Committee when the information is gathered. The Committee also looked forward to receiving the other information that the representative of the United Kingdom agreed to forward to it. Canada 284. The Committee considered the second periodic report of Canada (CAT/C/17/Add.5) at its 139th and 140th meetings, on 20 April 1993 (see CAT/C/SR.139 and 140). 285. The representative of the reporting State introduced the report and indicated that the preparation of the report had entailed close cooperation between the federal, provincial and territorial governments and had provided those governments with the opportunity to review the state of implementation of the Convention within their respective areas of competence. He also outlined the recent activities undertaken by his Government in both international and domestic forums to counter torture, excessive force and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. 286. With regard to initiatives taken at the international level, the representative mentioned, in particular, his Government’s support of efforts aimed at providing for the operation and expenses of all human rights treaty bodies, including those of the Committee against Torture, from the United Nations regular budget. He also referred to the importance his Government attached to the elaboration of an optional protocol to the Convention against Torture. In addition, he spoke of the regular contribution his Government made to the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture. 287. Concerning initiatives at the domestic level, the representative referred to measures being taken to improve general conditions of incarceration for women, especially in meeting the needs of aboriginal women in correctional settings. In this regard, he outlines the innovative developments which had resulted from the recommendations of a recent Task Force on Federally Sentenced Women. 288. The representative also made reference to police reforms in Quebec, providing details of the new Code of Ethics for Quebec police officers, adopted on 1 September 1991, which had established duties and standards of conduct for police officers in their relations with the public. Information was also provided on two new bodies, namely the Commissioner for Police Ethics and the Comité de déontologie policière, which had been created to ensure respect for the standards prescribed in that Code. 289. Additionally, the representative described recent developments in police force training standards introduced in the province of Ontario. He further indicated that the effectiveness, safety and success of those new measures were being monitored carefully and that their use was expected to extend to police agencies throughout Canada. 290. Finally, the representative made reference to the work of the Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture and to various activities of the Centre for which the Government provided funding. 291. Members of the Committee asked various questions of a general nature. They asked what measures had been taken at the level of domestic law, prior to the ratification of the Convention, to ensure its compatibility with the provisions of the Convention. They also wished to receive further details of the legal competence of the different levels of government in the Canadian federal system in the application of the provisions of the Convention, especially with regard -48-