International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights - Fourth Report of Canada
Part III - Government of Canada

Introduction

Fiscal policy

1. As detailed in the Introduction to this report, by the mid-90s, Canada was coming out of an economic decline. The Government of Canada faced the challenge of fiscal responsibility and succeeded in bringing its fiscal deficit under control. In 1994, the deficit amounted to $42 billion. In the space of only four years, fiscal policy actions resulted in the elimination of the deficit and for the fiscal year 1997-1998, the Government of Canada recorded a surplus of $3.5 billion — the first time it had done so in 28 years. Similar results were achieved in 1998-1999 with a surplus of $2.9 billion. The government has developed a plan to ensure a better environment for economic growth and enhanced productivity by reducing the debt burden, cutting taxes and making strategic investments. The government's monetary policy is focussed on keeping the annual rate of inflation between one and 3 percent; this will encourage investment by keeping interest rates as low as possible.

Gathering Strength — Canada's Aboriginal Action Plan

1. As stated during Canada's last appearance before the Committee, Canada responded to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) in 1998 with Gathering Strength — Canada's Aboriginal Action Plan (http://www.aincinac.gc.ca/). The vision articulated in Gathering Strength is straightforward: a new partnership between Aboriginal people and other Canadians that reflects our interdependence and enables us to work together to build a better future; financially viable Aboriginal governments able to generate their own revenues and able to operate with secure, predictable government transfers; Aboriginal governments reflective of, and responsive to, their communities' needs and values; and, a quality of life for Aboriginal people comparable to that of other Canadians.
   
   
2. As part of Gathering Strength, the Government offered a Statement of Reconciliation, which acknowledged its role in the development and administration of the residential school system. To the victims who suffered physical and sexual abuse at residential schools, the Government said that it is deeply sorry. The Government also committed $350 million in support of a community-based healing strategy to address the healing needs of individuals, families and communities arising from the legacy of physical and sexual abuse at residential schools.
   
   
3. In May 1998, the Aboriginal Healing Foundation (AHF) was formally launched. It is an Aboriginal-run, non-profit corporation which operates at arms' length from the Government, and funds proposals from First Nations, Inuit and Métis affected by the legacy of physical and sexual abuse in the residential school system.
   
   
4. While the responsibility of implementing Canada's Aboriginal Action Plan lies largely with the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, starting in 1998-1999, the Department of Canadian Heritage increased funding for Aboriginal advocacy organizations, as well as for the Aboriginal Women's Program, to run over a four-year period, to support women in building capacity within their organizations and addressing self-governance issues. The implementation of both the Aboriginal Languages Initiative ($20 million over four years) and the Urban Multipurpose Aboriginal Youth Centres Initiative ($100 million over five years) in 1998-1999 were also linked to recommendations of the RCAP.
   
   

Nunavut

1. The 1993 Nunavut Land Claim Agreement led to the creation of the new territory of Nunavut, which means "our land" in Inuktitut, on April 1, 1999. One-fifth the nation's land mass, Nunavut is formed from two million square kilometres carved out of the eastern and central sections of the Northwest Territories. The population of the new territory is 85 percent Inuit. Since 1993, the Inuit, as Nunavut's majority population, have been shaping a territorial government to reflect their culture, traditions and aspirations. To meet the needs of its 28 scattered communities, the Government of Nunavut is highly decentralized with advanced communications technology playing a key role in this structure.
   
   
2. Training and development of public servants started following the implementation of the 1993 Agreement, and such programs continue to be a driving force in Nunavut's evolution to self-sufficiency. The Government of Canada committed approximately $40 million for the recruitment and skills upgrading of Nunavut public service employees. By April 1999, about 600 Inuit had already benefited from the training programs. Inuktitut, along with English and French, is a working language of the Nunavut government.
   
   

Land claims settlements and the Nisga'a Final Agreement

1. Fourteen comprehensive claim agreements have been signed since the announcement of the federal government's claims policy in 1973. Between October 1994 and December 1999, the Sahtu Dene and Métis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement (1994) and seven Yukon First Nation Final Agreements were reached.
   
   
2. In 1999, the Nisga'a Final Agreement was signed. This agreement sets aside 2,019 square kilometres of the Nass River Valley in British Columbia as Nisga'a Lands and establishes a Nisga'a Central Government. The Nisga'a own and have rights to natural resources, and will receive $253 million over 15 years. The land and resource components of the Agreement, combined with enhanced governance powers, will allow the Nisga'a to be more self-reliant and participate more fully in the economy.
   
   
3. Since 1998, the Government of Canada has withdrawn the requirement for an express reference to extinguishment of Aboriginal rights and title either in a comprehensive claim agreement or in the settlement legislation ratifying the agreement. This position is reflected in the Nisga'a Final Agreement, which sets out all the rights that the Nisga'a have under section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, the area over which they apply and the limitations to those rights.
   
   

Canadian Rural Partnership

1. The Canadian Rural Partnership is the key policy framework supporting federal rural policy efforts. Funded by $20 million over four years (1998-2002), the Partnership ensures that federal programs, policies and activities support rural communities to enhance the quality of life in these communities and better equip them to compete in a global economy. To further expand the Partnership, the Federal Framework for Action in Rural Canada was announced in May 1999 to respond to further consultation on rural citizens' priorities. The Framework includes recognition of 11 areas as policy priorities for the government in addressing its commitment to assist rural Canadians. These priorities include improving opportunities for rural youth, access to financial resources, and access to federal services in rural communities.
   
   

Education on human rights

1. All governments in Canada carry out public education programs in the area of human rights. Within the federal government, the main agencies involved are the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Department of Justice and the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
   
   
2. The Department of Canadian Heritage has a mandate to promote a greater understanding of human rights, fundamental freedoms and related values. To fulfill this mandate, it provides funding and technical advice to non-governmental organizations and community groups for activities that educate the public about human rights. It also distributes, free of charge, various human rights materials, including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the principal international human rights instruments, and Canada's periodic reports to the United Nations under the various UN human rights treaties to which it is a party. A Web site provides information on human rights in Canada, and includes on-line copies of the human rights instruments, Canada's periodic reports to the United Nations, and the concluding observations made by each UN Committee on Canada's reports. (See http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/pdp-hrp.)
   
   
3. The Department of Justice sponsors the Access to Justice Network (ACJNet) (http://www.acjnet.org), an Internet-based service providing information and educational resources on Canadian justice and legal issues. It is dedicated to making law and justice resources available to all Canadians in either official language. Its Lesson Plans section is especially useful for teachers preparing lessons on human rights themes for elementary and secondary school students. The Department of Justice also supports the education projects of nongovernmental organizations and individuals that focus on human rights and the law. The Department provides grants and contributions for projects that promote a greater understanding of human rights issues, laws and institutions, both domestically and internationally, in the justice system and the community at large.
   
   
4. Following the review of Canada's Third Report under this Covenant, the Committee recommended that copies of its concluding observations be provided to all judges and called for training of judges on Canada's obligations under the Covenant. In September 1999, the concluding observations were forwarded to both the National Judicial Institute and the Canadian Judicial Council. Since the review of Canada's Third Report, the National Judicial Institute, an independent, non-profit organization, has provided relevant training to judges in Canada, including sessions on international human rights norms, environmental law and the domestic application of international law, which included modules on "The Relevance and Application of International Law to Judges in Canada," "Canada in the International Legal System," and "International Human Rights."
   
   
5. The Canadian Human Rights Commission carries out promotional activities, conducts training sessions to federally regulated public and private sectors employers and produces publications on various human rights issues, as well as videos, posters, and reports. The Commission publishes Equality, a quarterly magazine to inform the public about developments in human rights. A large number of its publications are available on its Web site (http://www.chrc-ccdp.ca). The Commission's materials are used for information and education purposes by schools, employers, NGOs, and unions. Each of the regional offices of the Canadian Human Rights Commission conducts educational and training programs and publishes materials relevant to its region. The Commission endeavours to involve the community in its work. For example, in 1997, the Commission organized a Disability Issues Forum to bring together representatives of disability organizations to talk about their concerns and priorities and get useful suggestions on how disability rights can be better protected. Again in 1997, the Commission produced a poster and booklet — in partnership with the Canadian Dyslexia Association — aimed at increasing awareness of this learning disability.
   
   

The Canadian Human Rights Commission carries out promotional activities, conducts training sessions to federally regulated public and private sectors employers and produces publications on various human rights issues, as well as videos, posters, and reports. The Commission publishes Equality, a quarterly magazine to inform the public about developments in human rights. A large number of its publications are available on its Web site (http://www.chrc-ccdp.ca). The Commission's materials are used for information and education purposes by schools, employers, NGOs, and unions. Each of the regional offices of the Canadian Human Rights Commission conducts educational and training programs and publishes materials relevant to its region. The Commission endeavours to involve the community in its work. For example, in 1997, the Commission organized a Disability Issues Forum to bring together representatives of disability organizations to talk about their concerns and priorities and get useful suggestions on how disability rights can be better protected. Again in 1997, the Commission produced a poster and booklet — in partnership with the Canadian Dyslexia Association — aimed at increasing awareness of this learning disability.

International gatherings

1. Canada's Fourth Report on the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights comes at a very active time for human rights on the international scene. The period covered by this report (1994-1999) coincided with years dedicated by the United Nations to the struggle against racism and racial discrimination, the reduction of poverty, world recognition of indigenous peoples and human rights education. This period was also marked by Canada's support for a number of action plans affecting human rights. Canada endorsed the World Summit for Social Development program to eradicate poverty, create employment and promote social integration; the Fourth World Conference on Women action program to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women; the Habitat program to enhance living conditions in cities, towns and villages all around the world and the World Food Summit plan of action to eradicate hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition.⁷ During this period, the Government of Canada developed implementation strategies for several of the action plans.
   
   
2. In 1999, Canada took advantage of the VIII Francophonie Summit in Moncton to celebrate its Francophone personality in a very special way by launching the Year of La Francophonie in Canada. It was an occasion to recognize the contribution of the country's Francophones and Francophiles to the development of Canadian society and their vitality within Canada and across the world.
   
   

International cooperation

1. The purpose of Canada's official development assistance program (ODA) is to support sustainable development to reduce poverty and contribute to a more secure, equitable and prosperous world. The objective of providing this assistance is to work with developing countries, and countries in transition, to develop the tools to eventually meet their own needs. Canada's total ODA in 1999-2000 was $2.7 billion.
   
   
2. Canada has made firm commitments to the protection and promotion of human rights through development cooperation. The foreign policy statement Canada and the World (1995) provides the policy framework for Canada's Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) and states that: "The purpose of Canada's official development assistance is to support sustainable development in developing countries, in order to reduce poverty and to contribute to a more secure, equitable, and prosperous world." One of the six identified program priorities is human rights, democratization and good governance. The Government of Canada Policy for the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) on Human Rights, Democratization and Good Governance (1995) states that: "The Government's policy is to enhance the will and capacity of developing country societies to respect the rights of children, women and men, and to govern effectively and in a democratic manner."
   
   
3. CIDA pursues this policy through five objectives which seek to strengthen: the role and capacity of civil society in developing countries, in order to increase public participation in decision-making; democratic institutions, in order to develop and sustain responsible government; the competence of the public sector, in order to promote the effective, honest and accountable exercise of power; the capacity of organizations that protect and promote human rights, in order to enhance each society's ability to address rights concerns and strengthen the secutiry of the individual; and the will of leaders to respect human rights, rule democractically, and govern effectively.
   
   
4. The other CIDA program priorities identified in Canada in the World are:
   
   
   • Basic human needs, to meet the needs of people living in poverty in primary health care, basic education, family planning, nutrition, water and sanitation, and shelter, as well as to respond to emergencies with humanitarian assistance — Canada and the World commits the Government of Canada to providing 25 percent of its ODA to basic human needs;
   • Gender equality, to support the achievement of equality between women and men to ensure sustainable development;
   • Infrastructure services, to help developing countries deliver environmentally sound infrastructure services — for example, rural electricity and communications — with an emphasis on poorer groups and on building capacity;
   • Private-sector development, to promote sustained and equitable economic growth by supporting private-sector development in developing countries and organizations which are working in micro-enterprise and small business development to promote income generation; and
   • Environment, to help developing countries protect their environment and contribute to addressing global and regional environmental issues.
     
     
5. CIDA's mandate also includes working with countries in transition (CITs) to support democratic development and economic liberalization in Central and Eastern Europe and the newly independent states by building beneficial partnerships. Programming in these countries has the following four priorities: 1) to assist in the transition to market-based economies; 2) to encourage good governance, democracy, political pluralism, the rule of law and adherence to international norms and standards; 3) to facilitate trade and reduce threats to international and Canadian security.
   
   
6. All of these priority areas of programming contribute to the realization of economic, social and cultural rights.
   
   

Involvement of civil society

1. Since 1994, the Government of Canada has been striving for transparency in public affairs and inviting civil society views regarding policy development through consultations, meetings and electronic correspondence. The preparations already mentioned for various special sessions of the General Assembly and world summits have invited participation by numerous non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for consultation purposes.
   
   
2. Non-governmental organizations are very active in Canada, some of them government-funded and some supported by other sources. The Government of Canada recognizes this sector as an essential partner in national growth at every level.
   
   
3. In the preparation of this report, more than 200 NGOs were invited to provide their views on the issues that would be addressed in the federal section of the report. The following organizations responded to this invitation: the Canadian Association for Fifty Plus, the Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture, the Canadian Council for Refugees, the Canadian Federation of University Women, the Hellenic Canadian Congress, the Poverty and Human Rights Project and the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario.
   
   
4. The viewpoints provided by these NGOs have been distributed to the departments and governments concerned and will be forwarded, under separate cover, to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
   
   
5. The concerns raised focussed on the following issues: factors compromising the progress of the Covenant; immigrant access to the policy development process; representation of Canada's various ethnic groups in the different orders of government; equal rights between men and women; the Employment Equity Act; issues of equality and discrimination against ethnic groups that are not in the visible minorities category; refugees and their access to rights; poverty; the suspension of people's rights due to their cultural or national heritage; the discrepancy between Canada's international policy statements and the incorporation of these principles and their practice in jurisprudence in all areas in Canada; protection of the elderly; the rights of individuals; quality of education; the promotion of the family; the absence of a procedure for handling complaints about economic, social and cultural rights; the effect of growing disparities in people's lives; free trade ideology and human rights; globalization and workers' rights; the rights of low-income people and the Canada Health and Social Transfer (CHST); cuts in social programs; cuts in employment insurance; responses to the twenty recommendations of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
   
   

Article 1: Right to Self-determination

1. Canada subscribes to the principles set forth in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Article 1 of the Covenant is implemented without discrimination as to race, religion or ethnic origin. All Canadians have meaningful access to government to pursue their political, economic, social and cultural development.
   
