised content involving children, and would amend the Human Rights Act to recognise online hate speech as a human rights violation, allowing individuals to file complaints with the Human Rights Commission related to online hate speech.
The Government hoped to draft a report on the implementation of the murdered and missing indigenous women and girls action plan by December this year. Indigenous services had launched a collaborative project to assess the second-generation cut-off for indigenous status. The Government was engaging regularly with indigenous persons who were affected by this cut-off.
Questions by Committee Experts
DAPHNA HACKER, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Canada, asked about efforts to promote the representation of indigenous women in all areas of public life. What funding was provided to indigenous organizations?
Another Committee Expert praised the ambition of the State party’s third women, peace and security action plan. How was the State party addressing lethal autonomous weapons systems from the perspective of the women, peace and security agenda? Canada had commendably joined other States to launch action in the International Court of Justice against the Taliban for restricting access to education for women and girls in Afghanistan. What measures would the State party take to promote gender parity in educational programmes on artificial intelligence? How would indigenous knowledge be included in policies related to data sovereignty?
There was a crisis-level gap in education outcomes between indigenous and non-indigenous children; how was this being addressed? How was the State party supporting access to education for indigenous girls? There were calls to revise textbooks to strengthen education on indigenous heritage, culture and knowledge. How would the State party respond to these calls?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said Canada was considering amendments to the Elections Act that would require political parties to make diversity regulations public. The Forum of Ministers on the Status of Women had discussed the importance of supporting women politicians. The Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy was supporting women to obtain careers in fields that were traditionally male dominated.
Canada had been actively engaged in discussions at the United Nations considering lethal autonomous weapons systems. States needed to consider algorithmic bias against women in these systems.
Canada did not recognise the Taliban as a legitimate Government. It had formally warned the Taliban about its treatment of women and girls. The Government had offered to resolve this issue through dialogue but would take legal action if necessary.
There had been a significant increase in Government engagement with partners representing indigenous two spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex peoples. Canada recognised the impacts of historical sex-based inequities in the registration of indigenous women. Reparations related to this were currently not being considered.
The 2021 budget included measures on indigenous data strategies. There were plans to transfer digital data assets on indigenous peoples to indigenous communities, and efforts were ongoing to advance indigenous data sovereignty.
Education in Canada was administered by provinces and territories, which had made varied degrees of progress in educational outcomes for indigenous peoples.
Questions by Committee Experts
DAPHNA HACKER, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Canada, asked about steps taken to encourage men to become teachers. Was gender equity mainstreamed in schools? Was the Federal Government holding provinces to account regarding the quality of education they were providing? What steps had been taken to prevent discrimination of refugee mothers in the provision of places in childcare?
Another Committee Expert asked about the percentage of indigenous women in academic faculties and the support provided to indigenous women in academia.
One Committee Expert said there was a 17 per cent difference in annual earnings between women and men employed full-time. What achievements had the Pay Equity Act made, including for marginalised women? Were there plans to extend the Act to provincially regulated workplaces? Women spent more time doing unpaid work than men. What measures were in place to address the care burden and support women to find employment in non-traditional fields?
How was Canada addressing employment challenges for indigenous women and women with disabilities? Was the State party working to ratify International Labour Organization Convention 189 and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families? How had reporting of workplace harassment incidents changed since the ratification of International Labour Organization Convention 190?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said Canada was committed to reducing the gender pay gap and had implemented many measures toward this aim. The Pay Equity Act sought to provide equal pay for work of equal value. It required employers with more than 100 employees to publicise data on pay levels for male and female employees. The Government was also encouraging more men to take paternity leave to support mothers to return to the workplace. It was further supporting civil society’s work to advance women’s economic participation. Provincial governments had their own legislation on pay equity. The amount of time women spent on unpaid work was decreasing. Canadian men contributed more to unpaid work than the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development average.
Questions by Committee Experts
A Committee Expert asked whether progress to address the gender pay gap differed between provinces.
DAPHNA HACKER, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Canada, asked how the State party planned to address the care deficit. How many fathers took paternity leave and for how many weeks on average? Were there still employer-specific work permits?
Another Committee Expert asked about workplace segregation and how it contributed to the pay gap.
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said the pay gap was closing across all provinces.
The care benefit helped Canadian families to provide care for loved ones. Measures had been taken to help caregivers to balance their responsibilities and to promote more equitable sharing of care responsibilities between men and women. Around 1.7 billion dollars had been invested in expanding the recruitment of caregivers to alleviate the burden of unpaid care.
Questions by Committee Experts
A Committee Expert said the United Nations Committee against Torture had called on Canada to implement legislation on free, prior and informed consent related to sterilisation procedures. Was this being done? Indigenous women continued to distrust State-sponsored health care facilities and geographic and financial barriers to health care remained for indigenous communities. How was the State party addressing this? Was the State’s legislation on health data gender sensitive? How was the State party promoting access to menstrual products domestically and abroad?
DAPHNA HACKER, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Canada, asked about safeguards to support the right to life for women with disabilities who applied for medical assistance in dying. Did the State party plan to expand health coverage for asylum seekers? How did the State party ensure that health policies that supported access to health for trans women did not threaten safe spaces for cis women?
Another Committee Expert said Canada’s support of Israeli military forces had indirectly facilitated various violations of the rights of women and children in Gaza. How did Canada regulate domestic corporations whose actions were contributing to human rights violations in Gaza? Would the State party stop providing arms to Israel?
