COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN CONSIDERS REPORT OF CANADA
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has considered the combined sixth and seventh periodic reports of Canada on how that country is implementing the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
Clare Beckton, Deputy Head of the Federal Government Agency Status of Women Canada, introducing the report, said that the increased participation of women in the paid workforce was one of the most significant trends in Canada in recent decades. Employment and labour participation rates for Canadian women were near record highs and were converging towards those of men. The unemployment rate for Canadian women was close to a thirty-year low and was below the unemployment rate for Canadian men. Ms. Beckton also said that Canada had invested in providing choice in childcare and tax relief for working families, such as the new Working Income Tax Benefit, which was a new refundable tax credit that provided lower income taxpayers with a financial incentive to enter or remain a part of the workforce. Regarding actions against violence against women and children, significant contributions to combating violence included funding of $ 52 million over four years for programmes, services and financial support for victims of crime. Criminal Code reforms had been implemented to strengthen the responses to the sexual exploitation of youth and other vulnerable persons, including the raising of the age of sexual consent to 16 years, and enhancing penalties for the offence of using the Internet to communicate with a child for the purpose of facilitating the commission of a sexual offence.
In preliminary concluding remarks, Dubravka Šimonović, Chairperson of the Committee, said that she was especially grateful for the information from the provinces that Canada had provided. She stressed that visibility of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women was very important and it should be fully applied at all levels. This was a challenge, also with regard to different follow-up measures. Ms. Šimonović briefly mentioned that the issues of concern, such as Indian law, should be addressed immediately. Although the delegation had said that rights of the community and individual rights had to be balanced, Ms. Šimonović thought that rights of women should have prevalence.
Questions asked and issues raised by the Committee Experts included domestic violence and child custody; shelters for victims of domestic violence; resident permits for victims of trafficking; co-incarceration of young women and young men; social assistance; suicide rates among Aboriginal youth; child death among Aboriginal people; male involvement in the defense of women’s rights; missing murdered Aboriginal women; HIV and AIDS among Aboriginal women; representation of women in the workplace; and availability of legal aid.
The delegation from Canada included representatives of the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations Office at Geneva; Status of Women; Canadian Heritage; Department of Justice; Human Resources and Social Development; Research International and Gender Equality; Indian and Northern Affairs; Health Canada; Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade; Ministry of the Attorney General; and the Women’s Directory-Territory of Yukon.
The next meeting of the Committee will be at 10 a.m. on Thursday, 23 October, when it will consider the seventh periodic report of Uruguay (CEDAW/C/URY/7), in Chamber A, and the third periodic report of Kyrgyzstan (CEDAW/C/KGZ/3), in Chamber B.
Summary of the Report
The combined sixth and seventh periodic reports of Canada (CEDAW/C/CAN/7) note regarding violence against women that in 2004, seven per cent of women (six per cent of men) reported experiencing spousal violence at least once during the previous five years, representing an estimated 653,000 women. Between 1999 and 2004, there was a slight decline in the level of spousal violence against women, from eight per cent to seven per cent, and no significant change in the level of spousal violence against men. Female victims of spousal violence are also more likely than males to suffer physical injury. In 2004, 44 per cent of female victims reported they had been injured as a result of the violence compared to 19 per cent of male spousal violence victims. Female victims of spousal violence were also more than three times more likely than male victims to fear for their lives (34 per cent versus 10 per cent). Aboriginal women in Canada experience much higher rates of spousal violence; according to the 2004 General Social Survey, 24 per cent of Aboriginal women reported being victims of spousal violence over the previous five-year period, more than three times the rate for non-Aboriginal women and higher than the rate for Aboriginal men (18 per cent). Spousal homicide rates are almost eight times higher for Aboriginal women than for non-Aboriginal women (4.6 and 0.6 per 100,000 population, respectively).