   

Article 2: Rights Specifically Subject to Non-Discrimination Provisions

1. The Government of Canada is committed to human rights legislation that ensures all Canadians enjoy the same protection from discrimination and the same opportunity to participate meaningfully in Canada's economic and social life. The Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA) governs employment and the provision of goods and services by the federal government and federally regulated businesses. On June 30, 1998, amendments to the CHRA entered into force on, inter alia, the following elements:
   
   
   • To prevent discrimination, a legal obligation or "duty of accommodation" was added to the Act that requires employers to address the needs of people who are protected under the CHRA, including persons with disabilities. The amendment ensures that those protected by the Act do not encounter unfair barriers and have, within reasonable limits, the same opportunities as other Canadians to find employment and take advantage of services. It requires employers and providers of services to make accommodation for the needs of people who are protected under the Act, except where this would cause undue hardship with respect to health, safety and cost. This includes, for example, ensuring that a workplace is wheelchair-accessible.
     
     
   • The Act now recognizes that individuals may suffer discrimination on a number of grounds at the same time (section 3.1). For example, a woman may experience discrimination in finding a job not only because she is a woman but also because of her race or disability. The Act now allows for multiple grounds of discrimination to be taken into account by a tribunal and that each ground of discrimination does not have to be considered separately. This reflects a more holistic and comprehensive approach to the resolution of human rights complaints.
     
     
   • The Canadian Human Rights Commission now reports directly to Parliament.
     
     
   • A small, permanent Human Rights Tribunal was created to replace the system of ad hoc tribunals and review tribunals. A permanent tribunal provides greater efficiency in hearing cases and creates a consistent body of decisions and a solid base of expertise, because its members hear more cases. It also helps to speed up the complaints process by reducing the number of levels of review and by ensuring that tribunal members are more readily available to deal with cases.
     
     
   • The maximum limit on compensation for pain and suffering or for wilful or reckless discrimination was raised to $20,000.
     
     
2. In April 1999, the Minister of Justice of Canada announced a review of human rights protection in Canada. A former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada was appointed to chair a review panel. Other members of the panel were a former commissioner with the Canadian Human Rights Commission, a professor of human rights law and a professor of business and noted expert on systemic discrimination issues.
   
   
3. The review consisted of an examination and analysis of the Canadian Human Rights Act and the policies and practices of the Canadian Human Rights Commission with a particular focus on:
   
   
   • an examination of the purpose and grounds to ensure that the Act accords with modern human rights and equality principles; recognizing the principles and complexities of the legal and policy issues regarding social and economic rights, the Review Panel examined the question of whether "social condition" should be added as a prohibited ground of discrimination.
   • a determination of the adequacy of the scope and jurisdiction of the Act, including an examination of its exemptions;
   • a review of the complaints-based model and recommendations for enhancing or changing the model to improve protection from both individual and systemic discrimination, while ensuring that the process is efficient and effective; and
   • an examination of the powers and procedures of the Canadian Human Rights Commission and the Human Rights Tribunal.

The review panel held consultations with the public, employers, unions, equalityseeking groups and other interested parties. Information on the review panel's report, tabled in June 2000, will be provided in Canada's next report.

Discrimination against vulnerable groups

Aboriginal people

1. Most articles in this report highlight the specific measures granted to Aboriginal people. These measures emanate in part from Gathering Strength — Canada's Aboriginal Action Plan, described in the Introduction to Part III of the present report.
   
   
2. The Government of Canada provides funding under the Aboriginal Friendship Centre Program (an average of $15.3 million for 1994-1999) that supports an infrastructure of 99 Aboriginal friendship centres as well as the National Association of Friendship Centres (NAFC). These organizations, through work within their respective communities, engage in activities to increase awareness of Aboriginal culture and address/eliminate discrimination against Aboriginal people.
   
   

Immigrants and refugees

1. The new Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) and supporting regulations consolidate protection criteria and decision-making processes for persons fleeing persecution, torture and risk to life. Persons found to need protection may apply for permanent resident status and may sponsor some family members still living abroad. The legislation received Royal Assent on November 1, 2001 and entered into force in 2002. More detailed information will be provided in Canada's next report.
   
   
2. While refugee claimants are ineligible to receive settlement services funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), they are able to access provincial services. CIC's settlement programs do not discriminate on the basis of any of the rights guaranteed by the Covenant, and are available to all persons who have been granted the right to remain in Canada.
   
   
3. CIC's integration programming demonstrates an effort on the part of CIC to create a more welcoming host society and raise awareness of Canadian values of tolerance and respect for diversity through promotions materials, Web sites and outreach activities. The March 2000 launch of CIC's Canada We All Belong and Welcome Home campaigns is outside of the reporting period in question, but is an excellent example of how the Department strives to play an important role in making Canada a truly inclusive society.
   
   

Article 3: Equal Rights of Women and Men

1. Information on the status of women in Canada and women's role in Canadian society can be found in Canada's Fifth Report on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/pdp-hrp/docs/cedaw-eng.cfm).
   
   
2. Established in 1976, Status of Women Canada (SWC) is the federal government department responsible for the promotion of gender equality and the full and equal participation of women in the economic, social, cultural and political life of the country. It's mandate is to "coordinate policy with respect to the status of women and administer related programs."
   
   
3. Canada, in response to a call from the United Nations to formulate a national plan to advance the situation of women, both within its own borders and globally, presented The Federal Plan for Gender Equality in 1995 at the Fourth United Nations World Conference on Women in Beijing. Canada's Fifth Report on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women outlines the objectives of the plan, which includes the development and application of tools and methodologies for carrying out gender-based analysis (GBA), the development and delivery of GBA training, and the development of indicators to assess the progress made toward gender equality.
   
   
4. Status of Women Canada has worked strategically and horizontally to inform and influence the actions of various stakeholders to integrate GBA and implement change to achieve gender equality. Since 1995, SWC has developed and provided other government departments with a series of tools and supports to assist them in the implementation of GBA. Notable among these is Gender-Based Analysis: A Guide for Policy-Making, released in March 1996. In 1999, SWC established a Gender-based Analysis Directorate tasked with accelerating GBA implementation across the federal government.
   
   
5. SWC's policy and external relations function includes the review and provision of gender expertise on existing and proposed federal government policies, legislation, programs and initiatives. It develops recommendations and strategies and works in cooperation with other federal departments to promote gender equality and undertakes developmental activities to address policy gaps on issues of concern to women. It also collaborates with various stakeholders, including provincial and territorial governments, civil society and non-governmental organizations, international organizations and other governments on policyrelated activities. A key example includes the 1997 child support reform package which included changes to the tax treatment of child support developed by SWC. The Secretary of State (Status of Women) had a leadership role in holding consultations across the country on this issue.
   
   
6. Other areas in which Status of Women Canada has been particularly active and influential include pension reform, and initiatives in the tax system and employment insurance program to better recognize the non-market dependant care work that is predominately undertaken by women and which has implicationsfor their economic autonomy and security. Advances in criminal law and measures to address violence against women have also benefited from SWC engagement. To aid in all policy areas, Status of Women Canada has also contributed to the development of statistics and indicators to support GBA, such as the Economic Gender Equality Indicators, Finding Data on Women: A Guide to the Major Sources at Statistics Canada and the Guide to Gender-Sensitive Indicators with an accompanying handbook; and development of gender-based research in the Government of Canada and with counterparts in other governments and international organizations.
   
   
7. During the period from June 1996 to September 1999, the Policy Research Fund of Status of Women Canada issued 13 calls for proposals which examined themes such as the impact of the Canada Health and Social Transfer (CHST) on women, women's access to justice, custody and access of children, women's paid and unpaid work and their vulnerability to poverty, factoring diversity into policy development, reducing women's poverty, women and the Canadian tax system, women and the Canadian Human Rights Act and trafficking in women.
   
   
8. Between 1994 and 1999, SWC's Women's Program funded initiatives which addressed discrimination based on sex, age, sexuality, race, colour, nationality and physical condition. For example, funding was provided to the Aboriginal Women's Council (1994) for a participatory, action-oriented, research project with Aboriginal women to systematically define the discrimination they experience in housing, employment and health and social services. In Québec, funding was provided to Action travail des femmes du Québec incorporé (1994-1995). The purpose of the project was to inform ethnocultural organizations of ways to overcome discrimination and to build collaborative links with stakeholders in the community to assist women who experience work-related discrimination. It also involved creating and adapting information and leadership tools to respond to the specific needs of women in cultural communities. An initiative by Equality for Gays and Lesbians Everywhere (EGALE) (1997-1998) supported the first national survey on the demographics of the gay, lesbian and bisexual communities in Canada: violence and discrimination experienced within these communities; the degree of legal recognition of same-sex relationships; and the multiple barriers that lesbians, gay men and bisexuals face. The National Organization of Immigrant and Visible Minority Women of Canada (1998-1999) (NOIVMWC) undertook activities in two key areas: 1) assessing the needs, issues and concerns of immigrant and visible minority girl children in five cities, focusing on discrimination, violence, and racism; 2) identifying priority issues concerning the new communication technology for immigrant and visible minority women's groups/organisations.
   
   
9. The Aboriginal Women's Program (AWP) of the Department of Canadian Heritage provided $8.5 million over five years, with annual allocations in support of three national Aboriginal women's organizations and approximately 70 projects at the provincial/territorial level each year. These projects were designed to improve social conditions, cultural retention and preservation, economic wellbeing and leadership development and training, while maintaining cultural distinctiveness and preserving cultural identity. Some of these projects also focused on family violence.
   
   
10. The AWP also provided funding to the Native Women's Association of Canada to pursue the issue of Aboriginal women living on reserves who do not enjoy the same right, as women living off reserves, to an equal share of matrimonial property at the time of marriage breakdown.
    
    

International cooperation

1. Gender equality is considered an integral part of all policies, programs and projects of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).
   
   
2. CIDA's Policy on Gender Equality (March 1999) identifies one of its objectives as: "to support women and girls in the realization of their full human rights." CIDA's approach is that women's rights are human rights. The removal of key barriers, such as gender discrimination, supporting organizations promoting women's rights, and fostering an enabling environment are important elements of CIDA's programming.
   
   

Article 6: Right to Work

1. The Government of Canada has addressed the right to work in several reports, including its Fifth Report on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Canada's earlier reports on the Covenant also provide useful information.
   
   
2. The Government of Canada has subscribed to a number of conventions involving the right to work. The following reports to the International Labour Organization (ILO) deal with several aspects of article 6 of this Covenant and should be consulted for additional information:
   
   
   • reports on the Employment Policy Convention for the periods July 1, 1996, to June 30, 1998, (pages 4-10 and 36-41) and July 1, 1998, to May 31, 2000 (pages 4-10 and 36-39);
   • reports on the Employment Service Convention for the period July 1, 1993, to June 30, 1998 (pages 2-14);
   • report on the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention for the periods July 1, 1995, to June 30, 1997 (pages 2-6C) and July 1, 1997 to June 30, 1999 (pages 2-4);
   • 1997 report (article 19 of the ILO Constitution) for the period ending December 31,1996, on Convention 159 and Recommendation 168 — Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons).

General picture

1. The employment situation is generally good: many new jobs have been created and the unemployment rate has fallen among workers of all ages. Between 1992 and 1999, it dropped from nearly 12 percent to under 8 percent.
   
   
2. The Government of Canada recognizes that a more productive and innovative economy is the key to ensuring that there is a vibrant labour market for all Canadians. The Government has a range of policies and programs that help Canadians get and keep jobs and does so to support both economic and social objectives.
   
   
3. The Government of Canada has focussed its efforts in sustaining a strong, growing economy. Employment growth, while slow during the early and mid-nineties, increased considerably in the following years. From 1996 to 1999, over one million new jobs were created, representing annual employment growth of 2.6 percent over this period. Most of these new jobs (966,000) were full-time in nature. In 1998, Canada's annual employment growth of 2.8 percent was sixth among all OECD countries, and well above the OECD average of one percent. The unemployment rate, at 6.6 percent for May 2000, has been at its lowest level in 25 years.
   
   
4. The Government of Canada is encouraging greater demand for labour through a wide range of microeconomic policy actions. These include: improving access to investment capital, particularly for small and medium-sized business and exporters; improving access to business information; and promoting innovation and the growth of high-technology industries. Steps are also being taken to make it easier for businesses to operate by, for example, reducing the paper and regulatory burden, and by setting or updating the policy and regulatory frameworks for emerging or key sectors to support their future development. In addition, the payroll tax levied for employment insurance is being reduced, and the 1996 Budget of the Government of Canada launched a review of tax laws that most affect job creation, including corporate income, capital and payroll taxes.
   
   
5. Human capital investment remains an essential element in enabling Canadians to participate fully in the workplace and the community. Through the development of a vision to improve the quality of life for all Canadians, strategic contributions to human development are being made. Important features include: taking an integrated approach to human development, enabling Canadians to manage transitions in their lives, emphasizing preventative measures, forging partnerships, building the capacity of communities, respecting core values, and continuing to develop and build on the strengths of people.
   
   
6. Since 1993, the federal government has pursued a strategy of investing in individuals to develop a highly skilled and productive workforce. The government approach has consisted of building a foundation for supporting individuals throughout the key periods of the life-cycle, including: early childhood development, e.g. the National Children's Agenda, the National Child Benefit; access to affordable post-secondary education, e.g. reforms to Canada Student Loans, the Canada Opportunities Strategy, the Canada Health and Social Transfer (CHST). In the 1999 Speech from the Throne, the Government committed to make it easier to finance lifelong learning and provide a single window to Canada-wide information about labour markets, skills requirements and training opportunities, as well as enabling skills development to keep pace with the evolving economy and addressing adult literacy. The federal government, in partnership with business and labour, continues to expand Sectoral Partnerships, which focus collaboration and commitment in identifying and responding to skills challenges in key economic sectors.
   
   
7. Since 1996, the Government of Canada has initiated Labour Market Development Agreements with nine provinces and the three territories. This a unique co-operation between federal and provincial/territorial governments allows for the flexibility needed to address local labour market conditions. It is based on a national framework provided by the Employment Insurance legislation and builds on the Government of Canada's desire to work in partnership with the territories and provinces. Programs and services delivered through the Agreements continue to: further federal and provincial labour market objectives and priorities, result in employment and self-sufficiency for assisted clients, increase the participation in the labour market of employable persons, particularly those who are eligible for employment insurance benefits, and foster an entrepreneurial climate.
   
