A 2022 Human Rights Report Has Called Out Canada For Multiple Violations
Canada isn't as squeaky clean as we like to think.
Prime Minster Justin Trudeau. Right: A Canadian mine.
Some might think we have solid record of human rights in Canada, but an organization has released a new report and had some choice words on Canada's human rights violations.
Human Rights Watch has released its run-down of the events of 2022 in the Great White North and our country has been accused of several human rights violations over the last 12 months.
The report outlines "widespread violations of the rights of marginalized groups including Indigenous peoples, immigration detainees, people with disabilities, and older people" allegedly committed or ignored by Canada in, and outside of, its borders.
One of the areas that the report really focuses on is Canada's handling of issues that affect Indigenous communities.
Human Rights Watch states that "decades of structural and systemic discrimination against Indigenous peoples has led to widespread abuses that persist across Canada."
Per the report, this is exemplified by the lack of access to clean drinking water for some Indigenous groups in Canada.
In 2022, 28 First Nations across Canada still had boil-water advisories – and this is after Justin Trudeau promised to have clean water for all Indigenous communities by 2021.
A failure to address violence against Indigenous women also was cited, especially after a Statistics Canada report found that 81% of Indigenous women who have been in the child-welfare system have been sexually or physically assaulted in their life.
Along with that, another factor that Canada was criticized for was its treatment of immigration detainees.
People who have been detained by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) "continue to be regularly handcuffed and shackled, and at risk of being held indefinitely," says the report.
"With no time limits on immigration detention, they can be detained for months or years."
The report also alleges that those detained can be put into provincial jails along with those on criminal charges and that some have even been put into solitary confinement.
The organization says that, despite legislation being introduced to monitor the organization, the CBSA's unchecked enforcement power "has repeatedly resulted in serious human rights violations."
Canada's corporate operations out of the country were also named, with the organization calling out the lack of oversight by the Canadian government in international mining operations.
While some legislation has been introduced to provide some accountability for human rights abuses by Canadian companies abroad, an entity still doesn't exist that can effectively investigate claims of abuses, force testimony, or call for documents.
The report also pointed to the government's inaction on Canadians detained abroad, as well as climate change.
However, the report did give credit for advancements in the rights of LGBTQ+ people in Canada over the last few years.