peter stoyko wrote,
>As someone who makes his living trafficking in international income
>distribution statistics, I feel obligated to respond to this misleading
>item by Dennis Bueckert - or, perhaps, his recantation of an increasingly
>popular but misleading view. My case is simply put.
- snip -
. . .
> Between 1980 and 1995, Canada disposable income
> inequality has remained stable. Only the other countries I've
> just mentioned can make this claim.
>
>All of these claims, which can be backed up with the same data sources
>used by the UN (if they use the most recent figures this time), suggest
>that Canada does quite will with regard to inequality and poverty.
There is another important dimension to this question that Peter (who by his
own admission, makes his living trafficking in income distribution
statistics) has neglected to mention -- that is the timeliness of using 1995
data (disarmingly referred to as "the most recent figures") to compare
Canada's inequality and poverty ranking.
1995 is a watershed year for inequality and poverty in Canada, precisely
because federal and provincial budgets introduced in that year have
drastically increased income inequality. There is something disingenuous
about calling Bueckert's item "misleading" because of underlying technical
omissions in the reporting of data and at the same time neglect to mention a
technical feature of the data that makes Canada's record look more
favourable than it currently is. Is the pot calling the kettle black?
To elaborate on this point, I would note the extensive list of questions to
be taken up by the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights regarding Canada's report on implementation of the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (below). Note that items
16-22 deal with questions about conditions after April 1995 -- that is after
repeal of the Canada Assistance Plan Act. Items 32-36 deal with questions
about changes subsequent to the reform of "Employment Insurance" in 1996.
------------------------
List of issues to be taken up in connection with the consideration of the
third periodic report of Canada :
10 June 1998
ENGLISH
Original: ENGLISH
COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON ECONOMIC,
SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS
List of issues to be taken up in connection with the consideration of the
third periodic report of Canada concerning the rights referred to in
articles 1-15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights (E/1994/104/Add.17)
I. PRIORITY CONCERNS: STATUS OF THE COVENANT IN THE CANADIAN LEGAL SYSTEM
Interpretation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms
1. What is the status of the Covenant in cases of conflict with federal,
provincial and territorial legislation? Please provide information on the
implementation of the Covenant by the courts in Canada.
2. With respect to paragraph 10 of its report, are governments in Canada
able to plead cases under the Charter in a manner that is consistent with
Canada's obligations under the Covenant.
3. What is the opinion of federal, provincial and municipal Governments as
to the effect of current or proposed trade and investment agreements such
as the North American Free Trade Agreement, the Free Trade Area of the
Americas and the Multilateral Agreement on Investment on their ability to
fulfil obligations under the Covenant and what processes have been put in
place to review these questions?
4. Please provide details as to how the Government responded in cases where
plaintiffs invoked their rights under the Covenant to interpret Charter
rights and provide any information about cases in which the Government or
the court interpreted the Charter in light of the Covenant. Please include
information about: Masse v. Attorney-General of Ontario, Clarke v.
Peterborough Utilities Commission, Falkiner v. Attorney-General of Ontario
and Gosselin v. Quebec.
5. Does the Government agree that repealing protective legislation without
replacing it would be inconsistent with article 2 of the Covenant? Provide
details as to how Governments have dealt with this issue under the Charter,
and explain what the Government's position was in Ferrel v.
Attorney-General of Ontario and Dunmore v. Ontario.
6. Explain the position of the federal and provincial Governments in
Eldridge v. Attorney-General of British Columbia with respect to the
Charter's protection of the rights of people with disabilities, referring
specially to General Comment No. 5.
7. Explain the position of the government of Manitoba in the Fernandes case
(para. 63), of the government of British Columbia in the case of Brown v.
British Columbia (para. 69) and of the government of Quebec in the Gosselin
case, with particular reference to article 2 of the Covenant. Will these
positions be changed in light of the decision of the Supreme Court in the
Elridge case?
Human rights legislation
8. Will the Government of Canada be acting on the recommendation of the
Canadian Human Rights Commission that the ambit of human rights protections
in Canada be expanded to include social and economic rights? What are the
views of provincial commissioners on this issue?
