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1. The Canadian Human Rights Commission
The Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) is Canada's national human rights institution. It has been accredited “A-status” by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions, first in 1999 and again in 2006, 2011, 2016 and 2023.
The CHRC was established by Parliament through the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA) in 1977. It has a broad mandate to promote and protect human rights.
The CHRC's efforts to promote and protect human rights include screening and, where possible, mediating discrimination complaints, representing the public interest in the litigation of complaints, developing policy, conducting research in consultation with rights holders and stakeholders, issuing public statements, tabling special reports in Parliament, and monitoring Canada's implementation of its international human rights obligations. The CHRC has additional responsibilities under the Employment Equity Act, the Accessible Canada Act, the Pay Equity Act, and the National Housing Strategy Act.
2. Intersectional, inclusive feminism
The CHRC aims to be inclusive and intersectional in its discussion of issues impacting women and other people facing gender- and sex-based discrimination. The CHRC is concerned about the appropriation of the language of feminism and human rights in anti-trans activities and agendas. Feminism must recognize the complex and intersecting ways in which 2SLGBTQQIA+ people are marginalized based on their diverse gender identities, gender expressions and sex characteristics. The CHRC supports trans-inclusive feminism and efforts to ensure diverse voices and experiences are reflected in feminist research and agendas.
3. Housing
The 2019 National Housing Strategy Act enshrined the human right to adequate housing in domestic law and established the Federal Housing Advocate. As mandated by the Act, Canada's National Housing Strategy (NHS) must improve housing outcomes for disadvantaged groups and people experiencing homelessness and inadequate housing. The NHS aims to dedicate 25% of funding toward meeting the housing needs of women and their children.
3.1 Systemic housing issues
Despite Canada's human rights commitments, women, Two-Spirit, trans, and gender diverse people continue to face disproportionate violations of their right to housing.
Women and gender diverse people in Canada are more likely to be in unaffordable housing and core housing need, and to face discrimination in the housing market.
Financialization worsens the affordability, security of tenure, and conditions of rental housing for women, and is associated with higher rates of morbidity and mortality in long-term care.
The combined impacts of poverty and gender-based violence result in homelessness for women and their families. Women often experience “hidden homelessness” not captured in municipal homeless counts, such as staying temporarily with friends, or in abusive situations.
Underinvestment in gender-specific shelters leaves women and gender-diverse people without safe options. The Advocate's review of homeless encampments demonstrated that women may reside in encampments because there are no gender-specific shelters in their community. Many have experienced harassment or violence in co-ed shelters, especially trans women.
Research demonstrates that the NHS is failing to fulfill the Act's requirements to reduce inadequate housing and homelessness for women and disadvantaged groups.
3.2 Disadvantaged groups
Women who are Indigenous and members of disadvantaged groups experience disproportionate rates of inadequate housing. Indigenous women are vastly over-represented in homelessness and inadequate housing.
Trans people are over-represented in almost all aspects of poverty, housing insecurity, and homelessness. Many gender-diverse persons have experienced significant violence and trauma before, during, and after experiences of housing precarity or homelessness.
Women with disabilities face barriers in every area of housing, including higher rates of unaffordable housing, core housing need, and homelessness.
In Fall 2024, a Review Panel will hold a hearing into the failure to prevent and eliminate homelessness among women and gender-diverse people, especially those who are Indigenous.
Pay Equity
In 2023, the average hourly gender wage ratio between women and men in Canada employed in both full and part-time work was 0.87. This means that on average, for every $1.00 a man earned, a woman earned 87 cents.
The gender pay gap is even more pronounced for Indigenous and other racialized women in Canada, for women with disabilities and individuals who identify as trans, and has been exacerbated due to the COVID-19 crisis.
On August 31, 2021, the Pay Equity Act (PEA) came into force. The PEA is proactive and requires federally-regulated employers with an average of 10 or more employees to conduct a structured pay equity analysis to ensure equal pay for work of equal value. As it now exists, the analysis accounts for a comparison of job classes that are identified as either male or female predominant. This approach is not wholly inclusive of non-binary people and fails to adequately capture their experiences.
While Canada has made significant efforts in collecting data concerning the gender wage gap, the current approach is not able to:
- Take into account differences that are due to the varying application of policies and legislation, resulting in statistics that do not reveal federal, provincial or territorial distinctions. For example, in some instances, there are variances due to the application of pay equity to only the public sector.
- Provide insights into the root causes and intersectional complexities of the gender wage gap experienced by diverse groups of people.
- Conduct a pay equity analysis that enables a comparison of job classes that are identified beyond the binary of male or female.
Although the right to equal compensation for men and women has been protected in law under the CHRA since 1977, the PEA does not apply to territorial governments or to Indigenous governing bodies.
5. Sexual harassment and violence
Gender-based violence, including sexual harassment, sexual violence, and intimate partner violence, is largely underreported in Canada. In 2023, the number of complaints accepted by the CHRC citing sex represented 19% of all complaints accepted and 45% of these complaints alleged harassment. Women with disabilities, Indigenous women, single women, unemployed women, women with low incomes, and younger women are the groups most likely to experience sexual harassment and assault. Black women and girls often experience adultification and hypersexualization, contributing to exploitation and violence. In 2020, within the workplace, 25% of women employees reported being personally targeted with sexual behaviours.
The CHRC is concerned about growing backlash against women's rights and the rise of online misogyny, threats, sexual harassment and violence, which causes severe harms to women and society, and has a chilling effect on democracy in Canada. Sexually explicit material is overwhelmingly aimed at women, with little legal recourse. Islamophobia, antisemitism, misogynoir, and other forms of hate continue to impact women online. The CHRC is encouraged by the introduction of legislation that could address online harms.
5.1 Women in the military
A 2022 report by former Supreme Court of Canada Justice Louise Arbour found that the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) has long supported a harmful military culture that normalizes the exclusion, harassment, humiliation, abuse and assault of women. It found that the CAF ignored or minimized complaints and allowed retaliation against survivors. Reports of sexual assault within the military has more than doubled between 2018 and 2022.
The CHRC supports the recommendations made in the Arbour report, including removing the processing of these complaints from the military chain of command and providing victims with appropriate support and remedies. In response, the Government of Canada increased access to the CHRC complaints system. The CHRC now deals with these military complaints, which require a complex and sensitive response. The CHRC remains concerned that agencies tasked with improving access to justice and responding to complaints of sexual misconduct and discrimination must be adequately resourced, and echoes the report's recommendation to remove the outdated and inadequate cap on damages for CHRA remedies.
6. Persons deprived of their liberty
Indigenous women continue to be the fastest growing population in Canadian prisons. They are vastly over-represented within the federal correctional system, particularly among maximum security populations. The continuing effects of colonization and the legacy of the residential school system and associated traumas are of significance in any discussion of Indigenous women in prison.
Indigenous women in prisons are also disproportionately denied necessary supports and services. In 2023, the Office of the Correctional Investigator reported that coordinated efforts to address the mental health needs of Indigenous individuals are “non-existent”, and that community-run Healing Lodges, intended to provide a traditional healing path under sections 81 and 84 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA), are grossly under resourced and largely unavailable to Indigenous women outside the Prairies region.
Despite recent policy improvements to protect the rights of trans, non-binary and gender diverse prisoners, Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) practices remain concerning, especially the use of segregation to ensure trans prisoners' safety. It is necessary to ensure that these individuals are not unnecessarily prevented from being placed in facilities that accord with their gender identity, to ensure regular staff training on preventing and addressing harassment and violence, and to improve public reporting.
The CHRC remains deeply concerned by reports of sexual coercion and violence in federal prisons, which disproportionately affects women and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people. Incidents go largely unreported because of a “culture of silence”. In 2022, the CSC announced a zero-tolerance policy regarding sexual coercion and violence. The policy does not address barriers to disclosure, such as fear of retaliation, which could impact reporting.
Beyond the prison system, women with disabilities are often inappropriately institutionalized due to lack of access to services and supports and denied their right to live independently and with dignity in their communities. The lack of comprehensive data on institutionalization and forcible treatment of people with disabilities is especially concerning given the lack of independent monitoring and oversight of institutions in Canada.
To align Canada with international standards on independent oversight of places of deprivation of liberty, the CHRC continues to call on Canada to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT). The OPCAT could offer a framework for more consistent and proactive human rights protections for people who are detained across all jurisdictions. Despite Canada's commitment to prioritize the ratification of OPCAT during its most recent Universal Periodic Review, further developments have yet to be provided.
7. Indigenous women and girls
The CHRC views the situation of Indigenous peoples as one of the most pressing human rights issues facing Canada today. First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples in Canada, including women and girls, continue to be significantly disadvantaged in terms of education, employment and access to basic needs such as water, food security and housing.
7.1 Equitable and adequate services
The chronic underfunding of housing and essential services and the many health disparities facing Indigenous communities can be attributed to the legacy of colonialism and the intergenerational effects of trauma and genocide. The CHRC has received many complaints concerning service delivery, most notably concerning child and family services.
Recommendation #13: That Canada ensures that services for Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people are equitable, adequate and culturally appropriate
7.2 Discrimination in the Indian Act
Sexist and discriminatory registration provisions in the Indian Act continue to perpetuate gender-based inequities that prevent Indigenous women and their descendants from seeking reaffiliation with their natal band as a result of a male relative's choice to enfranchise. In 2022, Bill C-38, An Act to amend the Indian Act (new registration entitlements) was introduced to address this issue, as per the 2022 recommendation of this Committee. However, at present, passage of the legislation is stalled.
7.3 Coerced sterilization
Historically, policies of sterilization in Canada existed under the guise of public health, where sterilization was a condition of release from mental health institutions. These policies disproportionately affected Indigenous women labeled as “feeble-minded” or “mentally defective”. Other groups disproportionately affected include Black and racialized women, people with disabilities, intersex children and institutionalized people. Survivors of coerced sterilization have been found to suffer from associated ailments, and may avoid preventive healthcare services due to profound mistrust of the healthcare system and its authorities.
A 2022 report from the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights recommended that Canada take legislative and policy measures to prevent forced or coerced sterilization, including by taking steps to address racism, ableism and other forms of discrimination in health care settings, and providing support to people seeking recourse and care.
7.4 Trafficking, exploitation and violence
Indigenous women, girls, Two-Spirit, and gender diverse people continue to go missing and are murdered in an ongoing epidemic of violence. Indigenous women and girls face significantly higher rates of sexual violence compared to any other group in Canada, along with people with disabilities, are among the populations most vulnerable to trafficking and sexual exploitation.
A history of mistreatment and discrimination throughout the policing and justice systems, where calls for justice are often fruitless and disregarded, contributes to a relationship of distrust with these systems. This can negatively impact victims' access to justice. Survivors of violence and exploitation may also face unique compounded barriers to justice depending upon their lived experience, the resources available to them, and the combination of factors of oppression that they may face. The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls made a number of recommendations to address these barriers that have not been fully implemented to date.
In 2023, Canada appointed a Ministerial Special Representative who provided comprehensive recommendations on the creation of an Indigenous and Human Rights Ombudsperson to the Government in a June 2024 report. The CHRC fully supports the creation of specific human rights mechanisms for Indigenous peoples in Canada.
8. Women with disabilities
The prevalence of disability in Canada is higher for women compared to men (30% versus 24%). Women with disabilities experience systemic barriers and socio-economic disadvantage that negatively impacts their well-being.
They have a pronounced income gap and higher rates of poverty compared to other groups due to barriers in education and employment. During an engagement event with the CHRC in 2022, women with disabilities shared that they often feel financially and legally disempowered, which limits their independence, security and autonomy. For example, they risk having their income supports reduced if they choose to live with their partners. Conversely, they may have difficulty leaving abusive relationships if they are financially dependent on their partners. Women with disabilities also face barriers in the legal system, such as communication barriers and ableist assumptions about their capacity. These factors increase their vulnerability to violence and exploitation, including trafficking. These risks are heightened for people experiencing intersectional forms of oppression.
9. Discrimination based on gender identity and expression
The CHRC remains deeply concerned about discrimination, harassment and violence faced by trans, non-binary and gender diverse persons, especially those who face intersectional barriers to their full equality in Canada.
Gender affirming health care for these groups is recognized as medically necessary by leading medical organizations in Canada and around the world. The CHRC is concerned by unequal access to care and treatments that are only partially covered through public funds, remaining unobtainable and negatively impacting physical and mental health for certain groups including trans women and non-binary persons.
The CHRC also remains alarmed about intersex, trans, and gender diverse persons subjected to cruel and harmful non-consensual medical interventions, such as coerced examinations, unnecessary surgeries or conversion therapies. The CHRC supports the development of policies and programs that specifically support the health and rights of these groups.
Recommendation #20: That Canada recognizes and normalizes variations of sex characteristics and gender diversity, and ensure that intersex, non-binary, trans and gender diverse people have access to appropriate care and supports.
10. Racialized women
Racialized women in Canada continue to face cultural and systemic racism that precludes them from the full enjoyment of their economic, social and cultural rights. Indigenous, Black, and other racialized women are overrepresented in precarious and low-income employment, resulting in a lack of economic security and increasing their vulnerability to violence and exploitation. Racialized mothers in precarious employment face added challenges due to a lack of flexibility in working arrangements.
In 2023, the Employment Equity Act Review Task Force released a report with recommendations to strengthen and modernize the Employment Equity Act. The Government of Canada broadly accepted the recommendations, including adding a designated group for Black people, recognizing the barriers that Black women face in the workplace. In light of historical and ongoing anti-Black racism that has reinforced barriers to employment experienced by Black public servants and other workers in the federal employment sector, the CHRC is encouraged by this commitment and the adoption of an intersectional approach to implementation.
In Quebec, the Act respecting the laicity of the State (Bill 21), was adopted by the Quebec National Assembly in 2019 and was upheld by the Quebec Court of Appeal in 2024. The law bans provincial public sector workers in positions of authority – such as teachers, police officers, and judges – from wearing religious symbols while at work, such as a hijab, turban or kippah. The CHRC shares widespread concerns regarding the disproportionate adverse impacts on racialized Muslim women who wear the hijab, and effectively amounts to government-imposed workplace discrimination, during a period of rising religious intolerance across Canada.