Question Period Note: Amnesty International Report

•The Government of Canada acknowledges Amnesty International and their recent Amnesty International Annual Report on the State of Human Rights in Canada, which is being carefully reviewed by all implicated departments.

•The Government of Canada is committed to working in partnership with Indigenous Peoples and organizations to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. A key element of this work will include looking for opportunities to build processes and approaches for obtaining free, prior and informed consent.

N/A

If pressed on free, prior and informed consent (FPIC)

• Canada will continue to work with Indigenous Peoples and provincial governments to ensure engagement and consultation processes are meaningful, transparent, and ensure that Indigenous rights, interests, and aspirations are respected in project decision-making.

If pressed on the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

• The Government of Canada is working with the Government of British Columbia to provide a response to the Committee on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination on the Early Warning and Urgent Procedure in relation to their request for information related to the situation of the Secwepemc and Wet’suwet’en communities, in relation to the Trans Mountain Pipeline and the Coastal Gas Link Pipeline.

If pressed on the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

• Canada takes its international human rights obligations seriously and is committed to maintaining a constructive dialogue with the United Nations human rights treaty bodies and Special Procedures.

• The Government of Canada looks forward to receiving the Special Rapporteur’s report and examining the recommendations made on strengthening the protection of human rights in Canada.