9. Please provide to the Committee information from each Human Rights
Commission in Canada about cases in which the Covenant has been used in
interpreting or applying human rights legislation.
10. Please provide an estimate of the percentage of human rights complaints
filed with each Human Rights Commission in Canada which are adjudicated and
explain how this is consistent with the Committee's General Comment No. 3,
paragraph 5. Can the government of Quebec explain how its system is
different and provide an estimate of the percentage of human rights
complaints in Quebec that are not dismissed?
11. Please provide information to the Committee about the outcome of the
complaint of Elizabeth Wiebe before the Ontario Human Rights Commission,
(described in NGO submissions to the Committee in 1993) and state whether
the Covenant was considered by the decision-maker.
Discrimination because of income or social condition
12. What is the position of the Federal Government and each provincial
government with respect to whether "workfare" programmes discriminate
against welfare recipients and are contrary to article 2 of the Covenant?
Please explain the government of Quebec's position in the Lambert case.
13. An earlier version of Canada's report filed with the Committee
contained information from Ontario's Chief Commissioner of Human Rights
about proposed changes to Ontario's human rights legislation. What were the
Chief Commissioner's concerns and were they acted upon by the government of
Ontario?
14. What is the position of each Human Rights Commission (with the
exception of Quebec's) on whether "social condition" should be added as a
prohibited ground of discrimination in the light of article 2 of the
Covenant, and what is the position of the provincial and federal
Governments on this question?
15. Please state whether children of non-nationals of Canada seeking to
stay in Canada are denied access to social services and benefits, education
or medical care which children of Canadians have access to.
Bill C-76 and the repeal of the Canada Assistance Plan Act
16. Please indicate whether as a result of the repeal of the Canada
Assistance Plan Act (CAP) by Bill C-76, people deprived of basic
necessities under provincial or territorial social assistance schemes no
longer have any legal recourse in federal law under the Canada Health and
Social Transfer (CHST).
17. Why were the standards and entitlements maintained in health care but
not in social assistance?
18. Have provinces responded by cutting social assistance rates or
entitlements? Please provide information from each province about changes
that have occurred from April 1995 to the present day, and any effect on
the extent or depth of poverty.
19. To what extent does the revoking of CAP represent a retreat from the
idea of financial assistance when in need as a universal entitlement, as
described in previous reports to the Committee?
20. With respect to the negotiations by the Ministerial Council on Social
Policy Reform and Renewal mentioned in paragraph 86 of the report, are the
Federal and provincial Governments committed to restoring legal
enforceability of the right to adequate financial assistance?
21. Describe any monitoring procedures established by Governments as well
as non-governmental agencies to measure the effect of the 40 per cent ($6
billion) cut in the amount of cash transferred by the Federal Government
for social assistance, health and post-secondary education between April
1995 and the end of fiscal year 1992/2000. What common effects have become
evident throughout Canada?
22. Did the previous cost-sharing of all social assistance costs and
specific social programmes for vulnerable groups mean that in times of
greater need or in regions of greater needs the Federal Government
contributed more? Please provide information on the types of services which
are no longer cost-shared equally, report on any reductions in those
services since 1995 and provide information about the effects of any
changes on vulnerable groups.
Self-determination
23. Does the Government intend to implement the recommendations of the
Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples with respect to self-determination,
self-governance, the control of lands and resources and the establishment
of a lands and treaties tribunal?
Right to work
24. Please provide information on any provinces which require participation
in "workfare" or similar programmes and describe the appeal procedures in
place with respect to any disentitlement from basic necessities on this
ground. Are these programmes applied to single parents and, if so, what
exceptions apply? Is the Committee correct to assume that these programmes
would have been illegal under CAP?
25. For provinces applying a "work for welfare" scheme, such as Quebec and
Ontario, please provide information concerning the application of labour
standards, including minimum wage and any discriminatory criteria that are
applied, such as age.
26. Will the Government implement the recommendations of the Royal
Commission on Aboriginal Peoples to address the unacceptable levels of
unemployment both on and off reserves?
