Honourable Senators,
On May 30, 2018, the House of Commons passed Bill C-262. Indigenous peoples and individuals, leaders, and human rights experts hailed this historic event as a victory for the human rights of Indigenous peoples in Canada. We are 101 experts and academics who research and work in the fields of Indigenous, human rights, constitutional law and/or international law. We are glad that Bill C-262 has finally been referred to Committee, 11 months after its adoption by the House of Commons. We urge you to proceed swiftly so that it can be passed and become part of Canadian lawbefore the current session of Parliament ends.
Worldwide, Indigenous peoplesare amongst the world’s most disadvantaged and victimized peoples. Theysharecommon problems related to the protection of their rights as distinct peoples and suffer widespread discrimination at various levels. On September 13, 2007, the United Nations General Assembly held a historic vote to adopt the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Canada, as you are aware, was initially opposed to the Declaration; it based its arguments on extraordinary and erroneous claims, for which no credible legal rationale has been provided. We are concerned that similar misguided claims or apprehensions continue to be used by some Senators to justify opposition and slow the progress of the bill in the Senate.
Bill C-262’s full title is: “An Act to ensure that the laws of Canada are in harmony with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples”. It is a basic, bottom-line piece of legislation that does notcreate new rights. It establishes a process for the government, in full partnership with Indigenous peoples, to achieve implementation of the Declaration in Canadian law. It does so in three ways.
- First, Bill C-262 affirms the Declaration as a universal international human rights instrument with application in Canadian law. This is consistent with the fact that the UN Declaration already has legal effect in Canada and can be used by Canadian courts and tribunals to interpret Canadian laws.
- Second, the Bill requires the government to work with Indigenous peoples to review existing laws and bring forward reforms to ensure their consistency with the Declaration.
- Third, Bill C-262 creates a legislative framework for the federal government to collaborate with Indigenous peoples to establish a national action plan for the implementation of the Declaration.
Honourable Senators, the recognition of the human rights of Indigenous peoples works to strengthen human rights for everyone. The provisions in the UN Declaration were developed based on existing standards in international law. Many are already legally binding on Canada, either because they are part of customary international law, or because they are necessary to fulfil obligations under the human rights treaties that Canada has ratified.
The UN Declaration does not create a hierarchy of competing human rights claims. It is absolutely false, as some have claimed, that it gives Indigenous peoples a veto over, for example, development projects. It requires States to consult and cooperate in good faith with indigenous peoples in order to obtain their free, prior and informed consent before adopting and implementing legislative or administrative measures that may affect them. Respect for free, prior and informed consent is an essential standard in international law and can already be used by Canadian courts and tribunals as a source of interpretation of Canadian laws, including the Constitution, where Indigenous rights are at stake. The UN Declaration provides for comprehensive balancing provisions. It reaffirms what international and Canadian law already acknowledge: the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all must be respected, but limitations may be necessary in a democratic society. Limitations are possible if they are non-discriminatory and strictly necessary for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others. Bill C-262 only reinforces this essential attribute of human rights law.
The UN Declaration offers a framework to enhance harmonious and cooperative relations between theState and Indigenous peoples, “in accordance with the principles of justice, democracy, respect for human rights, equality, non-discrimination, good governance and good faith”. These are the core principles and values of not only Canada’s Constitution, but also the international system that Canada has championed.
The Declaration is a universal human rights instrument. It is also a consensus instrument that has been reaffirmed seven times by the UN General Assembly. No State in the world formally objects to it. Bill C-262 provides a much-needed framework to ensure that Canada works in cooperation with Indigenous peoples to see it fully and effectively implemented.Honourable Senators, you have the power and privilege to make a crucial step in Canada’s pathway to reconciliation, but also to reaffirm Canada’s true commitment to human rights for all. We urge you to proceed swiftly with Bill-C-262.
