necessary
Covenant,
compliance
between all levels
of government
prior
to Canada’s
accession
to the
and meetings
continued
to be held regularly
in order to facilitate
with its provisions.
47. Referring
to the Canadian Charter
of Rights
and Freedoms,
the Federal
Human Rights Acts and other legislation
which guaranteed
and protected
the
fundamental
values enshrined
in international
human rights
instruments,
he
pointed
out that necessary
mechanisms had been set up to ensure that those
The Supreme Court of Canada in its judgements
had often
values were upheld.
emphasised
that the Charter
had been significantly
influenced
by and in many
ways reflected
the Covenant,
in particular
with respect
to the interpretation
given to section
15 of the Charter
relating
to equality
before
the law and
non-discrimination.
Effective
remedies for the assertion
of the rights
and
freedoms
reflected
in the Covenant had been set up, and a substantial
volume
of litigation
had taken place under the Charter.
Strong anti-discrimination
measures,
particularly
in areas where discrimination
or unfairness
were
reflected
in subtle
or indirect
ways, had also been adopted.
Concerning the recent events at Oka, Quebec, involving
Mohawk Indians,
the representative
underlined the critical
importance of addressing aboriginal
issues in Canada effectively
and in an open and constructive
manner.
A
government strategy to preserve the special place of indigenous peoples, based
on the aboriginal
and treaty rights contained in the Canadian Constitution,
had been announced on 25 September 1990. That strategy was based on the
acceleration
of land-claims settlements,
the improvement of economic and
social conditions on reserves, legislative
changes regarding the relationship
between aboriginal
peoples and Governments, and concerns of Canada’s
aboriginal
peoples in contemporary Canadian life.
He also noted that pursuant
to an Agreement to provide redress to Canadians of Japanese ancestry for
injustices
they had suffered during and after the Second World War, a Canadian
Race Relations Foundation had been established and that a Court Challenge
Programme providing
for financial
assistance to disadvantaged groups and
persons who wished to challenge government action relating
to equality
or
minority
language rights had been created.
48.
and r
.
.
the Covenagt is ~
49. With regard to that issue, members of the Committee wished to receive
clarification
of the current situation
in respect of the 1987 Constitutional
Accord relating
to Quebec and, more particularly,
of the consequences of the
rejection
of the Accord by certain provinces.
They also wished to know
whether there had been any further
progress since the submission of the third
periodic report in the effort
to reach agreement on providing
a constitutional
basis for self-government
by aboriginal
groups: what were the respective
roles
of regular courts, ombuasmen, the Canadian Human Rights Commission and Buman
Rights Tribunals in responding to human rights complaints: how Human Rights
Tribunals were composed, how much independence they enjoyed and what was the
effect of their decisions} what were the activities
and composition of the
British
Colombia Council of Human Rightsr and whether there had been any
further developments, since the submission of the third periodic
report,
towards the creation of a body at federal or provincial
level with overall
responsibility
for the protection
of human rights embodied in the Covenant.
Clarification
was also sought of the inconsistencies,
if any, between the
Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Human Rights Act as well as between
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