27. According to Statistics Canada, in 1991 over 40 per cent of people with
disabilities received no employment income compared with 18.5 per cent for
people without disabilities, and the unemployment statistics for people
with disabilities are among the highest of all minority groups. What are
the steps being taken by the federal, provincial and territorial
Governments to remedy this situation?
The right to just and favourable conditions of work
28. Please provide information as to the minimum wage rate in various
provinces and territories and any changes in its real value over the last
few years. Please indicate how the income from a full-time job at minimum
wage compares with the poverty line. What do the federal and provincial
Governments intend to do to ensure that minimum wages are adequate?
29. Please provide information as to the transformation of women's work to
more precarious forms (part-time, homework, etc.) and the economic
consequences of these changes on the poverty of women, particularly young
single women with dependent children.
30. What steps have been taken by the Federal Government to implement the
recommendation of the Canadian Human Rights Commission that employers' and
workers' representatives are required to take the initiative to implement
pay parity between men and women?
The right to form and join trade unions
31. Please provide information regarding the rights of farm workers and
domestic workers to organize and bargain collectively and identify any
changes in provincial labour legislation which has affected these rights.
Is there any justification for denying these workers collective bargaining
rights accorded to other workers?
Social security
32. How does the Canadian Government explain the dramatic decreases in the
percentage of unemployed workers receiving Employment Insurance benefits
from 83 per cent in 1990 to 43 per cent in 1997? Have the changes in the El
programme disproportionately affected vulnerable groups in Canada? Has
there been any decline in the number of women receiving maternity benefits?
33. In light of the surplus in the employment Insurance Programme that is
expected to reach $20 billion by the end of 1998, has the Government
considered expanding coverage?
34. Under the new legislation, is the federal Government using any surplus
funds to subsidize provincial workfare schemes? Since the programme has
been solely paid for by the contributions of workers and employers since
1990, this seems to suggest a privatization of social assistance. What are
the implications of this in terms of State responsibility for guaranteeing
the rights in article 11?
35. Are there any provinces in Canada in which a person in need of
financial assistance may have such assistance discontinued without a
hearing or be denied interim assistance for basic necessities pending a
hearing before an impartial adjudicator? Please provide information as to
any cases in which this issue has been considered by the court and the
positions taken by responding Governments in those cases.
36. Please estimate what it costs on average to meet the special needs
arising from pregnancy and caring and providing for a newborn, including
special dietary needs, etc. Are these special needs provided for in social
assistance rates for pregnant women? Please provide information about any
changes in those benefits.
Right to an adequate standard of living
37. The Committee has received information that food bank use has continued
to increase in Canada and has approximately doubled over the last 10 years.
Can the Government explain why the number and use of food banks has
continued to increase? Does the Government consider the need for food banks
in so affluent a country as Canada consistent with article 11 of the
Covenant?
38. Please provide information as to the number of people paying more than
their shelter allowance for housing and indicate whether paying for housing
out of money needed for food may lead to hunger in these households.
39. What proportion of children who use food banks go hungry and how often
do parents go hungry?
40. Explain how school food programmes fit into federal and provincial
strategies to address hunger and how the Government intends to ensure that
the dignity of children and their parents is respected in those programmes.
41. Please provide any available data on the extent of homelessness in
various cities in Canada. At what point would the Government consider
homelessness in Canada to constitute a national emergency?
42. Please provide information on any disparities between Aboriginal
housing and other housing with respect to piped water, flush toilets, need
for repairs and other indicators of adequacy.
43. At paragraph 275, the report states that federal funding for new social
housing units was terminated in 1993. How can this be justified when so
many households are unable to secure appropriate housing in the private
market?
44. According to information provided to the Committee from Statistics
Canada, the percentage of government expenditure on housing has declined
since 1993. There has been extensive media coverage of a growing crisis of
homelessness in Toronto, Vancouver and elsewhere, emphasizing primarily
charity-based efforts to address the problems. Is the Government applying
the "maximum of available resources" to eliminating homelessness and does
it agree that guaranteeing the right to housing is a core responsibility of
Governments and a matter of the highest priority?