Bernard Duhaime
Professor
Faculty of Political Science and Law, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)
Beverly Jacobs
Assistant Professor
Windsor Law
Mohawk Nation of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, Bear Clan
Fannie Lafontaine
Full Professor
Faculty of Law, Université Laval
Canada Research Chair on International Criminal Justice and Human Rights
With:
Payam Akhavan
Full Professor
McGill University
Merle Alexander
Principal
Miller Titerle Law Corporation
Board Member of University of Victoria
Reem Bahdi
Associate Professor
Windsor Law
Bev Baines
Professor
Faculty of Law, Queen’s University
Nicole A. Barrett
Director, International Justice and Human Rights Clinic
Executive Director, Allard Prize Initiatives
Peter A. Allard School of Law, The University of British Columbia
Stéphanie Bernstein
Professor
Département des sciences juridiques, Faculté de science politique et de droit, Université du Québec à Montréal
Amar Bhatia
Assistant Professor
Osgoode Hall Law School, York University
Andrée Boisselle
Associate Professor
Osgoode Hall Law School,York University
Dr. Robyn Bourgeois
Assistant Professor
Centre for Women’s and Gender Studies, Brock University
Bruce Broomhall
Professor
Department of Law, University of Quebec at Montreal
Julia Brown
Lawyer
Olthuis, Kleer, Townshend LLP
Ruth M. Buchanan
Professor
Osgoode Hall Law School
Michael Byers
Professor & Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law
University of British Columbia
Pascal Calarco
University Librarian
University of Windsor
Angela Cameron, PhD
Associate Professor
Shirley Greenberg Professor of Women in the Legal Profession
Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa
Pascale Chapdelaine
Associate Professor
Faculty of Law, University of Windsor
Gordon Christie
Professor & Director of Indigenous Legal Studies
University of British Columbia
Lynda Collins
Full Professor
Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa
William E. Conklin
Professor of Law, F.R.S.C.
Windsor Law
Charles-Emmanuel Côté
Full Professor
Faculty of Law, Université Laval
François Crépeau
Full professor
McGill University
Hans & Tamar Oppenheimer Chair in Public International Law
Dr. Emma Cunliffe
Associate Professor
Peter A Allard School of Law, The University of British Columbia,
Annette L. Demers
Law Librarian
University of Windsor
Faculty of Law
Karen Drake
Associate Professor
Osgoode Hall Law School, York University
Mark Ebert
Lawyer
Semaganis Worme Lombard
Doris Farget
Professeure
Département des sciences juridiques, Université du Québec à Montréal
Karine Gentelet
Associate Professor
Université du Québec en Outaouais
Leah George-Wilson
Lawyer
Miller Titerle Law Corporation
Chief of Tsleil-Waututh Nation
Amanda Ghahremani
International Lawyer & Consultant
Former Legal Director of the Canadian Centre for International Justice
Michael Heine
Director, International Centre for Olympic Studies
School of Kinesiology, Western University
Sakej Henderson
Research Fellow
Wiyasiwewin Mikiwahp
(Native Law Centre of Canada)
Jeffery Hewitt
Assistant Professor
Faculty of Law, University of Windsor
Felix Hoehn
Assistant Professor
College of Law, University of Saskatchewan
Shin Imai
Professor Emeritus
Osgoode Hall Law School
Mylène Jaccoud
Professor
École de criminologie, Université de Montréal
Paul Joffe
Attorney
Julie Kaye
Assistant Professor of Sociology
University of Saskatchewan
N. Kate Kempton
Partner
Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP
Mark Kersten
Fellow
Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy
Nancy Kleer
Lawyer
Olthuis, Kleer, Townshend LLP
Jennifer Koshan
Professor
Faculty of Law, University of Calgary
Harry LaForme
Senior counsel
Olthuis Kleer Townshend, Toronto, Ontario
Anishinabe, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, Ontario
Marie Lamensch
Project Coordinator
Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies, Concordia University
Louis-Philippe Lampron
Full Professor
Faculty of Law, Université Laval
François J Larocque, PhD
Full Professor
University of Ottawa
Canadian Francophonie Research Chair in Language Rights
Yvan Guy Larocque
Lawyer
Miller Titerle Law Corporation
Nick Leeson
Lawyer
OKT LLP
Janine Lespérance
Legal Counsel
Lawyer Without Borders Canada
Vicki Leung
Reference Librarian
University of Windsor
Anne Levesque