Regarding the protection of children from sexual exploitation on the Internet, the reports note that in May 2004, a national strategy was launched. As part of this strategy, approximately $ 42 million over five years was allocated to expand the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s national co-ordination centre and provide law enforcement with better tools and resources to investigate Internet-based child exploitation. Some of this funding will be used to provide better public education and reporting, and to build stronger partnerships among governments, industry and other stakeholders. Furthermore, Cybertip.ca operates since 2005 as Canada’s national tip-line for reporting the online sexual exploitation of children. Cybertip.ca also plays an important role in promoting education and awareness about child sexual exploitation. Since the national launch of Cybertip.ca, 7,013 reports have been fielded across Canada and around the world. Further, it has resulted in the arrest of 17 individuals and 972 websites have been shut down. As well, in 2005-2006 approximately 5,771 reports of potential online sexual abuse of children had been received by Cybertip.ca.
Presentation of the Report
CLARE BECKTON, Deputy Head of the Federal Government Agency Status of Women Canada, introducing the report, said that the increased participation of women in the paid workforce was one of the most significant trends in Canada in recent decades. Employment and labour participation rates for Canadian women were near record highs and were converging towards those of men. The unemployment rate for Canadian women was close to a thirty-year low and was below the unemployment rate for Canadian men. Canada also continued to close the gender gap in earnings. In 2007, women earned 84 cents for every dollar earned by men. Although the percentage of women living in low income had declined considerably in the past decade, falling from 16.3 per cent in 1997 to 10.9 per cent in 2006, the per cent of women living in a low-income situation remained slightly higher than the percentage of men.
Ms. Beckton said that Canada had invested in providing choice in childcare and tax relief for working families, such as the new Working Income Tax Benefit, which was a new refundable tax credit that provided lower income taxpayers with a financial incentive to enter or remain a part of the workforce. The investments that Canada had made over the last several years were having an impact: the percentage of children in low-income families had fallen from 18.6 per cent in 1996 to 11.3 per cent in 2006.
Regarding actions against violence against women and children, significant contributions to combating violence included in 2007 funding of $ 52 million over four years for programmes, services and financial support for victims of crime. Also, in 2007, $ 7.3 million in funding was provided through the Shelter Enhancement Programme to support the repair and improvement of existing shelters for women, children and youth who were victims of family violence and the construction of new shelters. Criminal Code reforms had been implemented to strengthen the responses to the sexual exploitation of youth and other vulnerable persons, including the raising of the age of sexual consent to 16 years, and enhancing penalties for the offence of using the Internet to communicate with a child for the purpose of facilitating the commission of a sexual offence. The Criminal Code since 2005 also included three new indictable offences that addressed trafficking in persons. Conviction under these new trafficking offences had occurred earlier this year.
Ms. Beckton underlined that Canada was firmly committed to working with Aboriginal women to bring real improvements to the quality of life for Aboriginal peoples, First Nations, Inuit, and Métis. In recent years there had been significant progress because of genuine collaboration between Aboriginal organizations, their governments and the Government of Canada. On 11 June 2008 the Government of Canada offered a historic formal apology to former students of Indian Residential Schools, including Aboriginal women. It recognized the suffering of students and families from this school system and the impact it continued to have on the Aboriginal culture, heritage and community.
Questions by Committee Experts
An Expert said that the picture was mixed, after taking into account the reports by non governmental organizations regarding social and economic rights of women in Canada. He noted that in the Canadian legal system it was impossible to invoke the provisions of the Convention directly. But domestic law had to be interpreted in the light of international obligations. Was the judiciary aware of the Convention? More should be done to inform the judiciary and the legal profession in general. The Expert asked how significant the Women’s Convention was with respect to the national and provincial Human Rights Commissions. He underlined that a right could not exist without remedy and asked what the legal aid scheme was in Canada since there seemed to be great differences between the provinces.
An Expert asked about the follow-up to the Committee’s observations. Several members raised the issue of financial restructuring in Canada. The non governmental organizations had at the last review complained massively about the cutting of their resources. Why was there no more funding for advocacy, research and lobbying from non governmental organizations and why had the court programme been cancelled? The Expert wanted to know whether there was any impact analysis on the cut of the funds that had been allocated to the various provinces.
Were parliamentarians involved in the reporting process? Bodies of parliament had to be involved for the implementation.
Concerning the application of the Convention before National Courts, in 2007 there had been a case in the Supreme Court of British Columbia. The Expert wanted to know what the reasons were and why Canada had appealed that decision.
