A/HRC/54/31/Add.2 Annex Report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, José Francisco Calí Tzay, on his visit to Canada I. Introduction 1. The present report contains a review of the situation of Indigenous Peoples in Canada, based on information received by the Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples in preparation for and during his country visit, which was conducted from 1 to 10 March 2023, including 290 written submissions. The Special Rapporteur has also taken into account the observations made by his predecessors in 2004 and 2014, 1 communications issued by mandate holders and the recommendations of other international and regional human rights mechanisms and bodies. The Special Rapporteur aims to provide relevant information and updates on the human rights situation of Indigenous Peoples in Canada, and concrete recommendations to address existing gaps. 2. During the visit, the Special Rapporteur met with, among others: the Governor General of Canada, the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, the Minister of Justice, the Minister of Indigenous Services, the Minister of Northern Affairs and representatives of Global Affairs Canada and other federal departments, as well as representatives of the provincial governments of British Columbia, Manitoba and Québec (representatives of the government of Alberta declined the invitation to meet), members of Parliament, the judiciary and the Senate, representatives of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise, representatives of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, the Independent Special Interlocutor for Missing Children and Unmarked Graves and Burial Sites associated with Indian Residential Schools, representatives of the International Commission on Missing Persons and former members of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. He also visited two federal prisons. 3. The Special Rapporteur met with a broad range of First Nations, Inuit and Métis governments, organizations and individuals in Ontario, Québec, Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia, as well as civil society organizations. 4. The Special Rapporteur expresses his gratitude to the Government and the Indigenous Peoples of Canada for the cooperation extended to him throughout the visit. II. Institutional and legal framework 5. Canada is home to three Indigenous Peoples – First Nations, Métis and Inuit – who are recognized under section 35 of the Constitution of Canada. According to the 2021 Census of Population, approximately 1.8 million persons belong to Indigenous Peoples in Canada, approximately 5 per cent of the country’s population – a 9.4 per cent increase from 2016. Of those, 1,048,405 identified as First Nations, 624,220 as Métis and 70,545 as Inuit. 2 There are 634 First Nations in Canada and more than 70 Indigenous languages. 6. In 2010, Canada endorsed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It has ratified most international human rights treaties, however, it has not ratified the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169) of the International Labour Organization or the American Convention on Human Rights. 7. The constitutional, legislative and judicial framework governing relations with Indigenous Peoples in Canada is set out in the report issued following the 2013 country visit of the Special Rapporteur to Canada. Since 2015, Canada has adopted additional acts and 1 2 2 See E/CN.4/2005/88/Add.3, E/CN.4/2005/88/Add.3/Corr.1 and A/HRC/27/52/Add.2. See https://www.statcan.gc.ca/en/subjects-start/indigenous_peoples. GE.23-13374