Assistant Professor (July 2019)
Faculty of Law – Common Law section, University of Ottawa
Dr. Grace Li Xiu Woo, LL.D
Author of Ghost Dancing with Colonialism
Ryan Liss
Assistant Professor
Faculty of Law, Western University
Constance MacIntosh
Viscount Bennett Professor of Law
Acting Associate Director, Dalhousie Health Law Institute
Associate Professor, Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University
Jason MacLean
Assistant Professor
University of Saskatchewan College of Law
Dr. Kent McNeil
Distinguished Research Professor
Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Toronto
Naiomi Metallic
Assistant Professor of Law; Chancellor’s Chair in Aboriginal Law and Policy
Schulich School of Law
Sarah Miller
Limited Term Librarian, Law
Diana M. Priestly Law Library, University of Victoria
Shaunna Mireau
Legal Information Specialist
Shaunna Mireau Consulting
Helen Mok
Supervisor, Library & Information Services
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
Geneviève Motard
Associate Professor
Faculté de droit, Université Laval
Dr. Maureen Muldoon
Associate Professor
Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Windsor
Tamara Napoleon
Principal
Miller Titerle Law Corporation
Val Napoleon
Professor
Faculty of Law, University of Victoria
Alex Neve
Secretary General
Amnesty International Canada (English branch)
Nicole O’Byrne, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Faculty of Law, University of New Brunswick
Obiora Chinedu Okafor
Professor
Osgoode Hall Law School of York University, Toronto
Darlene R. Okemaysim-Sicotte
Co-Chair Iskwewuk Ewichiwitochik
Party With Standing with National Inquiry to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
John A Olthuis
Lawyer
Olthuis/ Kleer /Townshend, Barristers and Solicitors, Toronto
Valerie Oosterveld
Associate Professor
Faculty of Law, Western University
Frederick John Packer
Associate Professor of Law and Director, Human Rights Research and Education Centre
University of Ottawa
Me Pascal Paradis
Directeur général
Lawyers Without Borders Canada
Victoria Paraschak
Professor
Department of Kinesiology
Elisabeth Patterson
Lawyer
Dionne Schulze
Antoine Pellerin
Assistant Professor
Faculty of Law, Université Laval
Johanne Poirier
Professor
Faculty of Law, McGill University
Richard J. Preston
Professor Emeritus
McMaster University
Catherine Savard
Assistant coordinator
Canadian Partnership for International Justice
Tim Quigley
Professor of Law (Emeritus)
University of Saskatchewan
Dr Sara Ramshaw
Associate Professor
Faculty of Law, University of Victoria
Jean Roath
Administrative Assistant
Windsor University Faculty Association (WUFA)
Craig Scott
Professor of Law
Osgoode Hall Law School of York University
Dayna Nadine Scott
York Research Chair in Environmental Law & Justice in the Green Economy
Associate Professor, Osgoode Hall Law School and the Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University
Sara Seck
Associate Professor
Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University
Elizabeth Sheehy, LLB, LLM, LLD (hons), F.R.S.C.
Professor Emerita of Law
University of Ottawa
Colleen Sheppard
Professor
Faculty of Law, McGill University
Penelope Simons
Associate Professor
Faculty of Law – Common Law section, University of Ottawa
James G. Stewart
Associate Professor
Allard Law School, University of British Columbia
Érick Sullivan
Lawyer, Deputy Director
International Criminal and Humanitarian Law Clinic, Law Faculty, Université Laval
Dr. Lina Sunseri
Associate Professor
Brescia University College
Marie-Eve Sylvestre
Full professor
Faculty of Law – Civil Law section, University of Ottawa
Alain-Guy Tachou Sipowo
Lecturer
McGill University, Université Laval, Université de Sherbrooke
Sophie Thériault
Full professor
University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law – Civil Law section
Marion Vacheret
Full Professor
École de criminologie, Université de Montréal
Lucinda A. Vandervort
Professor of Law
University of Saskatchewan
Christine Vézina
Assistant Professor
Université Laval
Christopher Waters
Dean and Professor
University of Windsor, Faculty of Law
Jo-Anne Wemmers
Professor
École de criminologie, Université de Montréal
Peter Zimmerman
Archives, Rare Books, and Special Collections Librarian
Leddy Library, University of Windsor
President, Windsor University Faculty Association