Replies by the Delegation
Regarding the implementation of the concluding observations, the delegation said that they were available to the public and were discussed on a federal, provincial and territorial level. Also an interdepartmental committee had been set up for the follow-up. Further, the Standing Committee of the Status of Women could call ministers before them to raise issues.
Concerning the cutting of a legal assistance programme the delegation explained that in 2006, the budget was reviewed regarding spending and in this context the court challenges programme was eliminated. However, Canada continued to honour all its obligations for legal assistance. Legal aid for civil matters, such as family law matters, was a matter of provincial jurisdiction. The Government worked with the provinces in transferring funds to the provinces in order to support them in matters of legal aid. For example, in Newfoundland, various pilot projects had been created to assist families when parents were in dispute.
The delegation explained the dualist system of Canada and stated that the treaties did not have a direct effect. But the Supreme Court had stated that international treaties played a very big interpretative role.
Human rights legislation had a quasi constitutional status as it prevailed over other legislation. The delegation underlined that Canadian justice had a long history with the Convention Against Torture and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, but that it was relatively new to the complaints under the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. There were currently two complaints pending. As for training, the delegation explained that the training of the judiciary was carried out by an independent body and not the Government. It underlined that the Supreme Court of Canada had been keen to integrate human rights and social context issues such as violence against women and gender equality in their training.
Concerning Canada’s appeal of the decision of the Supreme Court of British Columbia, it was explained that the Government held that there had been a mistake in the analysis and a decision by a higher Court was needed.
During the overview of the budget, the Government had decided that most beneficial funding was funding that went directly to women. As a result, there were changes on the funding for advocacy. This would not include dissemination of information related to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. The research fund that existed in the past had been terminated, but research as such was carried on.
Follow-up Questions by the Experts
Concerning the human rights commission on a provincial level, an Expert asked what the federal Government could do in order to remedy the lack of a human rights commission at the provincial level, as was the case in British Columbia at the moment. Concerning the cancellation of the legal assistance scheme, an Expert said that it had been cancelled in order to ensure transparency and accountability. Did that mean that the programme was operated without transparency and accountability? She wanted to have more information on that matter as well as the funding for non governmental organizations. She underlined that research of non government organizations was different from research of government institutions and hoped that this programme was reinstated.
Response by the Delegation
The federal Government regularly met with provincial governments and also discussed women’s rights in those meetings, the delegation said. Regarding the case at the Supreme Court, the delegation explained that it had been appealed because it was discriminatory in the eyes of the Government and the scope of the remedy decided by the judge was especially disputed. Canada valued the work of women’s groups. Canada looked for gaps which existed and came into contact with many grass-root organizations. Research was funded when it was a component of a programme. The Government also encouraged universities, especially the gender studies departments, to partner up with non governmental organizations for research. In some provinces, such as in Yukon for example, advocacy and research was funded. Several organizations received such funding, including aboriginal women’s associations.
Further Questions by Experts
An Expert inquired about contradictory information on funding of women’s human rights institutions. She noted that Status Women Canada had the highest level of funding ever. Therefore, it was possible to fund research? She underlined that non governmental organizations were partners of the Government. Change was not automatic, it had to be pushed and this happened through such organizations. She expressed concern about reports that non governmental organizations had to close.
Also, there was information that social assistance was at its lowest and there were groups of women whose needs had not been met, an Expert said, highlighting the vulnerability of Aboriginal women who were poorer and in worse health conditions than other women. Further, almost 30 per cent of the reported women that escaped violence were very young girls. The shelters where they could go to were mixed shelters for boys and girls. The same applied for prisons in which girls and boys were mixed as well. The Expert had the impression that young girls were hidden under the broad category of women or the broad category of children.
Response by the Delegation
Regarding funding, the delegation explained that there had been a reform and administrative costs that were cut had been reinvested in other areas. Regarding funding of non governmental organizations, the delegation stated that there were advocacy groups that were funded by the Government.
The Government was aware of the special needs of Aboriginal women and supported initiatives through which they could develop skills to become leaders in their community. The delegation underscored that the Government had focussed on young girls and also on aboriginal women in its programmes.
