CANADA SUBMISSION TO THE UN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE 114TH SESSION, 5 JUNE 2015 AI Publications First published in 2015 by AI Publications International Secretariat Peter Benenson House 1 Easton Street London WC1X 0DW United Kingdom www.amnesty.org © AI Publications 2015 Index: AMR 20/1806/2015 Original Language: English Printed by AI, International Secretariat, United Kingdom All rights reserved. This publication is copyright, but may be reproduced by any method without fee for advocacy, campaigning and teaching purposes, but not for resale. The copyright holders request that all such use be registered with them for impact assessment purposes. For copying in any other circumstances, or for reuse in other publications, or for translation or adaptation, prior written permission must be obtained from the publishers, and a fee may be payable. To request permission, or for any other inquiries, please contact [email protected] AI is a global movement of more than 3 million supporters, members and activists in more than 150 countries and territories who campaign to end grave abuses of human rights. Our vision is for every person to enjoy all the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards. We are independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion and are funded mainly by our membership and public donations. CONTENTS Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 Constitutional and legal framework within which the Covenant is implemented .................... 1 Implementation of International Human Rights Obligations (art. 2) ................................. 1 Lack of Accountability Structures for Security and Law Enforcement Agencies (Art. 2) ...... 4 Right to an effective remedy .......................................................................................... 6 Monitoring the human rights conduct of Canadian oil, mining, and gas companies abroad (art. 2) ..................................................................................................................... 7 State Immunity Act (art. 2) ....................................................................................... 11 Right to life, prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, an effective remedy, and privacy .................................................................................................... 12 Deportation to Torture (arts. 6, 7) .............................................................................. 12 Intelligence Gathering and information sharing (artS. 6, 7, 17, 21) .............................. 13 Effective remedies for victims of torture and ill-treatment (arts. 2, 7, 9, and 24) ............ 15 Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad Abour-Elmaati and Muayyed Nureddin ............................... 15 Omar Khadr ......................................................................................................... 15 Canadians detained abroad (arts. 2, 6, 7, 9) .............................................................. 17 Failure to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (Art. 7) ............. 18 Violence against Women, Including Domestic Violence, and missing and murdered Indigenous Women and Girls ........................................................................................ 19 Violence Against Women and girls (Arts. 2, 3, 6, 7, 24, 26) ......................................... 19 Right to liberty and security, treatment of persons deprived of their liberty, right to a fair trial and non-refoulement, freedom of movement .................................................................. 26 Refugee Protection: “Irregular Arrivals” and “Safe Countries of Origin” (arts. 2, 6, 7, 9, 14, 26) .................................................................................................................. 26 Immigration detention - Indefinite detention, detention of Children (arts. 2, 6, 7, 9, 14, 26) ........................................................................................................................ 29 Refugee and Migrant Health (arts. 2, 6, 7, 26) ........................................................... 31 Security Certificates and Special Advocates (arts. 2, 6, 7, 9, 14, 26) ........................... 33 The Secure Air Travel Act (arts. 2, 12, 14, 26) ........................................................... 34 Listing of terrorist Organizations (arts. 2, 14, 22) ........................................................ 36 Revocation of Citizenship (arts 2, 14, 26) .................................................................. 37 Solitary Confinement (arts. 2, 6, 7, 9, 10, 14, 26) ..................................................... 38 Recognizance with Conditions: Detention without Charge (art. 9, 14) ............................ 40 Imprisonment for life without the possibility of Parole (arts. 2, 6, 7, 9, 10, 14, 26) ....... 42 CSIS threat reduction powers: threatening a wide range of human rights ........................... 43 Canadian Security Intelligence Service – New Powers of Threat Reduction (arts. 2, 6, 7, 9, 10, 14, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22)..................................................................................... 43 Threat to the Security of Canada ............................................................................ 44 Measures to Reduce a Threat to the Security of Canada ............................................ 45 Freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly ............................................... 47 Excessive use of force by the police during protests (arts. 2, 7, 9, 19, 21) .................... 47 Restricting freedom of expression for civil society organizations and human rights defenders (arts. 2, 18, 19, 22) ................................................................................. 51 Criminalizing Expression (arts. 2, 6, 9, 14, 18, 19, 20, 22) ........................................ 54 Non-discrimination and rights of persons, including children, belonging to ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities..................................................................................................... 56 First Nations Child welfare services (arts. 2, 24, 26, 27) ............................................. 56 First Nations Education (arts. 2, 24, 26, 27) .............................................................. 58 Indigenous Land Rights (arts. 1, 2, 26, 27) ............................................................... 59 2010 Indian Act Amendments: More Failed Remedial Legislation (arts. 2, 26, 27) ........ 63 Lack of Consultation in legislative design affecting Canada’s Aboriginal peoples (arts. 2, 26, 27) .................................................................................................................. 66 Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity (arts. 2, 26) ......................................... 67 Failure to adopt a housing strategy (art. 2, 6, 26) ....................................................... 69 Recommendations ...................................................................................................... 70 CANADA 1 Submission to the UN Human Rights Committee 2015 INTRODUCTION In this submission, prepared for the UN Human Rights Committee’s (hereinafter, “this Committee”) review of the sixth periodic report of Canada at its 114th Session from 7 to 8 July 2015, Amnesty International (AI) expands upon and presents updates on its concerns presented in the organization’s July 2014 briefing to this Committee in advance of the preparation of the List of Issues for the review of the periodic report of Canada, at its 112th Session from 7 to 31 October 2014. AI sets out its concerns within the framework set out by this Committee in the List of Issues prepared for this review. Those concerns include the rights of Indigenous Peoples, women’s human rights, national security and counter-terrorism measures, refugee and migrant rights, freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, the rights of transgender individuals, and the right to adequate housing. CONSTITUTIONAL AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK WITHIN WHICH THE COVENANT IS IMPLEMENTED THE COMMITTEE ASKS: 1. Given that the Covenant is not directly applicable in the State party, please provide information on measures taken to ensure that the Covenant provisions are given full effect in its domestic legal order. IMPLEMENTATION OF INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS OBLIGATIONS (ART. 2) Canada’s approach to implementing its international human rights obligations, including its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), continues to be inadequate. This concern has been raised repeatedly by the UN treaty monitoring bodies, including this Committee in 2006: The State Party should establish procedures, by which oversight of the implementation of the Covenant is ensured, with a view, in particular, to reporting publicly on any deficiencies. Such procedures should operate in a transparent and accountable manner, and guarantee the full participation of civil society, including indigenous peoples.1 1 United Nations Human Rights Committee, Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 40 of the Covenant: Concluding Observations of the Human Rights Committee – Canada, 85th Sess, UN Doc CCPR/C/CAN/CO/5 (20 April 2006) at para 6 [Human Rights Committee 2006]. Index: AMR 20/1806/2015