   
8. Strong job growth has resulted in a decline in the number of involuntary part-time workers, that is, those who work part-time only because they could not find full-time work (mainly women and young adults).
   
   

Aboriginal people

1. An Aboriginal Human Resources Development Council has been set up by the federal and provincial governments, representatives of national Aboriginal organizations and the private sector. The five-year strategy of Human Resources Development Canada for the development of Aboriginal human resources took effect in April 1999. This strategy encompasses all programs for Aboriginal people including labour market programs, youth programs, programs for Aboriginal people living in urban environments, programs for persons with disabilities and children's aid programs.
   
   
2. The First Nations and Inuit Youth Employment Strategy provides training and experience to the work force.
   
   
3. The mandate of the Aboriginal Workforce Participation Initiative (AWPI) was renewed and enhanced in 1996. AWPI's goal is to educate, inform and encourage employers to undertake Aboriginal employment strategies. Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) oversees the AWPI external component geared to employers outside the federal Public Service and has been involved in more than 75 initiatives, including a thorough consultation process to develop the AWPI Employer Toolkit. The Treasury Board Secretariat looks after AWPI's internal component, aimed at the federal Public Service, and has promoted several projects with federal departments and agencies. AWPI is responsible for making more than 10,000 employers aware of the advantages of hiring Aboriginal people.
   
   

Youth

1. The Government of Canada's Youth Employment Strategy (YES), implemented in 1997, provides work experience, career and labour market information, and access to learning opportunities for close to 100,000 participants per year. The YES includes mechanisms such as: Youth Internship Canada, which provides funds to employers for internships; Youth Service Canada, which provides funds to organizations that create community service projects for specific youth groups; Student Summer Job Action, which provides wage subsidies to employers who create student jobs; and Information Services, which give students access to labour market information.
   
   
2. Through the YES, approximately 14 departments and agencies offer subsidies to employers to encourage development of summer placement and internship opportunities for youth throughout the year. For example, the Young Canada Works program of the Department of Canadian allows youth between the ages of 16 and 30 to gain work experience in fields related to their studies in cultural, heritage, English and French language-based institutions and organizations, and Aboriginal Friendship Centres; to earn money to help pay for their education; and to get skills and knowledge needed to participate in the work force.
   
   
3. By helping youth earn money, the program facilitates equitable access to education for Canadian youth. The program encourages work force mobility, cross-Canada understanding and friendship across its geographic expanse by assisting employers to host a youth in a summer placement who is from another part of the country. The program also encourages placements and internships in the second official language, to assist in the building of cultural connections of mutual benefit to employer hosts and youth, and the development of real work experiences that assist in the transfer of science and technology applications to cultural and natural heritage sectors. Increased knowledge about Canada, its diverse places and people also accrue from placements and internships in cultural and heritage organizations. Employers who agree to hire participants with disabilities can benefit from additional help to defray a portion of their recruitment costs.
   
   

Persons dependent on the fishing industry

1. The Government of Canada announced the Fishery Restructuring and Adjustment Measures (FRAM) on June 19, 1998, to assist individuals and coastal communities on both the East and West coasts adjust to opportunities outside the fishery, and to lay the foundation for an economically and environmentally viable, self-reliant fishery for the future. A total of $1.1 billion was allocated for adjustment and restructuring measures on both coasts. The budget for the East Coast was $760 million, which included $30 million in re-profiled Atlantic Groundfish Strategy (TAGS) funds. Of this, $410 million is provided for adjustment programming, final cash payments and early retirement. The budget for the West Coast was $400 million with $30 million provided for adjustment programming.
   
   

Job search

1. The Government of Canada has taken steps to provide Labour Market Information to ensure that those who want work are able to make informed labour market decisions. These services provide several types of information. A powerful Internet service, WorkSearch, has been implemented to guide Canadians through all aspects of the work search process. An electronic matching service for workers and employers, the Electronic Labour Exchange, helps people match their skills with jobs available in Canada. The National Job Bank, which is an electronic listing of jobs, work or business opportunities, continues to be a resource for all workers to search for jobs across Canada or in a more specific area of the country. Job Futures, a comprehensive career and education planning tool which presents the latest information available about the Canadian workforce, provides overviews of the labour market, economic trends and net benefits to education, as well as detailed profiles for most occupational groups and post-secondary fields of study, including current and future prospects for finding employment.
   
   

Employment equity

1. The new Employment Equity Act (EEA), which received Royal Assent on December 15, 1995, and came into force on October 24, 1996, applies to the federal public service as well as to private sector-employers under federal jurisdiction and Crown corporations with 100 employees or more. The Canadian Forces and members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are subject to the Act upon order of the Governor in Council. The Governor in Council may also make regulations that it considers necessary to adapt the EEA to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).
   
   
2. The EEA provides for enforcement of employer obligations by giving the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) a specific legislative mandate to monitor and verify compliance through on-site employer audits. The CHRC has consulted with the private and public sectors, including advocacy groups, employer and employee organizations, and labour, and has prepared documents outlining the employer audit framework and the criteria to be used to measure compliance. The Employment Equity Act created an Employment Equity Review Tribunal with the power to issue court-enforceable orders. Core employer obligations are clarified in the new Act. An administrative penalty replaces the current criminal proceedings for the failure of a private-sector employer to submit the required annual employment equity report to the Minister of Labour.
   
   
3. As employer for the federal government, the Treasury Board has obligations under the EEA. Through its Secretariat, it works closely with departments to effectively implement employment equity in the Public Service of Canada by removing barriers to the participation of persons from the designated groups — Aboriginal persons, members of visible minority groups, persons with disabilities and women. This includes providing support for initiatives aimed at improving representation and creating an inclusive work environment. Each year, the President of the Treasury Board submits a report to Parliament on the state of employment equity in the Public Service. The EEA provides for a statutory review five years after coming into force, i.e. in 2001.
   
   
4. Between 1994 and 1999, the representation of designated group members in the Public Service had evolved as follows: 2.0 percent in 1994 and 2.9 percent in 1999 for Aboriginal people; 3.8 percent in 1994 and 5.9 percent in 1999 for persons in a visible minority group; 2.9 percent in 1994 and 4.6 percent in 1999 for persons with disabilities; and 47.0 percent in 1994 and 51.5 percent in 1999 for women.
   
   
5. The Special Measures Initiatives Program (SMIP) was established for a four-year period (1994 to 1998) and ended on March 31, 1998. This program offered federal institutions financial, technical and other support to help them attain employment equity objectives.
   
   
6. After the SMIP ended, there was still a need for support programs to ensure that employment equity would be successfully implemented across departments and agencies of the federal Public Service. As a result, Treasury Board Ministers approved the Employment Equity Positive Measures Program (EEPMP) on October 8, 1998, to assist departments and agencies in meeting their obligations under the Employment Equity Act. The EEPMP, like the SMIP, is a temporary program which provides project funding from a $10 million annual budget to serve as a catalyst for eliminating employment barriers and for building institutional capacity to support employment equity in the federal Public Service. The EEPMP was put in place for four years.
   
   
7. One project which received funding from the EEPMP was the Accelerated Aboriginal Recruitment and the Career Assignment Program (CAP). The Career Assignment Program received support that enabled it to recruit, assess, select and appoint Aboriginal candidates from CAP positions across the federal Public Service.
   
   
8. During the period covered by this report, Treasury Board created two Task Forces to reinforce its commitment to the elimination of barriers in the federal Public Service.
   
   
9. The creation of the Task Force on an Inclusive Public Service was announced on December 14, 1998, by the President of the Treasury Board. Its mandate was to provide advice on the way to create a federal Public Service representative of the population it serves and of the Canadian labour force. The Task Force, whose mandate ended on August 31, 2000, has been credited with starting a dialogue about the federal Public Service's corporate culture and how to improve it.
   
   
10. On April 23, 1999, the establishment of the Task Force on the Participation of Visible Minorities in the Federal Public Service was announced. Its mandate was to take stock of the situation of members of visible minority groups in the federal Public Service and formulate a government wide action plan with benchmarks and follow-up mechanisms to ensure that the benchmarks were met. During 1999-2000, it consulted extensively with key stakeholders inside and outside the federal Public Service and developed its action plan which was presented to the President of the Treasury Board in March 2000. Information regarding the action plan will be provided in Canada's next report.
    
    
11. Employment equity is also the subject of the Federal Contractors Program which applies to contractors doing business with the federal government who do not come under federal jurisdiction (and are thus not covered by the Employment Equity Act). Under this program, contractors are obliged to develop and implement an employment equity plan to review the under-representation of the four designated groups on their staffs. Unless they meet several criteria of compliance with program requirements they may be precluded from bidding on future contracts.
    
    

Persons with disabilities

1. With respect to the role of the federal government on disability issues, the Federal Task Force on Disability Issues (i.e. the Scott Task Force) was created in 1996 to define this role and to provide recommendations to guide public policy. The Task Force identified the labour market integration of persons with disabilities as a priority issue, and recommended that additional targeted investments be made to improve the situation.
   
   
2. The Government of Canada responded with a number of strategic investments. The Opportunities Fund (OF), established in 1997-1998, was designed to address barriers to labour market participation and facilitate the integration of persons with disabilities into employment or self-employment. More than 14,000 persons with disabilities have participated in the program since its inception.
   
   
3. The Employability Assistance for People with Disabilities (EAPD) initiative replaced the Vocational Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons (VRDP) on April 1, 1998. The EAPD has a strong focus on employability, labour market activities and the direct integration of Canadians with disabilities into the labour market. Through this initiative, the Government of Canada provides funding of $193 million per year to provinces to support provincial programs and services that help working age adults with disabilities to prepare for, obtain and retain employment.
   
   
4. Accountability to the public and to people with disabilities is a key feature of EAPD. The accountability framework includes federal-provincial joint planning, results reporting and evaluation activities. There is also a joint commitment to the involvement of organizations representing people with disabilities in the accountability process.
   
   

Women

1. The Policy Research Fund of Status of Women Canada produced research papers in 1997 under the theme "The Relationship Between The Changing Role Of The State, Women's Paid And Unpaid Work, And Women's Vulnerability To Poverty", including Policy Options to Improve Standards for Women Garment Workers in Canada and Internationally; Gender on the Line: Technology, Restructuring and the Reorganization of Work in the Call Centre Industry; and Aboriginal Women and Jobs: Challenges and Issues for Employability Programs in Québec. The Policy Research Fund of Status of Women Canada produced research papers in 1998 under the theme "Trafficking In Women: The Canadian Dimension", including Canada: the New Frontier for Filipino Mail-Order Brides and Migrant Sex Workers from Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union: The Canadian Case. These research papers are used for consultation purposes prior to policy development.
   
   

Eliminating discrimination in the workplace

1. The Canadian Human Rights Act and the Canada Labour Code may be invoked in relation to employment practices, including hiring and firing in the workplace and various other situations involving systemic discrimination. Employers in Canada have a duty to accommodate persons with disabilities and personal needs, and employees have recourse to a complaint mechanism against wrongful dismissal or any wrongdoing they suffer in the workplace.
   
   
2. The Canadian Human Rights Act was amended in 1996 to add sexual orientation as a protected ground of discrimination.
   
   

Article 7: Right to Just and Favourable Working Conditions

Remuneration

1. The following reports provide information given to the ILO on the matter of remuneration and should be consulted for additional information:
   
   
   • Reports on the Equal Remuneration Convention for the periods July 1, 1993, to June 30, 1996 (pages 2-3 and 8-12), July 1, 1996, to June 30, 1998 (pages 2-3 and 15-18), and July 1, 1998, to June 30, 2000 (pages 3-9);
   • Reports on the 1921 Convention on Weekly Rest (Industrial, #14) for the period July 1, 1994, to May 31, 2000.

Minimum wage

1. Information about the minimum wage was provided in Canada's Third Report on the Covenant (paras 150-151) and in Canada's response to the Committee's question 28 in view of the review of the Third Report (http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/pdp-hrp/docs/cesc-eng.cfm).
   
   

Equal pay for equal work

1. One of Canada's objectives outlined in the Federal Plan for Gender Equality is to improve women's economic autonomy and well being. The federal government has undertaken a number of measures to this end which are outlined in Canada's Fifth Report on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/pdp-hrp/docs/cedaw-eng.cfm).
   
   
2. The Government of Canada is committed to the principle of pay equity. In the federally regulated sector, the right to equal remuneration for work of equal value is protected by section 11 of the Canadian Human Rights Act, which makes it a discriminatory act for an employer to establish or maintain different wages for male and female employees doing work of equal value in the same establishment.
   
   
3. Further, on October 29, 1999, the federal government announced its intention to conduct a comprehensive review of section 11 of the Act and of the Equal Wages Guidelines, 1986, "with a view to ensuring clarity in the way pay equity is implemented in the modern world." The Minister of Labour and the Minister of Justice appointed a task force to conduct consultations with key stakeholders, to review the current equal pay provisions of section 11 of the Canadian Human Rights Act, as well as the Equal Wages Guidelines and to make recommendations within one year of commencement of the review. The Review takes into account the following considerations:
   
   
   • Canada ratified the International Labour Organization Convention 100 in 1972, thereby giving effect to the principle of equal pay for work of equal value, and is party to and has ratified other international human rights agreements which further support this principle;
     
     
   • section 11 of the Canadian Human Rights Act, which makes it a discriminatory practice to pay men and women differently for performing work of equal value, has not been amended or subjected to a comprehensive review since receiving Royal Assent in 1977;
     
     
   • some provincial jurisdictions have adopted pay equity legislation which takes a more proactive approach to addressing gender-based wage discrimination and places positive obligations on both employers and employee organizations or representatives to ensure that this principle is implemented; and
     
     
   • many observers, including the Canadian Human Rights Commission, favour an alternative to the current complaint-based approach to implementing the principle of equal pay for work of equal value.
     
     
4. The Canadian Human Rights Commission continues to promote compliance with the equal pay provisions in the Canadian Human Rights Act and investigate complaints lodged under the terms of these provisions. The Commission reports that since 1987, it has resolved about 130 complaints. Total compensation payments equate roughly to $4 billion, mostly paid for in accordance with the Tribunal Consent Order following the 1999 settlement of the Treasury Board complaint (see below). At the end of 1999, 29 complaints were under investigation.
   
   
5. Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) administers a proactive labour program to ensure equal pay in federally regulated institutions. As at the end of 1999, officials of the department have visited some 1,300 employers under federal jurisdiction who employ a significant number of the total number of employees covered by the federal equal pay legislation, to offer advice and counselling andto monitor progress towards completing equal pay implementation. While the legislation does not require employers to report the amounts of pay equity adjustments, some 138 employers voluntarily reported $51.3 million in adjustments as at September 1999. Some cases were referred to the Canadian Human Rights Commission for investigation and were resolved.
   