Concerning social assistance rates, the delegation explained that for example in Newfoundland a huge poverty reduction programme had been undertaken. In Ontario, income assistance benefits and work assistance programmes were in place. In Quebec, there was a law to fight against poverty and social exclusion. This law was accompanied by a Government plan integrating several measures, including a minimum wage increase. Employment benefit schemes covered more than 5,000 low income families and encouraged them to remain at the work place.
Concerning Aboriginal women, the Government of Canada shared the Experts’ concern. The causes were complicated and the solutions had been multifaceted. The delegation referred to Sisters in Spirit, a programme launched in 2004 that was set in place to raise awareness of racialized and sexualized violence. As a result, a number of missing aboriginal women had been identified. The delegation mentioned a number of statistics, including the fact that Aboriginal women were overrepresented.
With respect to young girls and the co-incarceration in prisons, the delegation said that this was heavily a provincial issue. There were many safeguards, including that gender differences should be respected when a young female was committed to custody. Young males heavily dominated the prisons, so special attention had to be paid to the few females. In British Columbia, there were 20 females in three centres. They were living in female-only living units with female staff. In Ontario, there was an average of 100 females, 50 were in open facilities and 50 in closed prisons. They were separated from boys but in one facility with them in order not to transport them to female-only units which were far from their homes.
Further Questions by Experts
An Expert wanted to have more information on what the impact was of the programme aimed at reducing violence towards women. Also, she noted that aboriginal women were singled out more often for segregation in prison than others. What measures was Canada taking regarding the high rate of Aboriginal women in prison, the use of male guards, and external redress mechanisms against involuntary segregation? Regarding the identification of missing women identified through the programme Sisters in Spirit, an Expert asked what would be done with respect to the investigation of those crimes.
As to domestic violence, there was an increased practise of dual charging in domestic cases. The violent male was charged, but also the female. The nature of violence perpetuated from men was very different from the violence perpetuated by women. Domestic violence was predominantly violence against women and not men. Violence used by women was mainly violence to fight back. Was the number of shelters enough and did Canada plan to invest more in shelters? What was the male participation in campaigns about violence against women?
Concerning young women in prisons together with young men, an Expert said that measures had to be taken against sexual harassment. She said that condoms had been distributed which she thought should be prevented.
An Expert asked if there were minimal federal standards that were applicable to all provinces regarding the number of shelters and help lines to help women that were victims of violence. In addition, she wanted to know whether there was systematic statistical follow-up of these measures.
Response by the Delegation
Concerning family violence, the delegation explained that there was an initiative in place since 1998 with the aim of raising awareness of risk factors of intimate violence. The most recent report on the issue with data in 2006 showed a slight decline in spousal violence, from 8 per cent to 7 per cent. Regarding dual charging, a review of how spousal abuse was addressed took place in 2003 and recommended that police should apply a primary aggressor assessment. In Quebec, a new action plan had been launched to fight aggression and sexual violence. There were 40 centers assisting victims of violence throughout Quebec. Special attention was paid to Aboriginal women with respect to housing.
Regarding male involvement and the White Ribbon Campaign, the delegation named an example of spontaneous support from men after a recent massacre of young women. At this event it was clearly stated that it was men’s responsibility to speak out on the violence against women. Also, 6 December has been assigned as a day of remembrance for violence against women.
Concerning shelters, the delegation explained that the federal Government provided funding to communities who decided on the spending priorities for crisis centers, shelters and transitional housing. The annual funding allocations had been rising over the last years and stood at $ 118.2 million between 2006 and 2007. The Government was aware of the urgent need to provide First Nations women with shelters. Overall, there was a positive impact of the Shelter Enhancement Programme on shelter usage by women. Improved shelters helped women better to address family violence problems. For example, Ottawa’s report on homelessness in 2006 counted 8,853 homeless persons who stayed in a shelter and 1,207 of them were women, which was 14 percent. The average length of stay was 32 days.
Regarding the missing murdered women, the delegation said that this was being actively considered in a number of fora in Canada. A working group was preparing a report on this issue and recommendations which should be submitted in 2009. Also, federal, provincial and territorial ministers signed a declaration that pledged greater cooperation on matters of justice.
