Racial Discrimination in Canada - The Status of Compliance by the Canadian Government with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
July 29, 2005
Prepared by the National Anti-Racism Council of Canada ( NARCC ) to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) Committee - July 2002.
About this Report
Building upon our experiences at the United Nations World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR), members of NARCC have come to recognize the important role of international human rights instruments in the development of domestic anti-racism and anti-oppression agenda. While Canada is recognized internationally as a humanitarian country and while policies of the Canadian Government are routinely adopted by other countries as model policies for promoting equity, Canadian NGOs are all too aware of the real struggles we face within our country.
Despite the official rhetoric, racism is alive and well in Canada, and is indicative of the failure of our Government to address this fundamental problem. Even more troubling, is the fact that often times racism is born out of the laws and policies of the Government of Canada towards persons of colour, immigrants and refugees.
Download the full text of this report (Adobe Acrobat PDF format - 510 KB, 106 pages). Click here for more information about NARCC.
While numerous Canadian NGOs advancing environmental justice, gender equality, or rights of the indigenous peoples have long been active players on the international stage, informing discussions at the UN level on Canada’s record in addressing their concerns, the same cannot be said of the Canadian community-based anti-racism organizations. A lack of familiarity with the UN process, inadequate resources and expertise, and skepticism about the effectiveness of the international human rights system, are among the reasons for our lack of participation at the UN CERD Committee process. As a result, reports submitted by the Canadian Government to the CERD Committee are by and large left unchallenged. The absence of community participation is perhaps also one of the reasons why the Canadian Government has been able to get away with its late filing of the compliance report.
NARCC welcomes the opportunity to provide the CERD Committee with a community perspective on the status of compliance with the Convention by our government. The submissions that we have prepared are the product of a collective effort and consultative process, whereby members of NARCC and several outside experts were invited to help put together a document which covers a wide range of issues, including immigration, employment and human rights, etc. Because this is the first attempt by NARCC - and indeed by many of the NARCC members - to compile a shadow report on CERD, and because of the time constraint, we are unable to explore all the issues in all parts of Canada that are relevant to our communities. What the submission attempts to achieve is a snapshot of the problem of racism - systemic and otherwise - in our country, and the success, if any, on the part of our Government in addressing the issues.
While much of our submission focuses on the compliance with CERD by the Canadian Government, we have dedicated two chapters to address the specific issues within the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. These two provinces are among the largest in Canada, and they also have the highest proportion of racialized people, immigrants and refugees in our country. We also decided to highlight these two provinces as they have each gone through dramatic political changes over the last few years, leading to significant implications for the protection and advancement of human rights.
As Canada is five years behind its reporting schedule, much has changed since 1997. In particular, as a result of the aftermath of the September 11 event, we need more than ever a strong commitment from our political leaders and international bodies to stand up against racism. We need to be even more vigilant in stopping the spread of hate and intolerance. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination is becoming most relevant, and the need to comply with the provisions therein is becoming most pressing at this critical moment.
Throughout the report, we use different terminology interchangeably to describe our constituencies: racialized communities, communities of colour, and visible minority communities. While we prefer the first two terms, the latter term is used when we are quoting from another source.
Report Table of Contents:
- Introduction: About NARCC
- Chapter 1: Human Rights
- Introduction
- Relevant Convention Provisions
- Specific Violations and Concerns
- Chapter II: Employment & Poverty
- Introduction
- Relevant Convention Provisions
- Economic Racism
- Chapter III: Immigration: Refugee and Migrant
- Introduction
- Relevant Convention Provisions
- Concerns about Immigration and Racism
- Chapter IV: Health
- Introduction
- Relevant Convention Provisions
- Health Issues and Racism
- Chapter V: Media
- Introduction
- Relevant Convention Provisions
- Issues of Racial Discrimination in the Media
- Chapter VI: Education
- Introduction
- Relevant Convention Provisions
- Ongoing Racism in Education
- Chapter VII: The Criminal Justice System
- Introduction
- Relevant Convention Provisions
- Racism in the Justice System
- Chapter VIII: Province of Ontario
- Introduction
- Relevant Convention Provisions
- Racial Discrimination in Ontario
- Chapter IX: Province of British Columbia
- Relevant Convention Provisions
- Racial Discrimination in British Columbia