   
6. In 1994, HRDC introduced a pay equity audit process to verify the actions of employers who report having completed their implementation of equal pay and to work with those employers to resolve any identified gender-based pay inequities. The audit process has been completed with 40 employers.
   
   
7. The Government of Canada continues to be committed to the principle of equal pay for work of equal value. Moreover, following the conclusion of the Tribunal and Federal Court proceedings in 1999, the Treasury Board and the Public Service Alliance of Canada reached an agreement that resulted in pay equity payments to approximately 230,000 current and former public servants.
   
   
8. Between 1997 and 1999, the Policy Research Fund of Status of Women Canada produced Policy research papers such as Unpaid Work and Macroeconomics: New Discussions, New Tools for Action; Social and Community Indicators for Evaluating Women's Work in Communities; Women and Homework: The Canadian Legislative Framework; and Women and the Canadian Human Rights Act: A Collection of Policy Research Reports.
   
   
9. Between 1994 and 1999, the Women's Program of Status of Women Canada funded numerous community initiatives at the national and provincial level that address employment equity and pay equity. These initiatives have enabled non-governmental organizations to move this file forward in communities and employer circles and to act on proposed changes to government legislation on pay equity.
   
   

Occupational health and safety

1. The occupational safety and health provisions of the Canada Labour Code (Part II) have been amended as the result of recommendations put forward by government, employer and employee representatives. This tripartite consultative process is also addressing, on an on-going basis, the occupational safety and health regulations adopted under the Code.
   
   
2. Information on working conditions for pregnant and nursing employees can be found in Canada's Fifth Report on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
   
   

Equal opportunity for promotion

1. Between 1994 and 1999, the Women's Program of Status of Women Canada funded initiatives that address equal opportunity for promotion. This helps to alert public opinion to this matter and equip women to move towards senior positions.
   
   

Article 8: Trade Union Rights

1. Canadian governments protect workers with a range of measures including maintenance of the right of free association, just and effective collective bargaining and the absence of discrimination.
   
   
2. Canada has more than 20 national unions including almost 10 that are international. These unions cover nearly four million workers in Canada.
   
   
3. The Public Service Commission and the Treasury Board have been fostering relationships with national labour unions and pursuing new approaches to labour relations. The Commission and Treasury Board ensure consultation with unions through the Joint Consultative Committee and the National Joint Committee on matters affecting employees, such as priority placements, workforce adjustment initiatives and the alternate exchange program.
   
   

Legislative and administrative initiatives

1. Comprehensive amendments to Part I of the Canada Labour Code came into force on January 1, 1999. Key amendments include: establishing a representational Canada Industrial Relations Board to replace the non-representational Canada Labour Relations Board; streamlining of the process applicable to resolution of collective bargaining disputes; clarification of the rights and obligations of parties during a work stoppage; a requirement to maintain services necessary to protect public health and safety during a work stoppage; a requirement that services to grain vessels be maintained in the event of a work stoppage in the port; and a prohibition on the use of replacement workers during a legal strike or lockout for the demonstrated purpose of undermining a union's representative capacity.
   
   
2. In the fall of 1999, the Secretary of the Treasury Board established the Advisory Committee on Labour Management Relations in the Federal Public Service. The Committee's mandate is to review the state of labour-management relations in the federal public service, including federal collective bargaining legislation and that of other Canadian jurisdictions. The Committee will also evaluate how well the system of labour-management relations created by the Public Service Staff Relations Act (PSSRA) has served Canadians. It will seek to study labourmanagement relations at three levels — the public service generally, as well as the departmental and the local levels. The Committee's first report will be released in 2000.
   
   

Article 9: Right to Social Security

1. All of the social security services cited in the reporting guidelines are services that exist in Canada although under different names. The basic structure of the system remains the same as the one described in the first report on the same Covenant. A few amendments were made to certain components and explained in subsequent reports on the Covenant. The amendments that have occurred during the period of interest are explained below.
   
   
2. The Government of Canada also deals with the issue of social security in its Second Report on the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its reports on the implementation of decisions made at the World Summit for Social Development and measures adopted at the UN Second Conference on Human Settlements cited in the introduction to this document.
   
   

Social assistance

1. The Government of Canada does not provide social assistance benefits directly to individuals. Rather, as discussed earlier in this report, the government provides funds to provincial and territorial governments through the Canada Health and Social Transfer (CHST). Provinces and territories use these funds to pay for social assistance benefits, as well as health care, post-secondary education and social services.
   
   
2. For 1998-1999, federal social security expenditures, which included transfers to provincial-territorial governments for health care and welfare in the form of the Canada Health and Social Transfer (CHST), direct federal health expenditures, transfers to persons in the form of Old Age Security benefits, Employment Insurance benefits (including family-related benefits), Child Tax Benefits, Canada Pension Plan benefits (including retirement benefits, disability and survivors' benefits), benefits to veterans, benefits to Registered Indians, benefits under federal employment programs, and benefits to the disabled under the Employability Assistance for Persons with Disabilities initiative, amounted to $88.5 billion, that is, approximately 9.8 percent of the gross domestic product. For 1994-1995, these expenditures amounted to $85.6 billion, 11.3 percent of the gross domestic product⁸.
   
   
3. When the expenditures of all levels of government, i.e., federal, provincial, territorial and municipal, are taken into account, total social security expenditures for 1998-1999 amounted to $156.6 billion, that is 17.4 percent of gross domestic product. For 1994-1995, those expenditures amounted to $147.8 billion, that is19.4 percent of the gross domestic product.⁹
   
   
4. As of the end of March 1999, 2.3 million people — about 7.5 percent of the population — were receiving provincial or territorial social assistance benefits funded in part by the Canada Health and Social Transfer. Because of ongoing solid economic growth during the late 1990s and a series of significant provincial welfare reforms, this figure is considerably lower than in March 1995 when 3.1 million people — about 10.4 percent of the population — received social assistance benefits.
   
   
5. The Government of Canada is working to replace the welfare system for First Nations people living on a reserve by a more dynamic and progressive system. The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) spoke of the need for reform and made numerous recommendations to that effect. The joint Assembly of First Nations/Indian and Northern Affairs Canada Income Security Reform initiative began in April 1998 and consists of two key implementation strategies: demonstration projects/best practices and the development of a redesigned policy framework.
   
   
6. Demonstration projects have been undertaken to explore innovative approaches for the delivery of social assistance programs, build capacity to develop and administer social assistance programs and identify barriers that exist for the delivery of effective, efficient social assistance programs. The demonstration projects and best practices are community driven and look more at communitylevel needs and concerns. At the end of the period covered by this report, 148 income security reform demonstration projects involving 398 First Nations communities were underway.
   
   
7. In 1992, the Government of Canada launched the Self-Sufficiency Project (SSP). The SSP is a research initiative that seeks to generate knowledge on "what works" in facilitating labour market attachment, reducing poverty and promoting selfsufficiency. It is targeted to lone parents with long-term dependency on social assistance. The SSP offered lone parents in New Brunswick and British Columbia a generous earnings supplement if they left social assistance and obtained full-time employment. Over time, it tracked the experiences of participants in order to test the effectiveness of the earnings supplement.
   
   
8. By international standards, SSP results are among the best ever for this type of project and for this group. At its peak, the SSP doubled the employment rate for participants relative to non-participants. While participants' employment rate gradually increased to the same level as the non-participants (after 45 months), the SSP allowed participants to enter the workforce faster and earlier than nonparticipants. Even after participants stopped receiving the supplement, they maintained the same employment rate. The SSP also lowered the incidence of poverty and decreased the receipt of social assistance for more than five years.
   
   

Family allowances

Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB)

1. In July 1998, the federal government renamed the previous Child Tax Benefit as the Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB). The CCTB includes both the federal component of the National Child Benefit (NCB) (described below) and the CCTB base benefit. The CCTB base benefit is broader than the NCB Supplement in that it provides monthly tax-free basic income support to approximately 80 percent of Canadian families with children. In 1999-2000, this represented an annual federal expenditure of $4.6 billion. Approximately 3.1 million families received the CCTB over this period on behalf of 5.3 million children.
   
   
2. As of July 1999, families with net family income up to $25,921 receive a CCTB basic benefit of $1,020 per child per year, plus an additional $75 for the third and each subsequent child in the family, and a further supplement of $213 for each child under the age of seven for whom no child care expenses have been claimed. The CCTB base benefit begins to be reduced once net family income exceeds $25,921. The CCTB base benefit is exhausted at an annual net family income of $66,721 for one- and two-child families.
   
   

National Child Benefit Supplement

1. The federal government has taken a number of steps to build the federal component of the National Child Benefit (NCB), i.e. the NCB Supplement. For example, in 1997, the Working Income Supplement was enriched and restructured, paving the way for its replacement by the NCB Supplement as of July 1998. The initial launch of the NCB Supplement, which built on previous funding of the Working Income Supplement, represented an annual federal investment of $850 million. As of July 1999, the NCB Supplement was enriched by an additional annual $425 million, which allowed benefit levels to increase. The benefit was also extended over a broader range of family income so that more families have access to the benefit.
   
   
2. The NCB Supplement provides the following benefit levels for low-income families with children. As of July 1999, maximum annual benefits were $785 for the first child, $585 for the second child, and $510 for the third and subsequent children. The NCB Supplement provided these maximum annual benefit levels to all low-income families with net family incomes of less than $20,921. NCB Supplement benefits were exhausted at net family income of $27,750. No minimum level of earnings is necessary to be eligible for the NCB Supplement — as was the case for the previous Working Income Supplement. Between July 1998 and June 1999, 1.4 million Canadian families with 2.5 million children received additional income support through the NCB Supplement. Between July 1999 and June 2000, 1.5 million Canadian families with 2.6 million children received additional benefits from the NCB Supplement.
   
   
3. Under the NCB, this enriched federal income support is enabling provinces and territories to redirect some of their social assistance resources towards improving benefits and services for low-income families with children. In addition, most jurisdictions are adding new funds, beyond their social assistance savings, so that federal investments to the NCB Supplement are being complemented by additional provincial/territorial investments. For example, in 1998-1999, provinces, territories and First Nations invested over $50 million, which in turn built on significant prior investments to support low-income families with children that were made by several provinces and territories before the launch of the NCB. In 1999-2000, provinces, territories and First Nations anticipated their investments in the NCB to reach $80 million.
   
   
4. The range of benefits and services that provinces, territories and First Nations are providing to low-income families with children varies according to the needs and priorities of each region. There are four broad program areas in which key benefits and services are being provided: child benefits and earned income supplements; child day care; early childhood services and children-at-risk services; and supplementary health benefits.
   
   

Old Age Security

1. The Old Age Security (OAS) system remains basically the same as described in Canada's First Report on articles 6-9 of the Covenant (pp. 53-54).¹⁰
   
   
2. Since 1989, higher-income recipients of Old Age Security program benefits are required to repay the benefits received in part or in total depending on their income for tax purposes. Thus, for the year 2000, pensioners started to repay benefits when their net income during the year reached $53,960. At $60,000 annual net income, the percentage of repayment is approximately 20 percent; at $70,000, it is approximately 50 percent; and at $80,000, it is about 80 percent. Pensioners who had a net income of approximately $87,500 in 2000, will repay the totality of benefits received. As of the federal budget 2000, the OAS reduction threshold is now fully indexed to inflation.
   
   
3. The part of the OAS pension that is not repaid is taxable. The income-tested Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) and the Spouse's Allowance are not taxable; the amount paid is based on the yearly income of the applicant or, in the case of a couple, the combined income of the applicant and spouse from other sources.
   
   
4. As of September 2000, the maximum monthly OAS benefit was $424.12. The maximum GIS payment for a single recipient was $504.05 per month while the maximum for each partner in a couple was $328.32. The maximum Allowance for the spouse or partner of an OAS/GIS recipient was $752.44 per month while the maximum for widow(er)s was $830.70. Total benefits under these programs are estimated at $24.2 billion for 2000-2001.
   
   
5. In June 2000, over 3.7 million people, virtually everyone aged 65 and over in Canada, received Old Age Security benefits. Of these people, 36.6 percent received Guaranteed Income Supplement payments. The proportion of the senior population receiving GIS has declined over the last 15 years. The main reasons for the decline are the increased incidence of full Canada Pension Plan benefits and higher personal income from other sources among newer cohorts of seniors.
   
   

Canada Pension Plan

1. Canada Pension Plan (CPP) is a contributory, earnings-related social insurance program which ensures a measure of protection to Canadian workers and their families against the loss of income due to retirement, disability and death. It operates throughout Canada except in Québec which has its own, similar program, the Québec Pension Plan. The Plan is financed by contributions from employees, employers and the self-employed, as well as earnings on investment of surplus funds. Benefits are subject to income tax and ongoing payments are adjusted annually based on increases in the Consumer Price Index.
   
   
2. The CPP provides for retirement pensions as early as age 60, although those who choose to receive the pension before age 65 receive lower monthly benefits. It also pays benefits to disabled contributors, and their children, and provides survivor benefits to spouses and children as well as lump-sum death benefits.
   
   
3. In March 2000, just under 3.5 million persons were receiving benefits from the Canada Pension Plan. The total amount to be paid under the CPP is estimated at $19.6 billion for 2000-2001.
   
   
4. The Government of Canada worked with the provinces and territories in the 1990s to find ways of ensuring that the CPP would be sustainable for future generations. Both levels of governments agreed in 1997 on a strong and balanced package of reform. This resulted in Parliament enacting Bill C-2 in January 1998, which amended the Canada Pension Plan. Major changes were made to strengthen the Plan's financing, improve the investment practices, and moderate the growth in costs. These changes will result in a much larger reserve fund, projected to rise from two years to about five years of benefits between 2000 and 2017. This fund is invested at arm's length from government by an independent body known as the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Contribution rates — shared equally between employer and employee — rose over six years from 5.85 percent of contributory earnings to 9.9 percent in 2003, and will remain at that level.
   
   
5. The Canada Pension Plan is governed by a joint stewardship to ensure the long-term financial sustainability of the Plan. In this context, legislative changes, as well as changes to regulations relating to the schedule of contribution rates and the calculation of the steady state contribution rate, require the agreement of at least two-thirds of the provinces with two-thirds of the population.
   
