The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, José Francisco Calí-Tzay, conducted an official visit to Canada from March 1 to 10, 2023. His first stop was in Quebec, where he met with leaders of various communities and representatives of the organization Quebec Indigenous Women. He subsequently visited several provinces and territories.

His objective was to better understand how Canada is implementing the rights of Indigenous peoples set forth in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). It should be noted that this declaration, an instrument of international law, was enshrined in Canadian law through a bill that received Royal Assent on June 21, 2021 (Bill C-15, which became the UNDRIP Act). The UN representative also welcomed this initiative and commended Canada as well as British Columbia, which has taken a similar approach at the provincial level.

What are the findings?

The Special Rapporteur is expected to present his findings and recommendations later this year in a report to the Human Rights Council. In the meantime, Mr. Calí-Tzay has offered some preliminary observations in a post-mission report that highlights several important points.

In a barely veiled criticism, he expressed regret that the Government of Alberta had declined his invitation, given the concerning situation of Indigenous peoples in that province. Along the same lines, he also called on all levels of government to work together.

“I encourage all provinces and territories to follow suit with similar commitments, and I urge all levels of government to implement these laws in accordance with international human rights standards.[1]” – Mr. José Francisco Calí-Tzay

This subtle message will, we hope, fall on the right ears, as some people need a friendly reminder to get back on track. Indeed, it is important to recall here that six provinces[2] had joined forces to oppose the passage of the Canadian law that will enable the implementation of the declaration. Will these governments feel a twinge of embarrassment at being singled out by the renowned international human rights organization?

Is Canada moving toward the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples? 

The Special Rapporteur also mentioned that he would pay special attention to the implementation of the Act. Like many others interested in this issue, he is no doubt curious to see how Canada will navigate the challenges posed by aligning Canadian laws with the rights of Indigenous peoples.

Since the Special Rapporteur’s role is not to be complacent, after the compliments comes the criticism. It was to be expected. He mentioned being moved by the still very visible scars left by residential schools—like ghosts from the past that continue to haunt the country and surface in every reconciliation effort.

In this regard, he urged institutions to help heal these wounds through more concrete actions, particularly by granting access to archives so that survivors and the families of missing children can obtain the information they need to shed light on these dark chapters of history. What might seem obvious is nevertheless worth reiterating, since earlier this week, families reported being denied access to the site of the unmarked graves where their loved ones were buried.

The rapporteur also examined the main obstacles to reconciliation and identified as a priority the importance of “dismantling the foundations of structural racial discrimination against Indigenous Peoples.” If this isn’t a delicate way of saying “systemic racism,” we can at least say that the two concepts are closely related. Indeed, just a few days ago, the CAQ government once again missed an opportunity to breathe new life into its relationship with First Nations by failing to acknowledge this reality, as requested—yet again—by a delegation of Indigenous leaders present at the National Assembly. With just a few months to go before the highly anticipated tabling of the action plan for the implementation of the UNDRIP, will the terms used in Mr. Calì-Tzay’s mission report resonate with governments and influence the quality of relations with Indigenous peoples?

[1] Calì-Tzay, J.F. (2023). End-of-mission statement – official country visit to Canada. United Nations Human Rights Procedures. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/issues/indigenouspeoples/sr/statements/eom-statement-canada-sr-indigenous-2023-03-10-fr.pdf

[2] Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick.