Canada

Canada has a permanent standing national mechanism for implementation, reporting and follow-up (NMIRF). It is an intergovernmental structure that coordinates human rights reporting and follow-up across federal, provincial, and territorial (FPT) governments. It includes a dedicated Secretariat within the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and multiple coordination bodies at various levels of government.

INSTITUTIONAL SETUP

Implementation of human rights obligations in Canada is a shared responsibility between the federal government and 13 provincial and territorial (PT) governments (subnational governments).

Composition Canada’s NMIRF is comprised of different mechanisms which have evolved over time, which are independent but interconnected, and taken together contribute to the functioning of the NMIRF. These are:

1. a secretariat housed within the federal Department of Canadian Heritage;
2. a standing intergovernmental Federal-Provincial-Territorial (FPT) Table on Human Rights and its three committees at the officials’ (The Continuing Committee of Officials on Human Rights [CCOHR] - since 1975), senior officials’ (The Senior Officials’ Committee Responsible for Human Rights [SOCHR] - since 2017), and ministerial (The Forum of Ministers on Human Rights [FMHR] - since 2023) levels;
3. federal interdepartmental coordination mechanisms; and
4. interdepartmental mechanisms within individual provincial and territorial governments.

The Act that created the Department of Canadian Heritage legislated the department’s role in “…the promotion of a greater understanding of human rights, fundamental freedoms and related values.” The NMIRF’s intergovernmental coordination mechanism, the FPT Table on Human Rights, operates based on intergovernmental policy agreement and administrative arrangements.

Secretariat

The Secretariat of Canada’s NMIRF is housed within the Human Rights Program at the federal Department of Canadian Heritage (PCH), which is staffed by a dedicated team.

The Secretariat’s functions include, inter alia:

• Leading coordination of Canada’s FPT reporting and appearances before UN human rights bodies for seven core treaties and the Universal Periodic Review (UPR);
• Managing the FPT Table on Human Rights and its key bodies (FMHR, SOCHR, CCOHR) to support collaboration across FPT governments on human rights accountability processes like reporting and reviews. This FPT Table is co-chaired by Canadian Heritage and a rotating PT co-chair.
• Leading FPT dialogue with civil society, Indigenous Peoples, and human rights commissions through formal meetings, bilateral engagement, and continuous information sharing on forthcoming and past reviews and reports, including progress on activities since the previous meeting.
• Within the federal government, its functions also include implementing the Federal Human Rights Implementation Framework, focusing on three pillars: awareness, collaboration, and accountability. This includes interdepartmental coordination within the federal government through, for instance, the Directors General Forum on Human Rights (DGRights).
• Promoting human rights awareness by maintaining key elements of the Canada.ca website’s human rights content, which includes information on treaty body and UPR reporting, creating social media content for commemorative days pertaining to human rights, and distributing educational materials such as the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Canadian Bill of Rights.
• Liaising regularly with two other key departments with important human rights responsibilities – the Department of Justice Canada and Global Affairs Canada. Along with PCH they comprise the Core Group providing strategic leadership on Canada’s international human rights obligations within the federal government.

Methods of work

Some elements of the NMIRF have Terms of Reference (TORs), such as the federal Interdepartmental Committee on the Rights of Children and DGRights. These TORs are currently for internal use. There are also publicly available protocols/strategies on engagement with non-governmental stakeholders and partners and on follow-up to recommendations received.

There are different meeting cycles for the different components on the NMIRF.

• Regular meetings of the FPT Table on Human Rights:
• Federal-provincial-territorial Officials Committee (CCOHR): Ongoing (monthly)
• Federal-provincial-territorial Senior Officials Committee (SOCHR): Quarterly (Assistant Deputy Minister - level)
• Federal-provincial-territorial Ministerial (FMHR) meeting: Biennial (Ministerial level)
• PT coordination mechanisms meet based on processes they have developed.
• The federal DGRights Forum meets approximately quarterly.
• Federal interdepartmental committees specific to treaties or the UPR meet on an ad hoc basis as needed, especially during report preparation or follow-up phases.
• The Interdepartmental Working Group on the Rights of Children meets twice per year.
• Engagement with stakeholders is regular, in line with the Engagement Strategy on Canada’s International Human Rights Reporting, endorsed in 2020.

MANDATE

The NMIRF through its different components:

• Coordinates and prepares reports and appearances before UN human rights treaty bodies and for the UPR in consultation with FPT governments;
• Coordinates follow-up to recommendations received through these processes;
• Facilitates consultation between FPT governments with respect to Canada’s adherence to international human rights treaties;
• Provides a mechanism for information exchange between and within governments in Canada with respect to the interpretation and implementation of international human rights instruments;
• Manages information from UN human rights mechanisms in a centralized location and tracks progress against recommendations received;
• Engages with Indigenous Peoples, civil society and human rights commissions; and
• Provides public information about human rights reporting and mechanisms. While the coordinating bodies that comprise the NMIRF are not necessarily responsible for directly implementing Canada’s human rights obligations, they are comprised of FPT focal points who work with a broad network of subject matter experts responsible for laws, policies, and programs that serve to implement those rights. By supporting accountability processes such as reporting and follow-up, the ultimate objective of the NMIRF is to contribute to the improvement of human rights implementation in Canada.

The NMIRF coordinates Canada’s reporting and appearances before UN Treaty Bodies, under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and for Special Procedure visits. It also responds to communications and facilitates follow-up to recommendations.

Process followed by the Government/NMIRF to prepare state reports

Reports are drafted by the NMRIF Secretariat at Canadian Heritage in coordination with federal leads and provinces and territories. The process includes:

• Initial request for input (via template) – separate process for federal contacts through interdepartmental committee (led by federal treaty lead) and for PT focal points (led by Canadian Heritage) through the CCOHR.
• Written contributions from federal and PT focal points are analyzed and consolidated. Input from non-governmental stakeholders and partners is considered.
• Validation and legal review.
• Report approved by senior officials and sent to minister(s) for information.
• Treaty-specific committees meet virtually, with timelines managed through project charters and calendars. They meet in the context of report and review preparation, as well as to follow-up on recommendations received. Instructions are provided to FPT focal points on the type of information requested and outline the context of the request. All efforts are made to ensure timely completion of reports and a calendar of upcoming reports and reviews is shared with all FPT focal points and updated monthly.

Guidance is provided based on each report and review. Further efforts are underway to consolidate general guidance throughout the reporting cycle and use newer technologies to make the information easily accessible for all treaty reports and reviews to standardize procedures.

COORDINATION

For each treaty body review, federal leads:

• Issue calls for input to relevant federal departments and agencies;
• Lead treaty-specific interdepartmental expert committees;
• Analyze input from non-governmental organizations and partners;
• Draft the federal contribution to the national report;
• Lead Canada’s delegation for appearances; and
• Promote follow-up to recommendations.

Some federal leads also maintain a community of practice. For instance, the Interdepartmental Working Group on Children's Rights, co-chaired by the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Department of Justice Canada, was created in 2007 to promote a whole-of-government approach to children's rights and to encourage linkages among departments with policies that affect children.

For its part, the NMIRF Secretariat at Canadian Heritage:

• Manages outreach to PT governments through the CCOHR;
• Analyzes and integrates PT submissions into draft federal input and finalizes the report;
• Summarizes and analyses input from non-governmental organizations and partners; and
• Coordinates the final approvals process.

To modernize and enhance transparency in its reporting and follow-up processes, the NMIRF Secretariat is exploring the use of the UN’s National Recommendations Tracking Application and is working with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, PTs and federal experts on this initiative.

Channel of communication with the National Statistics Office

Statistics Canada is a department of the Government of Canada. Specifically, it is the national statistical agency responsible for producing statistics on Canada's population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is consulted in the preparation of all reports to treaty bodies and the UPR. Statistics Canada also participates in DGRights, providing insights on relevant elements on discussions related to upcoming Treaty Body appearances and under the UPR. Recently, senior officials from Statistics Canada participated in Canada’s appearance under the UPR and before the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.

Channels of communication with the Parliament

Canada has begun tabling its reports and Concluding Observations received from human rights treaty bodies and the UPR in Parliament. The Secretariat for Canada’s NMIRF is also occasionally asked to provide information to individual parliamentarians. In addition, the House of Commons and the Senate have held debates and committee hearings focused on Canada’s international human rights commitments, such as through the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development (FAAE) and the Subcommittee on International Human Rights (SDIR) who often review and report on related issues. Ministers from Canadian Heritage, Foreign Affairs and Justice have presented updates and answered questions about Canada’s efforts on human rights implementation, among other ministers.

Channels of communication with the Judiciary

The judiciary in Canada does not play a direct role in reporting to or following up on recommendations from UN human rights mechanisms. This is to respect their independence from the other two branches of government, the executive and the legislative. Judicial independence is a cornerstone of the Canadian judicial system. Judicial independence guarantees that judges will be able to make decisions free of influence and based solely on fact and law. Recommendations relevant to the judiciary’s mandate are shared with the judiciary for their information and follow-up as they determine, again with the principle of judicial independence in mind.

Local and/or regional authorities/federated entities

In addition to the federal government, subnational governments at the provincial and territorial levels actively participate in the NMIRF. This includes engagement at all levels of the FPT Table on Human Rights. Each subnational government designates its own focal points and often establishes internal coordination mechanisms to prepare contributions or to follow up on recommendations—particularly in policy areas under their constitutional jurisdiction.

CONSULTATION

Canada conducts virtual and in-person bilateral and multilateral engagements with non-governmental organizations and Indigenous representatives, as well as with Canada’s National Human Rights Institution (NHRI), the Canadian Human Rights Commission, and subnational human rights commissions on the seven international human rights treaties to which Canada is a party as well as the UPR. Feedback is gathered through these direct engagements and submissions. This engagement is facilitated by the Secretariat for Canada's NMIRF, who has begun engaging more regularly with partners and stakeholders more broadly throughout the international human rights reporting cycle. This includes organizing virtual and in-person meetings, information-sharing sessions, coordinating email correspondence, and using tools such as questionnaires to support community engagement. The Secretariat has also funded Indigenous and civil society organizations to carry out broader national engagement specific to outcomes of treaty body reviews and the UPR, the finding of which are presented to the FPT Table on Human Rights. The Engagement Strategy on Canada’s International Human Rights Reporting Process guides these efforts. In addition to these engagement activities, the Program supports the advancement of constitutional rights and freedoms in Canada by funding the independently administered Court Challenges Program, which provides financial assistance to individuals and groups pursuing test cases of national significance.

This treaty-body and UPR-specific engagement complements numerous other engagement and consultations processes on specific human rights-related issues managed by FPT governments.

Canada has developed numerous action plans and strategies on numerous human rights issues, including:

• Engagement Strategy on Canada’s International Human Rights Reporting Process - Canada.ca
• Protocol for Follow-up to Recommendations from International Human Rights Bodies
• Federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan… Building our future, with pride - Canada.ca
• Nothing without us : an accessibility strategy for the public service of Canada.: BT22-221/2019E-PDF - Government of Canada Publications - Canada.ca
• Canada’s Disability Inclusion Action Plan
• National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking
• Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada - Canada’s National Housing Strategy
• National Action Plan on Open Government - Canada.ca
• Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework - Canada.ca
• The federal pathway (to address MMIWG and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People)
• UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act Action Plan 2023-2028
• Changing Systems, Transforming Lives: Canada's Anti-Racism Strategy 2024-2028 - Canada.ca
• Supporting Black Canadian Communities Initiative - Canada.ca
• Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate

Secretariat for Canada’s NMIRF

Canadian Heritage, Human Rights Program

Website: About human rights – Canada.ca