   

Employment Insurance Program

Employment Insurance

1. As a result of reforms introduced in 1996, the Employment Insurance (EI) system better responds to Canada's new economic and workplace realities. Under the new system, there is a stronger link between the amount of paid work done and the length of time the benefits can be received. The reforms were an effort to influence the work patterns of Canadians by improving incentives to work and reducing dependency on the system. The Family Supplement was introduced to provide a top-up to claimants in low-income families with children, in recognition of their particular needs during periods of temporary unemployment. This move was accompanied by an increased emphasis on active measures to help Canadians get back to work. The major elements of the 1996 reforms that brought into place the Employment Insurance Program were detailed in the last report. Considerable progress has been made in achieving the goals of the EI reform.
   
   
2. The hours-based eligibility system is opening up access to benefits and encouraging workers to work for longer periods. Part-time workers who work fewer than 15 hours per week became insured for the first time. Furthermore, a reduction in claims by those just meeting the entrance requirement suggests the divisor rule and the hours-based system are encouraging workers to increase the length of time they work prior to collecting benefits.
   
   
3. Benefits are being targeted to those most in need. Claimants in low-income families with children can receive a higher benefit rate with the Family Supplement. With the top-up recipients can receive up to 80 percent of their average insurable earnings.
   
   
4. Active re-employment measures are helping more unemployed workers return to work through: long-term interventions such as Self-Employment; Targeted Wage Subsidies and Job Creation Partnerships; and short-term interventions such as Employment Assistance Services, Counselling and Group Services.
   
   
5. In 1998-1999, $2.5 billion was spent on 641,000 interventions. The introduction of Skills Development Benefits and the Labour Market Development Agreements with the provinces and territories has resulted in the better tailoring of programs to client and local labour market needs.
   
   
6. The premium rate for the Employment Insurance program has been reduced every year since the last report. For the employee this meant a reduction to $2.70 in 1998 and $2.55 in 1999, to reach the rate of $2.40 per $100 of insurable earnings in 2000. For the employer the premium rate in 2000 is $3.36. Under a current legislative proposal (Bill C-44 detailed below) the premium rate would be reduced to $2.25 for 2001. In addition, the Standing Committee on Finance of the House of Commons recommended in December 1999 that the premium rate setting process be reviewed. This review should be completed in time to set the 2003 rate level. Premiums are paid on all weekly earnings up to the yearly maximum of $39,000.
   
   
7. The Maximum Insurable Earnings (MIE) level of $39,000 is about 20 percent higher than the average wage ($32,400). To avoid creating disincentives to work, Bill C-44 also proposes maintaining the MIE at $39,000 until the average wage reaches this level.
   
   
8. Following the 1996 program changes, there was no decline in maternity and parental claims. In fact, despite a declining birth rate, maternity and parental claims have been increasing. Changes to special benefits (maternity, parental and sickness) are detailed in the Maternity and Parental Protection section of this report under Article 10.
   
   
9. The decline in the Benefit to Unemployed ratio (B/U ratio) is part of a trend that has been under way since 1989 — long before the reforms were introduced. In fact, the 1999 Employment Coverage Survey by Statistics Canada found that only half the decline could be attributed to program changes. The study also suggests that, in 1998, 80 percent of unemployed Canadians who lost their jobs, or quit with just cause, were eligible for EI. It should also be noted that regular claimants use on average only about two-thirds of their entitlement.
   
   

Research

1. The Government of Canada has funded research on current policies and women's poverty. Through Status of Women Canada's Policy Research Fund, funding has been provided to a number of research projects studying the issue of women's poverty.
   
   
2. The Policy Research Fund of Status of Women Canada published papers under the theme "The Canada Health And Social Transfer And Its Impacts On Women" in June 1996. Publications included: Women and the CHST: A Profile of Women Receiving Social Assistance in 1994; Benefiting Canada's Children: Perspectives on Gender and Social Responsibility; The Impact of Block Funding on Women with Disabilities; Women's Support, Women's Work: Child Care in an Era of Deficit Reduction, Devolution, Downsizing and Deregulation; Women and the Equality Deficit: The Impact of Restructuring Canada's Social Programs; Who will be Responsible for Providing Care? The Impact of the Shift to Ambulatory Care and of Social Economy Policies on Québec Women.
   
   
3. In August 1998, the theme "The Intersection Of Gender And Sexual Orientation: The Implications Of Policy Changes For Women In Lesbian Relationships" examined how same-sex couples benefit from social programs. Examples of research includes The Recognition of Lesbian Couples: An Unequivocal Right; and The Impact of Relationship Recognition on Lesbian Women in Canada: Still Separate and Only Somewhat Equivalent are two papers sponsored by the Policy Research Fund. (Some of these papers are still in progress and not all titles are finalized).
   
   

Article 10: Protection of the Family, Mother and Child

1. Most of the relevant information regarding article 10 of the Covenant has been provided in earlier reports. Information can also be found in Canada's Fifth Report on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/pdp-
   hrp/docs/cedaw-eng.cfm) and Canada's Second Report on the Convention on the Rights of the Child (http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/pdp-hrp/docs/crc-eng.cfm).
   
   

Taxes and the family

1. Canada's personal income tax system uses the individual as the basic unit of taxation; there is no provision for joint filing and married and common-law couples file individually.
   
   
2. The term "family" is not used in the Income Tax Act, with a very limited exception.¹¹ However, there are a number of provisions in the Income Tax Act that recognize dependent relationships. For example, there is a spousal credit which can be claimed by a taxpayer supporting a spouse or common-law partner with little or no income of their own. There are a number of tax credits which, if not fully used by a taxpayer, can be transferred to their spouse or common-law partner. Spouses and common-law partners may also pool medical expenses and charitable donations for tax credit purposes.
   
   

Maternity and parental protection

1. Statistics Canada (1999) studies indicate that about 85 percent of mothers with paid employment are covered by maternity benefits. Administrative data indicates that the number of women receiving maternity benefits has increased by 0.4 percent in 1998, despite a 4.6 percent decline in the number of births in Canada since the 1996 reform.
   
   
2. The Government of Canada recognizes that claimants in low-income families may need additional support. Through the Family Supplement, claimants in lowincome families with children can receive up to 80 percent of their insurable earnings during the time they are on maternity and parental leave. In 1998, about 22 percent of maternity and parental claimants, most of which are women, received the Family Supplement top-up.
   
   
3. The Canada Labour Code has been amended so that the period for job protection under the parental leave provision will correspond to the extended Employment Insurance parental benefits, as a result of an increase in parental benefits under the Employment Insurance Act, the parental leave in Part III of the Canada Labour Code increases from 24 to 37 weeks. The total of maternity and parental leave provided under Part III of the Code will be a maximum of 52 weeks.
   
   
4. Part III of the Canada Labour Code dealing with labour standards, contains provisions pertaining to maternity-related reassignment and leave, whereby an employee who is pregnant or nursing may, during the period from the beginning of the pregnancy to the end of the twenty-fourth week following the birth, request the employer to modify her job functions or reassign her to another job if, by reason of the pregnancy or nursing, continuing any of her current job functions may pose a risk to her health or to that of the fœtus or child. When such an employee is reassigned to another job, or where her job functions are modified, she shall be deemed to continue to hold the job that she held at the time of making the request, and she shall continue to receive the same wages and benefits. In cases where it is not reasonably practicable for the employer to modify the employee's job functions or reassign her, the employee will be granted an unpaid leave of absence for the duration of the risk as indicated in the medical certificate.
   
   

Family reunification

1. Relevant information is included in Canada's Second Report on the Convention on the Rights of the Child (http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/pdp-hrp/docs/crc-eng.cfm).
   
   

Protection and assistance to children and youth

Child support

1. Information about the general reform of child support measures is found under article 15 of Canada's Fifth Report on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/pdp-hrp/docs/cedaw-eng.cfm).
   
   
2. Provincial and territorial laws determine the age of majority. The age of majority is 18 in six provinces and is 19 in the four other provinces and the three territories.
   
   

Childcare

1. In addition to new investments through the Early Childhood Development Agreement, the Government of Canada supports early childhood learning and care through a special funding stream under the Social Development Partnerships Program, formerly the Child Care Visions Program. The Child Care Visions Program was created in 1995 as a national childcare research and development contribution program. Its primary objective has been to support research and development projects that will study the adequacy, outcomes and costeffectiveness of current best child care practices and service delivery models. The program has solicited projects that are innovative and national in scope, and provides essential information, tools and resources to child care providers, governments, policy makers, national child care organizations, parents and families.
   
   
2. The First Nations/Inuit Child Care Program (FNICC) was introduced in 1995, to provide First Nations and Inuit communities with improved access to affordable, quality child care, with the goal that they would have similar access to that available to other Canadian children. The program has created over 7,000 child care spaces on reserve and in Inuit communities. The program is managed and delivered by First Nations and Inuit peoples through the Aboriginal Human Resource Development Strategy with $41 million per year in funding from the Government of Canada.
   
   
3. The Government of Canada continues to help parents off-set the cost of child care through the Child Care Expense Deduction. The 1998 budget increased the Child Care Expense Deduction in the personal income tax system to $7,000 for children under age seven and to $4,000 for children age 7 to 16 and to $10,000 for children with severe disabilities.
   
   

Youth employment

1. Information on youth employment can be found in Canada's Second Report on the Convention on the Rights of the Child (http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/pdp-hrp/docs/crc-eng.cfm).
   
   

Divorce

1. In Canada, divorce legislation allows for child support to be paid for children at or over the age of majority. The child must be unable, by reason of illness, disability or other cause, to withdraw from the parents' charge or to obtain the necessaries of life. Over the years, the courts have ruled that "other cause" may include secondary or post-secondary studies.
   
   
2. The government of Canada has a long-standing commitment to children, in particular to children whose families are undergoing separation or divorce. In 1997, the government took a huge step in reforming family law by introducing child support reforms . The fundamental objective of these amendments was to protect the rights of children to fair and adequate support from parents in full and on time. The reforms were accompanied by financial resources made available to the provinces and territories to assist them in providing services to families living through a separation or divorce.
   
   
3. This reform has been a solid success. Twelve of the 13 provinces and territories brought in similar child support reforms shortly following the coming into effect of the federal legislation. The new child support guidelines have brought about fair, consistent and predictable amounts of support across the country for children whose parents are separated or divorced and additional efforts are being made to ensure they receive that support in full and on time. This step in family law reform involved, among other things, extensive work with the Canadian provinces and territories given that family law is governed by laws at the federal, provincial and territorial levels.
   
   
4. In a concerted effort to find ways to continue to advance the well being of children experiencing separation and divorce, custody and access reforms are now contemplated.
   
   
5. Federal, provincial and territorial governments share a vision of integrated, efficient and comprehensive justice systems that enables parents to acquire abilities to put the children's best interests first and foremost. This renewed justice system will reduce the human, social and economic costs of divorce and separation, thus strengthening families in transition and reducing children's vulnerability.
   
   

Immigrants and refugees

1. The settlement programs of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) are directed at the individual needs of the whole family. Measures have been taken to ensure access in particular to female newcomers. The Immigrant Settlement and Adaptation Program (ISAP) provides services to all family members, including children, to meet the immediate needs of immigrants and refugees. Citizenship and Immigration Canada's Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) Program has included a child minding component since its inception in order to encourage the participation of women. Flexible hours of instruction and a transportation allowance are also available. Specific activities during the reporting period demonstrate further progress in this area. Although no national criteria on child minding services currently exists for LINC, in March of 1995, CIC's Ontario Region undertook a survey to identify issues affecting the provision of child minding services. The response to this survey was overwhelming and identified a number of issues for consideration. A child minding resource guide for Ontario Region was developed as a result to provide guidance in setting up and operating an effective program. National guidelines are now being developed as a result of this initiative.
   
   

Research

1. Research helps policy makers decide which policies and programs best support children and their families. The Government of Canada is actively engaged in a number of targeted research initiatives. The National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth is a long-term study of Canadian children that tracks their development and well-being from birth to early adulthood. The survey collects information about factors (family, friends, schools and communities) influencing a child's physical, behavioural and learning development. This forms the basis of a directed policy-oriented research program.
   
   
2. At the community level, Understanding the Early Years is a research initiative that focuses on children under the age of six and involves teachers, parents, guardians and community agencies. It helps communities understand how their children are doing and how best to respond to their needs. With this information, communities can put in place specific action plans that will help their children — both before and after they enter school — to reach their full potential.
   
   

Family violence and violence against women

1. In recent years, the Family Violence Initiative (FVI) has enhanced the efforts of the Government of Canada by developing a horizontal management approach to the issue of family violence. Its Accountability Framework specifies expected results in five key areas: 1) effective, efficient and coordinated federal policy development and programming; 2) enhanced prevention and response; 3) development of related community activities; 4) increased public awareness; and 5) reduced tolerance of the issue among Canadians.
   
   
2. The Initiative integrates activities of 12 federal government departments, agencies and corporations. The major sectors represented are health, justice, federal policing and corrections, housing, human resources, national data gathering, Aboriginal affairs, women's issues, multiculturalism and immigration. The Initiative thereby includes virtually all key federal government policy sectors that have an influence on family violence. As well, various FVI projects involve partnerships with other levels of government, First Nations, NGOs, professional associations, universities and the private sector.
   
   
3. Health Canada, as lead department responsible for coordinating the Initiative, manages the National Clearinghouse on Family Violence (NCFV) on behalf of all participating Departments. The NCFV collects, develops and disseminates information and resources on violence in relationships of kinship, intimacy, dependency or trust. It provides a centralized and comprehensive reference, referral and distribution service for information on aspects of family violence prevention, protection and treatment. NCFV clients include researchers, health and social service providers, criminal justice officials, students and educators, policy makers, media representatives and members of community groups and the general public.
   
   
4. NCFV resources and services, available free of charge in both English and French, include:
   
   
   • more than 100 publications, including overview papers, reports, discussion papers and handbooks on family violence issues;
   • a descriptive listing of more than 100 videos on family violence prevention available from partner public libraries in collaboration with the National Film Board of Canada;
   • a referral service and directory of resource people and organizations responding to family violence at the community level across Canada;
   • a comprehensive library reference collection and capacity for on-line bibliographic searching of approximately 10,000 books, periodicals and videos on family violence; and
   • a Web site featuring hundreds of links to other organizations, a link to the NCFV library reference collection, an intelligent search engine and a wide selection of resources available for viewing, printing and downloading.
     
     
5. As a result of the NCFV's successful partnerships with professionals and community-based organizations, Canadian communities now have access to hundreds of new resources for public education and improved approaches to treatment, prevention, training and multi-sectoral coordination.
   
   
6. In partnership with Statistics Canada and other federal departments, Health Canada collaborated on the development and implementation of the 1999 General Social Survey Victimization Report which provides policymakers, researchers and other stakeholders with evidence-based information on spousal violence and abuse of older adults to be used in the development of policies and programs addressing the prevention of family violence.
   