With regard to childcare services, the delegation said that in Quebec there were childcare places for $ 7 a day per child. Quebec was making 20,000 additional places available for 2008 and 2009. Funding would go up from $ 1.8 billion to $ 2 billion in 2010. As for parental leave, in Quebec, fathers could take parental leave for five weeks. In 2007, 43 per cent of men benefited from this option.
Concerning Aboriginal women who were over-represented in the prisons, several measures had been implemented, including an Aboriginal healing lodge for women who wished to practice their traditional life. This was a 44 bed-facility in Saskatchewan which was in use since 1995. Women in this facility had access to full-time elders. Further, there were numerous Aboriginal specific programmes for reintegration after serving their sentence.
There were specific requirements for men working in correctional services. For example, after curfew male personnel had to be paired up by female personnel and searches were only conducted by female staff. Long-term segregation should only be used as an exception for serious incidents.
Further Questions Raised by Committee Experts
Regarding trafficking, one of the most difficult actions was victim identification, an Expert said. The meaning of trafficking had to be clearly defined and understood. The Expert wished for more clarification on Canada’s view on this point. Also, she asked what the protection and support measures for victims of trafficking were. Were these measures known to social workers? Furthermore, were the shelters only used for trafficked women or also for victims of domestic violence? If that was the case, the Expert wanted to know how the different needs of the victims were addressed. Also, the Expert asked whether Canada was working with the countries of origin at a federal level. Regarding childcare, an Expert requested that the Government of Canada monitor the situation in all provinces and report on the situation at the next review.
Response by the Delegation
As to the integration of the Palermo Protocol, the delegation confirmed that it had been integrated into domestic law. The Criminal Code was very clear and explicit as to crimes committed in relation to trafficking. As to the access to shelter for the victims of trafficking, if the victims have been part of trafficking as an organized crime the individual assessment often found that placing them in the same shelter as victims of domestic violence would pose too great a risk for all involved. In that case, police often worked together with separate local organizations and also witness protection programmes for individual solutions. To enhance awareness of the issue, countrywide training was offered. In view of the Olympic games, other countries’ experiences had shown that prevention and awareness-raising campaigns had a positive impact. Canada, being a transit country to the United States, had a great interest in cooperating with United States officials.
In terms of resident permits for victims of trafficking, the delegation explained that there were temporary resident permits for 180 days which were extendable. The holders of these permits were eligible for social programmes and had work permits. A few pre-departure programmes existed, such as a programme in the Philippines where a majority of the caregivers came from.
As to representation of women in public life, the delegation explained that during the last election all the parties tried to run with as many women candidates as possible. The Government of Quebec then reached a representation of women of 50 per cent. In foreign services 25 per cent of officials were women.
Question by the Experts
Regarding HIV and AIDS, Experts asked about the effects of the measures that had been taken earlier with a focus on Aboriginal women? Regarding maternal health, Canada had a very low level of maternal death, but the highest rate of child mortality was among the Aboriginal population. This concern had been raised earlier by the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Expert wanted to know whether those figures had gone down in the meantime. The high rates of suicide and the use of narcotics, especially among Aboriginal youth, were noted. Were there special programmes in order to prevent such addiction? Social assistance seemed to be insufficient. Also, the problem of housing was a problem of national concern, especially for young girls that left their homes early. How did Canada ensure that women with low incomes had access to housing in the country? The Expert’s attention had been drawn to the inadequacy of the minimum social assistance. It seemed that 74 per cent of poor people did not have enough food. Was Canada in the position to cater for age-specific treatment for women?
Response by the Delegation
As to health care at home, in the programme of Home Care across Canada, 80 per cent of caregivers were women and 60 per cent of the receivers were women. In 2007, 2 million hours of care was given to 27,000 clients.
Regarding maternal health, the delegation said that Canada continued to make significant investments in aboriginal and non-aboriginal communities. One of the initiatives was birthing closer to home, which required active midwifery intervention. As to suicide and drugs with regard to vulnerable youth, Canada had implemented a national anti-drug strategy, also including Aboriginal youth. The delegation also mentioned a suicide prevention initiative with a particular focus on Aboriginal girls.