45. Could the Government of Ontario provide information as to how many
households have been forced to move out or been evicted for non-payment of
rent because of the cuts to social assistance?
46. The Committee understands that new legislation in Ontario will remove
rent control on any apartment which is rented to a new tenant. Does the
government of Ontario expect any additional increase in evictions because
of this measure? Please provide the Committee with any information that
becomes available prior to the review of Canada's report in November.
47. Does the Government support the recommendations of the Royal Commission
on Aboriginal Peoples that the Canadian Human Rights Act should be amended
to authorize inquiries into whether relocations of Aboriginal peoples were
legal and that court action to obtain redress should be permitted?
48. According to the 1996 Report of the National Council of Welfare
(Poverty Profile 1996), 91.3 per cent of families led by single-parent
mothers under 25 live below the level of poverty. Child poverty is at a
17-year high of 20.9 per cent, meaning that nearly 1.5 million children
live in poverty in Canada. Although the last recession ended in 1991,
poverty rates have risen steadily since then. Please provide to the
Committee the most up-to-date information on single parents, children,
people with disabilities and Aboriginal people and explain how this
unacceptable situation has been allowed to occur.
49. The Chief Commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission was
quoted in the Globe and Mail on 25 March 1998 as saying: "Poverty is a
serious breach of equality rights which I believe has no place in a country
as prosperous as ours." Does the Government agree with this statement?
50. What measures did the federal and provincial governments take to follow
up on the recommendations of the Committee in 1993 to reduce the gap
between welfare rates and the poverty line? Has this gap been reduced? If
not, what is the explanation for the Government's failure to address this
pressing need during a time of relative economic prosperity?
51. It has been reported in Canada, close to one in four persons with
disabilities lives below the poverty line. What are the steps taken by the
federal, provincial and territorial governments to remedy this situation?
52. What are the implications of removing civil legal aid from
federal/provincial cost-sharing, which was previously under CAP? Do
restrictions on civil legal aid deny the right to benefit from effective
remedies in the case of violation of their economic and social rights or
result in a "hierarchy of rights" with respect to access to justice?
53. In 1993 the Government informed the Committee that section 7 of the
Charter at least guaranteed that people are not to be deprived of basic
necessities and may be interpreted to include rights under the Covenant,
such as rights under article 11. Is that still the position of all
governments in Canada?
Right to health
54. Does the Canadian Government have any evidence of restrictions in
access to health care for the poor? If so, what is the Government doing to
remedy the situation?
55. The Committee understands that a high percentage of discharged
psychiatric patients are ending up homeless. Please provide as accurate
evidence as is available in relation to this problem and explain what is
being done to address it.
56. Please provide any information available on the particular health
problems of the homeless, including tuberculosis rates, and identify any
barriers faced by the homeless in getting access to appropriate health
care.
57. To what extent is increased reliance on expensive drug therapy for
HIV/AIDS and other illnesses eroding universal access to health care? Will
programmes such as pharmacare be introduced to cover drug costs?
58. What steps are being taken in Canada to ensure that changes in health
service delivery do not adversely affect the most vulnerable groups in
society?
Right to education
59. The Committee has received information that between 1990 and 1995 the
average tuition fees for post-secondary education rose by 62 per cent in
real terms. The average student debt at graduation seems to have almost
tripled since 1990. What steps are being taken to ensure that
post-secondary education remains equally accessible to all, regardless of
income?
60. At paragraph 372 of the report, the Government reports on the results
of the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) conducted in 1994 in
Canada. Almost half of Canadians would appear to lack the minimal literacy
skills necessary for coping and managing in such basic activities as, for
example, comprehending a bus schedule. Can the Government provide the
Committee with an estimate of the number of Canadians who are currently
receiving literacy training and describe any strategies that are being
considered to deal with this problem?
The right to culture
61. What steps have been taken in Canada to extend knowledge of, and
respect for, the culture of Aboriginal people?