   
7. In partnership with Justice Canada and the health sector, Health Canada released three handbooks to educate and train health professionals to respond more effectively to abused women and their children and to deal with the Canadian criminal justice system. These resources are promoted and disseminated to various stakeholders across Canada through the National Clearinghouse on Family Violence.
   
   
8. The Policy Research Fund (PRF) of Status of Women Canada produced two research papers in 1997: Spousal Violence in Custody and Access Disputes: Recommendations for Reform; and Relocation of Custodial Parents.
   
   

International cooperation

1. Given their disproportionate representation among the world's poor and the longterm impact of poverty on them, children are a priority focus within the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). The child protection component of the Social Development Priorities focusses exclusively on the most marginalized children who often experience exploitation, abuse and discrimination. These children include child labourers, children affected by armed conflict, sexually exploited children, children with disabilities, street children, children facing ethnic or religious discrimination, and children in conflict with the law or in institutional care. In 1999-2000, resources allocated to child protection amounted to $9 million. The Action Plan on Child Protection commits CIDA to increasing this amount to $36 million by 2004-2005.
   
   

Article 11: Right to an Adequate Standard of Living

Canadians' current standard of living

1. From 1994 to 1999, Canada provided the best living standard in the world. Indeed, in this period, Canada was ranked first on the Human Development Index (HDI) of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Having so frequently been ranked first on the HDI over the past decade does nothing to lessen Canada's determination to maintain its standing. This is a notable achievement, but continued efforts are necessary to ensure a high quality of life. The UNDP Human Poverty Index ranks Canada 10^th among industrialized countries. The Government of Canada is aware of the challenges that have to be met to ensure that all its people have a decent quality living standard, and especially Aboriginal people, women, single parents, children, youth, persons with disabilities, immigrants and rural residents. In 1995, 13.1 percent of the total Canadian population lived below the low-income line.
   
   

Measures to reduce poverty in Canada

1. The measures and initiatives of the Government of Canada to reduce poverty are outlined in the following three reports: Implementation of the decisions made at the World Summit for Social Development, Canada's Response (http://www.dfaitmaeci.gc.ca/foreign_policy/human-
   rights/summit-en.asp); Implementation of the measures adopted by the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) (http://cmhcschl.gc.ca/en/homadoin/faffhoinca_001.cfm); and Canada's Action Plan for Food Security (http://www.agr.gc.ca/misb/fsb/fsb-bsa_e.php). Most of the Government of Canada's poverty reduction initiatives take the gender variable into account in their preliminary reviews.
   
   
2. Canada has no official poverty measure. The most common measure of low income in Canada is Statistics Canada's Low-Income Cut-Offs (LICOs). In the absence of an accepted definition of poverty, these statistics are often used to study the characteristics of the relatively worst off families in Canada. However, Statistics Canada has consistently maintained that LICOs are not a measure of poverty. LICOs define a low-income household as one that spends significantly more of its income than an average equivalent household on the necessities of life (food, shelter and clothing) — and thus has much lower absolute and relative discretionary income than the norm. The LICO line is calculated by adding 20 percent to the spending of an average equivalent household on food, clothing and shelter. Currently, the average household spends about 35 percent of income on these items, so a low income household is one that spends more than 55 percent. The LICOs, however, are recognized as having several shortcomings as a tool to measure poverty.
   
   
3. As a result, federal, provincial and territorial Ministers of Social Services called for the development of a new measure — the Market Basket Measure (MBM). Under the MBM, the low-income threshold line would be based on the income needed to purchase a basket of goods and services, which includes food, clothing, shelter, transportation and other necessary expenditures (e.g. telephone). This measure is an attempt to calculate the income needed by a given household to meet its needs, defined not just in subsistence terms, but also in terms of what is needed to approach community norms. These income levels are based on the actual costs of an essential basket of goods and services in various communities across Canada and account more precisely for differences in living costs across Canada. The measure will identify how many people live in households that fall below a defined standard of living. The Market Basket Measure should provide a valuable complement to existing measures in tracking low income.
   
   
4. In Canada, the rate of low income is declining in response to strong economic growth. An estimated 723,000 families had low incomes in 1999 (the latest data available), down from 882,000 in 1997. The family low-income rate also declined, from 10.8 percent in 1996 to 8.6 percent in 1999, the lowest rate for economic families of two or more persons since 1990 (8.5 percent). The financial situation of families with incomes below Statistics Canada's post-income tax low income cut-offs also improved slightly between 1996 and 1999.
   
   
5. The Government of Canada is committed to a high and rising quality of life for all Canadians. In addition to the Canadian Health and Social Transfer (CHST) described earlier in this report, the federal government offers a number of tax and transfer programs to assist low-income persons. Some of these measures are targeted towards specific groups such as senior citizens, children, persons with disabilities, Aboriginal people, etc. Two key measures delivered through the tax system which provide payments to low- and middle-income families and individuals are the Canada Child Tax Benefit, which includes the National Child Benefit supplement, and the Goods and Services Tax credit.
   
   
6. The Government of Canada also assists groups at greatest risk of falling into poverty through such programs as the Community Action Program for Children; Youth Internship Canada; Youth Service Canada; the Aboriginal Human Resources Development Strategy, the Canada Child Tax Benefit, and the First Nations National Child Benefit.
   
   

Aboriginal people

1. First Nations, Inuit and Innu communities in partnership with Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) are endeavouring to improve economic and social conditions in ways that will make a real difference in First Nations, Inuit and Innu peoples' lives. By the end of 1999, First Nations were delivering almost all social and economic programs funded by INAC. About 86 percent of Indian and Inuit Programming funds go directly to First Nations and their organizations, primarily for basic services such as education, social services, community infrastructure and local government — services that other Canadians receive from their provincial, municipal or territorial governments.
   
   
2. Under the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Partnership Fund, a total of 13 projects valued at $18.85 million had been approved during 1999. Also in 1999, a total of $12.5 million supported 181 business projects under the Economic Development Opportunity Fund and the Resource Acquisition Initiative, resulting in the creation of 957 full-time and 494 part-time direct jobs. More than 12,500 reserve land leases, permits and licences were processed and registered during the fiscal year, the majority of which directly support First Nations economic development activities.
   
   
3. The Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business has produced contracts with a total value of $75 million that have helped to start up 300 Aboriginal enterprises and stimulate job creation.
   
   
4. The Young Entrepreneurs Micro-loan Program, in conjunction with the Association of Aboriginal Capital Corporations, helps facilitate access to loan and investment capital.
   
   
5. Industry Canada, regional agencies and Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) are working in partnership with the Aboriginal private sector and other stakeholders to foster innovation, market expansion, access to capital and information about businesses and services.
   
   
6. Forums on business partnerships like "Business at the Summit" in British Columbia, Ontario's Forum on Economic Renewal and the Joint Economic Development Initiative in New Brunswick promote co-operation and partnership between the private sector and Aboriginal governments in the area of Aboriginal economic development.
   
   
7. As part of a round table on financial services attended by representatives of the federal government, the Canadian Bankers Association and various financial institutions, ways were identified of facilitating access to commercial loans on reserves.
   
   
8. In April 1998, INAC's Ontario regional office and the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business organized a joint conference on economic renewal that got results.
   
   
9. The Fishing Licence Transfer Program is expanding opportunities for Aboriginals to work in the commercial fishery. In the Atlantic Canada region, a number of licence series have been retired and reissued to Aboriginal communities.
   
   
10. The Resource Access Negotiations Program of the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs more than doubled to reach $4.8 million in 1998-1999, thus offering more economic benefits for Aboriginal communities.
    
    
11. In November 1998, some Métis leaders joined a large Canadian delegation to take part in a trade mission featuring natural resources.
    
    
12. The First Nations SchoolNet Program of Industry Canada works in partnership with the Assembly of First Nations and Canada's major telephone companies to prevent the digital divide. By providing First Nations schools and communities with leading-edge technology and equipment that provide high-speed access to the Internet, the Program allows Aboriginal people to fully participate in the new economy and gives them the opportunity to be at the forefront of new technology usage.
    
    

Right to adequate food

1. The Government of Canada supports a wide spectrum of international organizations, thousands of community groups and Canadian volunteer agencies in order to help with concerted efforts to end hunger in the world. As a major exporter of food, related products and know-how and one of the world's major food aid donour countries, Canada has made very valuable contributions to worldwide food security.
   
   
2. Canada ranks high among nations in average income levels and per capita food supplies and among the lowest in the real cost of food and the share of incomes spent on food. As such, the vast majority of Canada's 31 million people is food secure; however Canada is not shielded from the problem of food insecurity. Although the majority of Canadians are safe from hunger, some groups may be exposed to it more than others, as demonstrated by some quantitative studies on the use of food banks, poverty and dietary intakes.
   
   

Canada's Action Plan for Food Security

1. Canada has developed an Action Plan for Food Security in response to the World Food Summit (WFS) commitment made by the international community to reduce by half, the number of undernourished people by 2015 (http://www.agr.gc.ca/misb/fsb/fsb-bsa_e.php). It is the result of extensive consultations between various levels of government, civil society and private sector representatives. The priorities for Canadian actions were established collectively under the coordination of a Joint Consultative Group. Canada's Action Plan encompasses both domestic and international actions. It addresses the seven commitments of the WFS Plan of Action and provides the framework to sustain an on-going effort to improve food security within Canada and abroad.
   
   
2. The responsibility for monitoring the implementation of the Action Plan rests with the Food Security Bureau of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC). The Bureau coordinates information on food security, monitors implementation of the Action Plan, and reports on progress to the Committee on World Food Security. It is also responsible for facilitating contact between Canadian stakeholders that are making efforts to further the cause of food security.
   
   
3. A Consultative Group on Food Security has been established involving representatives of interested federal, provincial and territorial departments and agencies, and some 30 non-governmental organizations involved in food security at both the domestic and international levels, to fulfill this mandate. In addition, an inter-active "Report Form" was established on the Food Security Bureau's Web site to facilitate the submission of input by organizations into the development of Canada's Progress Report.
   
   
4. Canada's Progress Report, prepared in 1999, includes the following in relation to the right to food: "Canada supports the need to clarify the meaning and content of the right to food, as stated in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and continues to support and work with the international community and governments in this area" (http://www.agr.gc.ca/misb/fsb/fsbbsa_e.php).
   
   
5. Canadian civil society has taken an active role in trying to clarify and determine how to respect, protect and fulfil the right to food. The Canadian Foodgrains Bank, for example, participated in a Santa Barbara Consultation, in February- March 1998, to review the merits of the various approaches to achieving commitment to the "right to food." It promoted the adoption of the International Code of Conduct on the Human Right to Adequate Food and achieved NGO consensus on this approach. The Canadian Foodgrains Bank is also working in cooperation with FIAN-International (Food First Information and Action Network, based in Germany) on the development of a short form version of the Code of Conduct.
   
   

Nutrition

1. In response to the World Declaration on Nutrition (World Health Organization and Agriculture Organization, 1992), Health Canada established a Joint Steering Committee to prepare a national nutritional plan. Released in 1996, Nutrition for Health: An Agenda for Action, builds on the population health model and sets out four strategic directions to address nutrition issues in Canada, specifically: (i) reinforce healthy eating practices; (ii) support nutritionally vulnerable populations; (iii) continue to enhance the availability of foods that support healthy eating; and (iv) support nutrition research. The action plan encourages policy and program development that is coordinated, multisectoral, supports new and existing partnerships, promotes efficient use of limited resources and strengthens research to improve the nutritional health of Canadians.
   
   
2. Health Canada promotes the nutritional health and well-being of Canadians by collaboratively defining, promoting and implementing evidence-based nutrition policies and standards, including nutrition recommendations and dietary guidelines. These include: Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating; Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating — Focus on Children Six to Twelve Years; Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating — Focus on Preschoolers; Nutrition for a Healthy Pregnancy — National Guidelines for the Childbearing Years, and Nutrition for Healthy Term Infants. These underpin nutrition policies, standards, education programs and meal planning initiatives across the country.
   
   
3. Provinces and territories play a critical role in promoting the nutritional health and well-being at the community level. Nutrition policies and programs at the provincial and local level are designed to address specific local needs while mobilizing broader community participation and resources in support of health promotion/prevention activities. Programs vary from province to province and between communities. Many of these nutrition programs build upon standards and guidelines developed collaboratively at the national level, such as Canada's Food Guide to Health Eating.
   
   
4. Health Canada provides leadership and coordination to the Federal, Provincial, Territorial Group on Nutrition (FPTGN). This group is critical to collaborative action on nutrition and healthy eating in Canada. The FPTGN brings together the ministries of health at the provincial and territorial working level to inform policy and programs.
   
   
5. In the mid-1990s, Canadian and American scientists began working together to establish the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs), through a review process overseen by the US Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences. Health Canada will use the DRIs in a variety of policies and programs that benefit the health and safety of Canadians. The DRIs will influence the development of regulatory standards, assessment of dietary intakes, and the development of dietary guidance for the general population and for specific life stages.
   
   
6. Throughout the 1990s, Health Canada, in collaboration with provinces, played a key role in provincial nutrition surveys. In 1999, Health Canada established the Food and Nutrition Surveillance System (FNSS) Working Group to advocate for inclusion of nutrition and physical measures in ongoing national population health surveys. As well, the Working Group advocates for a national food and nutrition surveillance system to address critical surveillance needs. Efforts of the FNSS Working Group have led to implementation of the first national nutrition survey in Canada in over 30 years, to commence in January 2004.
   
   
7. In 1999, a further investment was made to strengthen Health Canada's Food Safety and Nutrition Program. Health Canada is committed to developing food safety and nutrition standards and policies to safeguard and promote the health of Canadians. While the primary aim of this initiative is focussed on ensuring the safety of food, it will also support nutrition and healthy eating activities.
   
   
8. Health Canada is committed to developing and updating dietary guidance in a timely and efficient manner in response to the emergence of new issues and scientific evidence related to nutrition. In addition, Health Canada will develop public education initiatives and resources to help Canadians make healthy food choices, for example, information on how to use the nutrition label on food products. These important initiatives will be undertaken through continued collaboration with provincial and territorial governments and other partners.
   
   
9. Some of the key actions relevant to food security include working with social policy decision makers to address the needs of vulnerable people, developing a database to better define the vulnerable populations and to better understand their food and nutrition issues, monitoring the cost of a nutritious food basket and using the information in the development of education programs and income support initiatives, and collaborating intersectorally to ensure food safety. This builds on commitments and actions that flow from current plans, such as Canada's nutrition plan Nutrition for Health: An Agenda for Action (1996); Gathering Strength: Canada's Aboriginal Action Plan; revisions to legislation, including the Fisheries Act; and Canada's evolving economic, social and environmental programs and policies.
   