One Committee Expert asked whether migrant women and girls had access to safe abortions in Canada. What steps had been taken to end forced and involuntary sterilisation of women with disabilities?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said the Criminal Code stipulated that any procedures performed without the consent of the patient constituted aggravated assault. The Government was working to address harms caused by forced sterilisation procedures to indigenous women.
Canada had invested large sums in addressing anti-indigenous racism within the health care system. Indigenous women and girls had the right to access high-quality health care no matter where they lived. The Federal Government was working with provinces and territories to improve the quality of health care for indigenous women and girls. It had expanded support for indigenous midwives and prenatal and postpartum care for indigenous mothers, and was funding grassroots organizations that provided culturally safe health services for indigenous peoples.
In 2023, the Government launched an initiative with a civil society organization to support access to menstrual products. It planned to expand this initiative in future.
Canada supported the right to choose regarding abortions. No one should be forced to carry an unwanted baby. Federal and provincial governments were providing health care providers with training to ensure access to safe abortions. Safe abortion medication had been approved for use.
There was ongoing debate about circumstances in which medical assistance in dying should be available. For medical assistance in dying requests where there was no immediate risk of death, patients needed to be informed to alternative treatments such as palliative care. Assessments needed to be carried out for at least 90 days. A report on this topic would soon be published.
Canada had one of the strongest export control regimes in the world. All exports were assessed against arms trade regulations. Trade of arms was not permitted if there were suspicions that they would be used in human rights violations. Since January this year, no arms exports to Israel had been permitted.
Questions by Committee Experts
A Committee Expert said that Canada had implemented several initiatives to address poverty and homelessness. Women often survived on lower incomes, and marginalised women in particular experienced greater levels of income inequality. How was the State party developing a mechanism to eliminate housing insecurity among women in Canada? What measures were in place to raise social assistance rates for women and girls? Would disability benefits be raised so women with disabilities could get out of poverty? Had the Government considered the unpaid care work of women in its analysis of gross domestic product?
There was an increased level of gender-based violence against indigenous women caused by influxes of male extractive industry workers in indigenous communities. How was the State party ensuring that the free, prior and informed consent of indigenous women was sought regarding extractive activities?
Canada reportedly engaged in indirect military exports to Israeli operations in Gaza by transferring arms to the United States. How was it ensuring that arms exports to the United States were not transferred to Israel?
Another Committee Expert asked about actions being taken by the Government to ensure that disappearances and murders of indigenous women no longer occurred. Around 42 per cent of imprisoned women in Canada were indigenous, and this population continued to grow. What were the causes of this phenomenon?
What was the Government doing to overcome barriers that women with disabilities faced in employment? What programmes had the State party implemented to support migrant women?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said Canada was committed to poverty reduction. It had launched a poverty reduction strategy in 2018 that established a poverty line. A national advisory council on poverty publicly reported annually on progress toward reaching poverty reduction targets. The child benefit had been introduced to support families with children under 18 years of age. Public pensions had helped to reduce poverty amongst senior women. Employment insurance provided three types of benefits for workers who needed to provide care to critically ill or injured family members.
Through the National Housing Act and its 2024 “Reaching Homes” strategy, the Government had provided a wide variety of housing supports and services. There were projects established under the strategy for women leaving domestic violence and for women with disabilities.
The Government had developed a plan of action to address violence related to the influx of extractive industry workers in indigenous communities. It provided funding for training for workers on respecting women’s rights, activities to identify risks, and capacity building activities to prepare communities for the arrival of workers. This work had also been expanded to the shipping industry.
Canada was providing access to non-judicial dispute resolution and remedy mechanisms related to alleged human rights violations occurring in the context of business activities. Canadian companies involved in this procedure were expected to participate in good faith; they could be denied trade permits if they did not.
Compensation was not currently being offered to families of persons who had gone missing or been murdered, but mental health support was being provided.
Questions by a Committee Expert
DAPHNA HACKER, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Canada, said cuts in legal aid had affected women’s access to justice. How was the State party addressing this issue? How was it supporting female prisoners to access justice? What training was provided to members of the judiciary on responding to domestic violence and respecting children’s rights in custody decisions? Were remedies provided to women and children whose rights were harmed by custody decisions?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said the Federal Government had increased funding in 2024 for criminal and immigration legal aid, which was expected to increase access to justice in these fields. A number of provinces had also implemented measures that had improved access to civil legal aid.
The Government continued to study the effects of family law legislation. Changes to the Divorce Act ensured that the best interests of the child were the key consideration in custody matters. Judges had access to contemporary training on intimate partner violence and family violence.
Concluding Remarks
GAIL MITCHELL, Assistant Deputy Minister, Departmental Programmes and Operations, Department of Women and Gender Equality of Canada and head of the delegation, said the dialogue had been rich, with important contributions from Committee Experts and civil society. The Committee had asked many questions that the delegation would do its best to follow up on.
MARION BETHEL, Committee Rapporteur and Acting Chair, said that the dialogue had provided insight on the situation of women and girls in Canada. The Committee would develop recommendations that would aim to strengthen the implementation of the Convention for the benefit of all women and girls in the State.
Produced by the United Nations Information Service in Geneva for use of the media;
not an official record. English and French versions of our releases are different as they are the product of two separate coverage teams that work independently.