Ongoing concerns include systemic racism and abuses against Indigenous peoples, the impacts of climate change, and transnational repression by third countries that threaten diaspora communities.
Indigenous Peoples’ Rights
In a landmark ruling in July, the Supreme Court of Canada found both the federal and provincial government in breach of a 174-year-old agreement with several First Nations in Ontario, depriving generations of Indigenous people fair compensation for their resources.
Environment and Human Rights
In June 2024, the Trudeau government adopted a long-awaited law that obligates the federal government to develop a national strategy to prevent and address the effects of environmental racism.
Transnational Repression
In May, a public inquiry into foreign interference in Canadian elections released an initial report that found that foreign interference undermined the right of voters to have an electoral process “free from coercion or covert influence.” Following the release of the report, new legislation (Bill C-70) was proposed, creating a mandatory registry for people undertaking “influence activity” on behalf of foreign states and giving the Canadian Security Intelligence Service expanded powers to address threats. In June, the Senate passed Bill C-70 without amendment, despite concerns by civil liberties groups that several of the bill’s provisions would “significantly impact the rights and liberties of people in Canada.”
Corporate Accountability
The Trudeau government has taken steps to address impunity for abuses by Canadian companies overseas but has yet to pass mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence legislation. The Trudeau government recommitted in its 2024 budget to introduce legislation to eliminate forced labor from Canadian supply chains and tighten the import ban on products manufactured with forced labor.
Refugees, Asylum Seekers, and Migrants
People in immigration detention, including people with disabilities and those seeking refugee protection, continue to be regularly handcuffed and shackled in Canada. With no time limits on immigration detention, they can be detained for months or years, including in solitary confinement.
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) remains the only major law enforcement agency in Canada without independent civilian oversight. The federal government has introduced oversight legislation, but it has yet to pass. CBSA’s unchecked exercise of its broad mandate and enforcement powers has repeatedly resulted in serious human rights violations in the context of immigration detention, including prolonged solitary confinement in maximum-security jails, child detention and family separation, indefinite detention, and the stripping of legal capacity of people with mental health conditions.
Counterterrorism
Canada again failed in 2024 to take adequate steps to assist and repatriate Canadian men, women, and children unlawfully detained in northeast Syria in locked desert camps and prisons for Islamic State (ISIS) suspects and their families. At this writing, at least 20 Canadians remained there, none of whom had been charged with a crime or brought before a judge to review the legality and necessity of their detention, making their detention both arbitrary and unlawful..
Source: ctvnews.ca/federal-election-2025
Monday, April 20, 2026