II. OTHER MATTERS
British Columbia
62. Please explain why the new BC Income Assistance Act provides for
situations where the right to financial support when required is denied,
such as in the case of refusing to participate in an employability
(workfare) programme or the existence of outstanding charges in another
jurisdiction.
Alberta
63. The minimum wage in Alberta is the lowest in Canada. What measures will
the Alberta government take in order to bring it into line with standards
of adequacy?
Saskatchewan
64. Can the Saskatchewan government explain if the provincial social
assistance rate has contributed to the increased reliance on food banks
considering that the rate had remained very low in the last decade?
Manitoba
65. In May 1996, social assistance rates in Manitoba were cut by 10 per
cent in the case of single persons and couples without children. Can the
government explain what guarantees it has that these specific cuts will not
deprive recipients of an adequate income?
Ontario
66. Why did Ontario repeal its employment equity legislation and what steps
are being taken to protect the right of disadvantaged groups to work?
67. Describe the impact of the Labour Relations and Employment Statute Law
Amendment Act, or Bill 7, on the collective bargaining rights of
agricultural and other workers.
68. Describe any changes in Ontario's budgetary allocation for social
housing and any reduction or elimination of programmes in housing,
including funding for organizations, assisting tenants or disadvantaged
groups in housing.
69. Which programmes has the Ontario Government devolved to municipalities
and what will be the effect on the province's ability to ensure compliance
with the Covenant in these areas?
Quebec
70. The new legislation in Quebec relating to social assistance provides
for the Minister responsible for social security to order that part of the
social assistance accruing to a beneficiary be used to pay for his or her
unpaid rent. This provision applies only to beneficiaries of social
assistance. Is this not a discriminatory measure on the ground of the
social condition of the recipients?
71. In the light of the candid assessments regarding single-parent
families, unemployed youth and the homeless in Quebec, what measures have
been taken, and with what results?
72. Apart from the "Programme d'enseignement des langues d'origine (PELO)"
what has Quebec done to provide educational services to indigenous
minorities, other than French- or English-speaking Québecois?
New Brunswick
73. The maximum amount of welfare that a single person can receive per
month in New Brunswick is $277 (the average cost of housing in Canada is
$513). Is this adequate to find adequate and appropriate housing?
Nova Scotia
74. In many rural areas, the Nova Scotia government cut back on access to
specific health services such as dental care or medical transportation. How
is this situation compatible with the right of all Nova Scotia residents to
health?
Prince Edward Island
75. In 1996, separate urban and rural rates of shelter allowances for
welfare recipients were abolished and replaced by a single lower rate.
During this time, the vacancy rate had decreased as well as the social
housing investments. Is the lower rate adequate to pay for housing in urban
areas?
Newfoundland
76. In 1996, the Newfoundland Dietetic Association estimated that food
banks and other emergency outlets in Newfoundland were inappropriate
solutions to problems of food security. It is also estimated that the cost
of food security in Newfoundland is about 84 per cent of the social
assistance rate. How is this situation compatible with the right to food of
all Newfoundland residents?
Yukon
77. In Yukon, no one is eligible for full social assistance benefits unless
they are deemed a permanent exclusion from the workforce. Single parents
are deemed excluded until their children reach the age of two but they are
required to wait for a six-month period before they receive full benefits.
The cost of living in Yukon is higher than in most areas of Canada. Explain
how this situation is compatible with the right to an adequate standard of
living.
78. Please explain what measures are planned or taken to reduce the very
considerable lower lone-parent family incomes in Yukon.
79. Please provide more data as regards literacy programmes in Yukon.
Northwest Territories
80. The new welfare programme of the NWT provides for a shelter provision
limited to $450 per month for single persons. This is less than what was
provided in 1997. Explain how this situation is compatible with the right
of NWT residents to housing and to adequate standard of living.
81. Has the positive trend in the reduction of school drop-outs in the
Northwest Territories been upheld since 1991?
Regards,
Tom Walker
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
#408 1035 Pacific St.
Vancouver, B.C.
V6E 4G7
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
(604) 669-3286
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The TimeWork Web: http://www.vcn.bc.ca/timework/