   
10. In 1998, Health Canada developed The National Nutritious Food Basket 1998 (NNFB) — a tool to assess the cost of healthy eating in communities across Canada. A number of provinces have either adopted or adapted this tool for their own use. The "Market Basket Measure" (MBM, described above), a defined basket of goods and services including food, is used to assess the adequacy of income. The MBM uses the NNFB and the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development's Alternative Northern Food Basket for this purpose.
    
    

Women and infants

1. The Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program (CPNP) is a comprehensive communitybased program that supports pregnant women who face conditions of risk that threaten their health and the development of their babies. The Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program provides the resources for community-based groups to offer supports such as nutrition (food and/or vitamin/mineral supplements, nutrition counselling, food skills), knowledge and education (specialized counselling on prenatal health issues, breastfeeding and infant development), social support, and assistance with access to services (shelter, health care, specialized counselling). Participants in these projects are encouraged to modify unhealthy and high risk behaviours such as smoking, alcohol and other substance use. The Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program is especially designed to meet the needs of those pregnant women most at risk for poor birth outcome: women living in poverty, teens, women who use alcohol, tobacco or other harmful substances, women living in violent situations, Aboriginal women, recent immigrants, women living in social or geographic isolation or with limited access to services.
   
   
2. In 1999, Health Canada released Nutrition for a Healthy Pregnancy — National Guidelines for the Childbearing Years. These prenatal nutrition guidelines discuss nutrition and healthy eating not only during pregnancy but throughout the childbearing years as they relate to pregnancy. They are directed to health practitioners, including physicians, nurses, midwives, dietitians and nutritionists, pharmacists, educators and fitness professionals, who, through the course of their work, regularly offer nutrition-related advice and guidance to women.
   
   

Aboriginal people

1. Many Aboriginal communities are located in remote areas, thereby increasing the challenges of access to a nutritious commercial food supply, while at the same time still enjoying access, although often reduced, to traditional hunted and gathered foods. Nutritious, commercial foods are costly due to the great distances they must be transported and also because of their level of perishability. These high food costs are in conflict with the high numbers of people living on limited incomes, e.g. social assistance. Traditional foods are highly nutritious; however, hunting pressures due to increased population, costs of hunting and the question of contamination of the wild foods put up barriers to this food supply.
   
   
2. Work has continued to refine and focus the Food Mail Program lead by the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs and supported by Health Canada, to subsidize the transport of the most nutritious foods into remote, isolated communities, thereby easing the cost of this component of the commercial food supply. At the same time, the First Nations and Inuit Component (FNIC) of theCanada Prenatal Nutrition Program (CPNP), provides nutritious foods, nutrition education and counseling and breast feeding support in Aboriginal communities to all First Nation and Inuit women. Particular focus of CPNP-First Nation and Inuit is to those most at risk, such as teens, single mothers, and women with addictions. As well, Health Canada continues its specific partnership with First Nations communities to study contaminants in the traditional food supply in order to determine if there are levels of risk and if so, design an appropriate strategy for the public.
   
   
3. Federal and territorial nutritionists and dietitians play a key role in the promotion and education of nutrition and healthy eating in First Nations and Inuit communities. With a growing understanding of the determinants of health, there is an increased awareness and focus on the factors that contribute to a well nourished population. Through a population health approach, along with individual supports, nutrition education and promotion is increasing. Intensive nutrition training of community health and social services workers, particularly through the First Nations and Inuit Component of the Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program (CPNP-FNIC) has been implemented. Access to nutritionists and dieticians has improved over the past five years and community workers are better trained in nutrition and food management.
   
   
4. Initial reports indicate that pregnant women and mothers participating in the CPNP-FNIC are more aware of healthy eating, are motivated to make positive nutritional changes, take advantage of the food supplementation, are more likely to initiate and continue breast-feeding and improve other aspects of their lifestyle, e.g. smoking cessation. A full evaluation of this program is scheduled to be completed in 2003.
   
   
5. In those communities using the Food Mail Program, a marked increase has been seen in the volumes of product covered under the Program, thereby indicating an increase in consumption of nutritious perishable foods; reporting indicates an improvement in the overall quality of nutritious perishable foods, and a consistency of more affordable pricing. Monitoring of pricing is done on a continuous basis to ensure that the subsidy is passed on to the consumer. There are some community pilot studies underway to further improve the effectiveness of the food mail program.
   
   
6. Since 1999, an Aboriginal Headstart Program has been implemented in First Nations communities to complement the Aboriginal Headstart Program delivered outside of First Nations communities. This program includes nutrition as one of its six priorities. A particular emphasis is given to nutritious meals within the Program; however, the overall focus of the nutrition component is to instill healthy eating practices and knowledge both with children and their families.
   
   
7. In 1999, the Federal government introduced the Canadian Diabetes Initiative, the Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative and a First Nations and Inuit Home and Community Care Program. Nutrition will play a role in both prevention and treatment management of diabetes. Through these initiatives and program nutrition promotion, prevention, treatment and support will be implemented, according to communities' needs.
   
   
8. The Fishing Licence Transfer Program increases opportunities for Aboriginal people to work in the commercial fishery. The Resource Access Negotiations Program of the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs has more than doubled to reach $4.8 million in 1998-1999, thus offering more economic benefits to Aboriginal communities.
   
   
9. Other key initiatives to support increased Aboriginal access to natural resource opportunities included the Resource Access Negotiations Program, which supports First Nation and Inuit negotiations to access and manage both on- and off-reserve resource opportunities, the Resource Acquisition Initiative, which supports resource sector and related business opportunities, including the acquisition of natural resource permits and licences, and the First Nation Forestry Program, created jointly by the departments of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Natural Resources Canada and First Nations to improve conditions in First Nations communities with full consideration of the principles of sustainable forest management.
   
   

International cooperation

1. Canada is working with other countries to create a climate favouring planetary food security. As the leader in providing Canada's Official Development Assistance (ODA), the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) supports programs in developing countries and countries in transition that attempt to provide technical assistance to the local and intermediate levels and thereby strengthen the macroeconomic infrastructure.
   
   
2. Canada is committed to supporting the food production and food security needs of its developing-country partners. Canada's approach to development cooperation on this issue has four cornerstones: 1) development and dissemination of sustainable production (technology) and marketing options which satisfy the personal needs of, and levels of technology practisable by, disadvantaged rural poor, including and especially women; 2) support for a policy environment in partner countries which is conducive to sustainable agricultural development and an appreciation for the strategic role which the section must play in the social and economic development of most developing countries; 3) support for the broad adoption of liberalized international trade arrangements for agricultural commodities; and 4) encouragement of broader Canadian participation in international agricultural development.
   
   
3. Canada continues to support the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). More integrated food security programming is being initiated in several bilateral international assistance programs, such as Ghana and Ethiopia. Household-level food security has also been incorporated into the Action Plan on Health and Nutrition under CIDA's Social Development Priorities.
   
   
4. The Government of Canada ratified the Declaration on World Food Security of the World Food Summit (WFS) held in Rome in November 1996 and the WFS Plan of Action. Specific information on this issue is found in Chapter III of Canada's Action Plan for Food Security already cited. Canada providesdevelopment assistance in the form of goods, services, the transfer of knowledge and skills, and financial contributions.
   
   
5. Canada participates fully in the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Committee on Commodity Problems as well as the FAO Consultative Sub-Committee on Surplus Disposal (CSSD).
   
   

Right to adequate housing

1. Canadians are among the best housed people in the world. The vast majority live in comfortable dwellings that contribute to their quality of life. Although some Canadians experience housing needs, most of them have access to housing of acceptable size and quality at affordable prices.
   
   

Framework

1. The extensive framework of legislation, policy and practice which structures housing related activities in Canada is partly provided in the National Housing Act (NHA) and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation Act. As the federal government's national housing agency, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) received a new mandate in 1996 when the federal government redefined its role in housing. This new mandate covers activities in home financing, export of Canadian housing products, services and expertise, social housing, housing-related research and sharing research results. The NHA and CMHC Act were subsequently amended in 1999 to give the Corporation more flexibility in carrying out this renewed mandate. As stated in the NHA, the purpose of federal activities is to "promote the construction of new houses, the repair and modernization of existing houses, and the improvement of housing and living conditions" and to "protect the availability of adequate funding for housing at low cost."
   
   

Market-related housing activity

1. The housing finance system in Canada is highly developed and supported by all government levels and the private sector. Recent low inflation has enabled low mortgage rates which create favourable conditions in residential markets. The new mandate CMHC received in 1996 allows the corporation to operate on a more commercial basis in the face of increased competition in the mortgage financing market and changing technological environment.
   
   
2. Within this national environment, CMHC employs various policy tools under the NHA. Approximately one in every three Canadian homeowners has utilized CMHC mortgage loan insurance to purchase a new or existing home. This is an inexpensive vehicle for borrowers to obtain low down-payment financing at the lowest possible mortgage rates. Down payments may be as low as five percent. Mortgage insurance is also available for the financing of multi-residential properties, providing landlords and developers with access to financing of up to 85 percent of the loan to value ratio, and hence helping to provide a supply of affordable rental units. Mortgage-backed securities provide access to lower-cost means to fund mortgages by "securitising" large numbers of mortgages for subsequent sale to investors. In response to the more commercialized and flexible NHA housing finance mandate announced by the federal government, several new tools have been introduced. In 1995, CMHC introduced a computer-based leading-edge on-line underwriting system, to provide CMHC's approved lenders with an electronic tool to accurately assess mortgage risk. Numerous improvements to this system have since been implemented to increase accuracy and client service.
   
   

Assisted housing

1. Most administrative arrangements relating to social housing programs and delivery are governed by federal-provincial/territorial agreements on social housing. As of December 31, 1999, the portfolio of federally assisted housing units totalled 639,200 units (6.6 percent of all households in Canada). In 1998-1999, combined direct federal-provincial expenditures were $3.8 billion. Municipalities are also active in promoting social housing.
   
   
2. In 1996, the federal government opened negotiations to offer provinces and territories the opportunity to assume responsibility for the management of existing federal social housing resources. As of December 1999, the new arrangements had been entered into with nine provinces and territories.
   
   
3. In 1994, the federal government reinstated the Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program (RRAP) for two years at a cost of $100 million. RRAP provides assistance to bring homeowner and rental housing units, and rooming houses, up to minimum property standards, to complete emergency repairs on homes in rural areas, and to make housing accessible for persons with disabilities.
   
   
4. Assistance from the Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program is targeted to housing occupied by low income households. Since December 1995, the Government of Canada has extended these programs several times, culminating in a five-year extension announced in January 1998, supplemented by a doubling of the budget for four years, announced in December 1999. During this last announcement, which was under the auspices of the government's homelessness strategy, a new component of RRAP was introduced to convert non-residential buildings into housing units. From 1995 to 1999 inclusive, close to 51,000 units were repaired under RRAP, a little under 6,500 additional units under the Emergency Repair Program (ERP) and upgrades to over 7,000 units were made under Home Adaptations for Seniors' Independence (HASI).
   
   

Housing needs assessment and possible responses

1. Canada has developed a comprehensive system for measuring the nature and incidence of housing problems, called the Core Housing Need Model. This Model examines a household's situation to determine whether its housing is adequate, suitable (uncrowded) and affordable. A dwelling is considered to be adequate, if it is not in need of major repairs. Suitable dwellings are those that meet the National Occupancy Standards; they have a sufficient number of bedrooms given the size and composition of the household. Dwellings are defined to be affordable if households do not have to spend 30 percent or more of their total before tax household income on shelter. Households living below these standards are then examined to see if they have the income needed to afford the average market rent for adequate, uncrowded housing in their communities. For example, most owners and some renters who were paying more than 30 percent or more of their incomes for shelter in 1996 could have found decent rental housing in their area for less than 30 percent of their incomes. CMHC's electronic data base for assessing housing conditions shows that, in 1996, there were 1.8 million households in core housing need. This represents about 18 percent of all households in Canada, with almost seven in 10 of these being renter households.
   
   

Improving housing affordability and choice

1. The First Home Loan Insurance Program, introduced in 1992, reduced the minimum down-payment required by first time home buyers to purchase a housing unit to 5 percent by extending mortgage insurance coverage from 90 percent to 95 percent. In 1998, this program was extended to allow lenders to provide up to 95 percent financing to all home buyers, not just first time buyers. The Home Buyers Plan allows households with accumulated savings in registered retirement savings plans to temporarily withdraw up to $20,000 of these funds without a tax penalty, for the purpose of purchasing a first home. Since inception of this program in 1992, more than one million individuals have participated, releasing over $10.4 billion of their capital to facilitate access to home ownership. Construction of new housing and substantial renovation of existing units may also be eligible for a 36 percent rebate of the Goods and Services Tax (which is a form of value-added tax) paid. Capital gains on a principal residence may also entitle an exemption from personal income tax for some homeowners.
   
   
2. From the Affordability and Choice Today (ACT) program's inception in 1989 to the end of 1999, 149 projects had been awarded ACT grants, with 62 completed projects having been documented in individual case studies. The mandate of the Canadian Centre for Public/Private Partnerships in Housing (CCPPH) is to help community groups develop affordable housing, without long-term subsidies. Financing is supported through the provision of CMHC mortgage insurance, often with the application of innovative financing techniques. From its establishment in 1991 until year end December 1999, more than 300 projects involving some 15,400 units have been facilitated.
   
   

Homelessness

1. Homelessness has become a growing concern in Canadian society. Consequently, on March 23, 1999, the Minister of Labour, was appointed as Co-ordinator of the Federal Response on Homelessness. A National Secretariat on Homelessness was established to provide support to the Minister and work with other stakeholders to address the issue of homelessness. Given the complexity of the homelessness situation, no one level of government can address the issue alone. Rather, a partnership approach is needed.
   
   
2. The Secretariat is now in the process of transforming the pilot-tested software into a supported and operational information system available to shelters and communities across the country.
   
   
3. On December 17, 1999, the Government of Canada announced the investment of $753 million, over the following three years, in an integrated and co-ordinated approach to help alleviate and prevent homelessness in Canada. With increased RRAP funding as part of the strategy, the initiative builds on proven solutions and fosters partnerships with provinces, territories and other levels of government and the private and voluntary sectors.
   