Concerning health issues of senior women, the delegation said that the aging population was of concern to the Government. At an older age, there was a prevalence of chronic disease, multiple chronic disease and mental illnesses, and Canada was working together with partners to meet these health challenges.
Regarding the criteria for social assistance, the delegation said that there were social transfers to the provinces. Canada had moved from conditionality to partnership with regard to the cooperation with the provinces. For example, the Yukon had raised their social assistance recently, for a single person it was now $ 1,200 up from $ 900 a month and for a four-member family it went up to $ 2,500 from $ 1,900.
Questions from the Experts
Two Experts asked about the evaluation of the effects of the social assistance programmes and on the relation of social assistance and rent. As for women in the workplace, more general information was needed in the next report. The labour market seemed to be segregated and a wage gap of 80 per cent existed.
Response by the Delegation
With regard to women in the workforce, the delegation said that the majority of law students and medical students were now women, which constituted a big shift. Regarding social assistance and monthly rent, the delegate of Newfoundland said that self-reliance was encouraged through the provincial programme and for residents attending high school there was a rental rebate. The delegation said that Status of Women was using indicators in various areas to evaluate the programmes and the audit system was very strong and regular. In a five-year cycle all programmes would be evaluated. This way, policies would be improved regularly.
Question by the Experts
An Expert said that there were $ 2.7 billion available for housing. However, Canada did not have a national policy. Did the Government intend to develop such a strategy?
As to the closure of courthouses in the provinces, an Expert said that now women had to travel far and wait longer for a ruling. This was especially difficult, because these courts used to deal with issues such as domestic violence which were especially important to Aboriginal women. The Expert asked whether the impact on rural and Aboriginal women of the closures of the courts had been assessed by the Government. Furthermore, there were cases of family violence, private and individual acts that amounted to torture. The Expert wanted the delegation to further comment on that.
An Expert asked for an update regarding marital dissolution and related property rights and future earning capacity. As to domestic violence with regard to custody rights, women who were victims of domestic violence still had to face their perpetrators when it came to visiting rights. The Expert asked whether that had been taken into account by the national law.
If family legal aid was not available, women gave up pursuing alimony for themselves and their children, if they had to represent themselves before court. She asked whether a study had been made on whether the cuts in legal assistance to women had adversely impacted on women’s rights. She noted that the cuts had been made in an economic downturn, but now Canada enjoyed an economic upturn.
Answers by the Delegation
With regard to women in the judiciary, the delegation explained that four out of nine Supreme Court judges were women. In general, the number of women would increase as the women now in law school graduated and gained experience.
With respect to legal aid, there were significant funds, which were transferred to this matter. In Quebec the fees had stayed the same for many years. On issues of custody, when spouses were accused of marital violence, all these cases of custody were in a closed system, which meant that they would only meet under surveillance.
Concerning Aboriginal children, currently there were 8,300 that were being taken care of. It had been shown that regarding violence against children, poverty, poor housing conditions, exposure to drugs and violence contributed to the situation.
Regarding HIV and AIDS in the Aboriginal population, which constituted 3.8 per cent of the total population, they constituted 7.5 per cent of all persons living with HIV or AIDS and 9 per cent of the newly diagnosed in 2005. Aboriginal women were 50 per cent of the infected and 58.8 per cent of the total number went back to injection drug use.
Preliminary Concluding Remarks
DUBRAVKA ŠIMONOVIĆ, Chairperson of the Committee, in preliminary concluding remarks, said that she was especially grateful for the information from the provinces that Canada had provided. She stressed that visibility of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women was very important and it should be fully applied at all levels. This was a challenge, also with regard to different follow-up measures. Now, regarding the concluding remarks it would be very important to see how those were implemented. Ms. Šimonović briefly mentioned that the issues of concern, such as Indian law, should be addressed immediately. Although the delegation had said that rights of the community and individual rights had to be balanced, Ms. Šimonović thought that rights of women should have prevalence.
For use of the information media; not an official record
CEDAW08019E