   
4. There are two components to the homelessness strategy:
   
   
   • The creation of new programming: The Supporting Communities Partnership Initiative (SCPI) ($305 million) will assist communities to engage all levels of government and partners to develop the services and supports needed to address the issue of homelessness. The initiative will also help in the development of long-term plans to address the underlying causes of homelessness, with a view to preventing its occurrence. The Surplus Real Property for Homelessness Fund ($10 million) will facilitate the transfer of surplus federal lands and/or properties to communities or others to be used for homelessness initiatives.
     
     
   • The enhancement of existing programs: New funding for an Urban Aboriginal Strategy ($59 million) will help communities address urban Aboriginal homelessness. Additional funding for the Youth Employment Initiatives ($59 million) is targeted to programs designed to help youth-at-risk, including homeless youth, acquire and develop basic and advanced skills. As part of the Government of Canada's Family Violence Initiative, funding is provided for the Shelter Enhancement Initiative ($43 million) to develop and enhance emergency shelters and second stage housing intended to serve women and their children fleeing domestic violence. With the additional funding for the Shelter Enhancement Initiative youth who are victims of family violence (including homeless youth) are now included as one of the target populations. New Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program funding ($268 million) will support the renovation and repair of housing occupied by low-income people to bring it up to basic health and safety standards.
     
     
5. The primary focus of the SCPI is the absolute homeless (those individuals living in emergency shelters, on the streets and/or in places not meant for human habitation), as they are in the most need. To address this need, the funding for the SCPI has been divided into two streams: 80 percent has been allocated to 10 communities that have a significant absolute homeless problem, while the remaining 20 percent is for other communities that can demonstrate they have an absolute homeless problem. The 10 communities identified are Halifax, Québec City, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.
   
   
6. Over the next three years, $7 million has been allocated for research, reporting and accountability. There is currently a lack of reliable and valid comparable statistics on homelessness in Canada. The most recent "national" count of the homeless was conducted in 1987 by the Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD). In response to this gap, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) undertook the development of the Homeless Individuals and Families Information System (HIFIS). The information collected through HIFIS can be used to conduct analysis of the shelter segment of absolute homelessness. HIFIS will benefit the municipal, provincial and federal governments by identifying the characteristics of the homeless population served by the various shelters. By the end of December 2000, HIFIS had been piloted in eight of the main SCPI communities. After successfully pilot testing HIFIS, CMHC transferred it to Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC). Since then, HRDC has further developed HIFIS and has been working with communities across Canada on its implementation. As part of both its 1996 and 2001 Census efforts, Statistics Canada worked to improve its data for people in collectives, in particular trying to better capture the homeless staying in shelters on census night. As well, commissioned by the National Secretariat on Homelessness, Statistics Canada is investigating the feasibility of doing a national street count. As well, to enhance the knowledge base on homelessness, it is expected that annual reports will be released on the Government of Canada's homelessness strategy. The first report is scheduled to be released in December 2000; additional information will be provided in Canada's next report.
   
   
7. The Government of Canada spends approximately $1.9 billion a year on social housing across the country to assist low-income Canadians, including those "at risk" of homelessness. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's Canadian Centre for Public-Private Partnerships in Housing developed over 2,100 affordable housing units in 1998. In 1999, more than 4,100 units were created. Additionally, CMHC's Homegrown Solutions helped local communities find creative ways to meet their housing needs.
   
   
8. Between 1995 and 1999, some 13,800 housing units were rehabilitated with funding targeted to the rental and rooming house components of the Rental Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program (Rental RRAP) and the equivalent provincial programs.
   
   

Aboriginal people

1. In July 1996, a new federal on-reserve housing policy was announced under which First Nations have increased flexibility on how the funds are to be used. Changes as a result of this policy have contributed to improvements in housing conditions on reserve.
   
   
2. By the end of 1999, the adequacy of housing on reserve increased to more than 57 percent from the 50 percent adequacy rate as of March 1996, and the total number of houses on reserve increased from 78,200 to 88,500. In addition, more First Nations are demonstrating a fundamental shift toward taking "ownership" of the issue and are actively seeking a range of innovative solutions in all aspects of housing. Over the last ten years, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada has been able, through internal reallocation, to establish a budget of $177 million for new construction and renovations for on-reserve housing. CMHC expenditures for housing on reserve was $99 million and $92.1 million for fiscal years 1997-1998 and 1998-1999, respectively.
   
   
3. A 1998 assessment of the policy found that it appears to be meeting its primary objectives, and is providing the flexibility and encouragement to help First Nations focus more resources at rehabilitating existing housing. The assessment also found that most First Nations are promoting individual responsibility by requiring their members to carry out basic maintenance on their houses and to repay housing loans.
   
   
4. Funding for First Nations capital facilities and maintenance grew from $688.6 million in 1994-1995, to $845.2 million in 1997-1998, and $759.5 million in 1998-1999. Approximately one third of the budget is for the operation and maintenance of existing infrastructure and facilities, while two-thirds is designated for the acquisition of capital assets including water, sewage, schools, fire protection and roads.
   
   
5. Water supply and sewer systems in Aboriginal communities often do not meet general standards. Aboriginal housing is a special source of concern, since 32 percent of non-farm households off reserve urgently need it. On and off reserve, half of households live in dwellings that meet or exceed standards for acceptable size and quality.
   
   
6. Information about housing on reserves, ministerial housing guarantees, funds for housing construction and funds for housing and infrastructure innovation can be found in Canada's report Implementing the Outcomes of the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II): Canada's Response (http://www.cmhc-
   schl.gc.ca/en/homadoin/faffhoinca/faffhoinca_001.cfm).
   
   
7. A new housing innovation fund promotes the strengthening of capacities and innovation in this field. Eight projects are in hand. The Department of Indian and Northern Affairs funded 54 water supply and sewer projects across the country in 1998-1999.
   
   

Women

1. There is no legislation or institution to prevent home ownership in Canada; however, there may be socio-economic impediments to such ownership. For women, ownership is more closely tied to family status than it is for men. Men alone and fathers alone are more likely to own houses (52 percent) than women (29 percent). The affordability of housing is a problem that particularly affects women. The various federal housing programs and measures take this into account.
   
   
2. Under the Shelter Enhancement Program (SEP), which aids women and children leaving domestic violence, more than 3,100 shelter units were upgraded or created between 1995 and 1999. In December 1999, SEP was augmented by $43 million over four years and expanded to include youth who are victims of family violence.
   
   
3. The Women's Program of Status of Women Canada does not fund the building of housing but does support strategies to increase women's access to affordable housing. Some examples follow. The B.C. Women's Housing Coalition (1996-1997) used focus groups, round table discussions and research to explore several themes focused on women's housing strategies and issues in British Columbia. By working in partnership with several stakeholder organizations, the coalition developed recommendations for systemic change aimed at making a more responsive housing delivery system with better understanding of challenges and barriers that women face in the current system. The Calgary Native Women's Shelter (1999) focused on institutional change with women's shelters regarding culturally appropriate services for Aboriginal women. They conducted crosscultural awareness for staff on issues unique to Aboriginal women in the areas of law, financial support, training, and housing. Several projects looked at the policy barriers or systemic barriers which prevent woman and their families from meeting their basic housing needs, such as the Life Spin Women's Resource Centre (1998-1999); the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation, which addressed the gendered nature of poverty and developed tools to facilitate cooperation between provincial/territorial governments and non-governmental organizations on women's economic and social rights, including affordable housing (1999); and the Ontario Older Women's Network, which focused on the housing situation of older women to bring forward policy changes (1999).
   
   
4. The Women's Program and Regional Operations Directorate has approved funding for 17 initiatives designed for homeless women; it supported the World March of Women (1999-2000) in defending causes including the right to decent housing in all countries.
   
   
5. The Policy Research Fund of Status of Women Canada, under the theme "Reducing Women's Poverty: Policy Options, Directions And Frameworks" issued in September 1997 papers such as: The Changing Nature of Home Care and its Impact on Women's Vulnerability to Poverty; The Dynamics of Women's Poverty in Canada; Reducing Poverty Among Older Women: The Potential of Retirement Incomes Policies; Building Capacity: Enhancing Women's Economic Participation Through Housing; Social Policy, Gender Inequality and Poverty; and Economic Impact of Health, Income Security and Labour Policies on Informal Caregivers of Frail Seniors.
   
   
6. Two more themes issued by the Policy Research Fund of Status of Women Canada, "Factoring Diversity Into Policy Analysis And Development: New Tools, Frameworks, Methods, And Applications" (September 1997) and "Young Women At Risk" (September 1999) produced papers such as Housing Policy Options for Women Living in Urban Poverty: An Action Research Project in Three Canadian Cities and Young Women and Homelessness in Canada. These studies are used by a number of analysts as basic references for policy development.
   
   

Matrimonial real property

1. The federal government recognizes there is a legislative gap in the Indian Act with regard to the issue of matrimonial property, and acknowledges the Committee's concerns. The Indian Act is silent on the use, occupation and possession of land — including the matrimonial home — and does not speak to the division of interests in land on reserve in case of a marital breakdown. In addition, the provinces, which normally have jurisdiction over such issues, may not validly legislate concerning land within the federal competence, such as Indian reserves.
   
   
2. The Government of Canada remains committed to finding a practical solution to this issue. Consultative processes and research on this issue are currently underway. It is hoped that the results of this research will identify concrete options to resolve this issue through legislation or policy development.
   
   
3. One such option is contained in the First Nations Land Management Act (FNLMA), passed in June 1999. This legislation provides the framework to enable the 14 signatory First Nations to establish their own land management regimes and take over the administration and management of their reserve lands. The FNLMA includes provisions to address the issue of matrimonial real property. The signatory First Nations have agreed to establish community processes to develop rules and procedures to deal with matrimonial property within 12 months from the date the land code takes effect. In essence, the First Nation community itself will develop the land codes and procedures. These codes must address the issue of division of matrimonial real property and they cannot discriminate on the basis of sex.
   
   
4. While the FNLMA is intended, at this time, to apply only to the 14 participating First Nations, Canada is open to considering its application to other interested First Nations.
   
   

International cooperation

1. Detailed information on international co-operation will be found in the following reports: Implementing the Outcomes of the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II): Canada's Response (http://www.cmhc-
   schl.gc.ca/en/homadoin/faafhoinca/faafhoinca_001.cfm); and Implementation of decisions made at the World Summit for Social Development, Canada's Response (http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/foreign_policy/human-
   rights/summit-en.asp).
   
   

Article 12: Right to Physical and Mental Health

1. The Government of Canada belongs to the World Health Organization. It has taken part in a number of negotiations for international framework conventions on public health campaigns. Canada has submitted several reports to the United Nations dealing with the health of Canadians, including the Fifth Report on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/pdp-
   hrp/docs/cedaw-eng.cfm) and the Second Report on the Convention on the Rights of the Child (http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/pdp-hrp/docs/crc-eng.cfm). The Government of Canada also prepared Toward a Healthy Future: Second Report on the Health of Canadians (http://www.hcsc.gc.ca/hppb/phdd/report/toward/report.html) in September 1999 as well as the Statistical Report on the Health of Canadians (http://www.hcsc.gc.ca/hppb/phdd/report/stat/index.html).
   
   
2. Canada has made substantial progress in improving the health of its population, as demonstrated by increases in life expectancy, reduced infant mortality and a better quality of life for middle-aged and older Canadians. We also note that most Canadians are taking steps to improve their health. Every age group and region has its own challenges. The Aboriginal peoples of Canada remain highly vulnerable to health problems.
   
   
3. Such factors as socio-economic and physical environment, early childhood experiences, personal health habits and biology have effects on health, and these factors function independently of investments in health care.
   
   
4. The Population Health Approach provides the basis for Health Canada's policy and program development to improve the health status of the entire population and to reduce inequities in health status between population groups. Strategies are based on an assessment of the conditions of risk and benefit that may apply across the entire population, or to particular subgroups within the population. The approach uses the following determinants of health: income and social status; social support networks; education; employment and working conditions; social environments; physical environments; biology and genetic endowment; personal health practices and coping skills; healthy child development; health services; gender; and culture.
   
   

Health care system

1. Detailed information on the health care system in Canada, as well as on the health of the Canadian population can be found in several reports available at Health Canada's Web site (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/). For a summary of the health care system in Canada, please refer to Canada's Health Care System and for details on the provincial/territorial public health insurance plans, refer to Canada Health Act Annual Report 1998-99.
   
   
2. Canada has a predominantly publicly financed, privately delivered health care system, which provides access to universal, comprehensive coverage for medically necessary hospital and physician services. It is best described as an interlocking set of ten provincial and three territorial health insurance plans, resulting from the constitutional assignment of jurisdiction over most aspects of health care to the provincial order of government. Canada's Third Report on the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/pdp-hrp/docs/cesc-eng.cfm) provides additional details on the health care system. The federal government assists in the financing of provincial and territorial health care services through fiscal transfers, primarily the Canada Health and Social Transfer (CHST).
   
   
3. In 1984, the Government of Canada enacted legislation (the Canada Health Act) for publicly funded health care insurance. It affirms its commitment to a universal, accessible, comprehensive, portable and publicly administered health insurance system for all Canadians. The Canada Health Act establishes criteria and conditions related to insured health care services and extended health care services that the provinces and territories must meet in order to receive the full federal cash contribution under the CHST. These criteria are: publicadministration (the administration of the health care insurance plan of a province or territory must be carried out on a non-profit basis by a public authority); comprehensiveness (all medically necessary services provided by hospitals and doctors must be insured); universality (all insured persons in the province or territory must be entitled to public health insurance coverage on uniform terms and conditions); portability (coverage for insured services must be maintained when an insured person moves or travels within Canada or travels outside the country); and accessibility (reasonable access by insured persons to medically necessary hospital and physician services must be unimpeded by financial or other barriers).
   
   
4. Under the Canada Health Act, provinces and territories must not permit user charges for insured health services, except as provided for under subsection 19(2) respecting persons who require chronic care and are more or less permanently resident in a hospital or other institution. If it has been determined that either extra-billing or user charges, or both exist in a province or territory, then a mandatory dollar-for-dollar deduction is to be made from the federal cash contribution (CHST). Health Canada's approach to resolving possible noncompliance issues emphasizes transparency, consultation and dialogue. In most instances, issues are resolved through consultation and discussion based on a thorough examination of the facts. Penalties are only applied when other means of resolving issues have failed.
   
   
5. There is a strong working relationship between the Government of Canada and provincial and territorial governments. The health sector has a well-developed and long-standing intergovernmental structure. Federal-provincial/territorial Ministers of Health meet at a minimum on an annual basis, while Deputy Ministers meet semi-annually and on an as-needed basis throughout the year.
   
   
6. The 1999 Budget strengthened the Canadian Government's resolve to uphold the principles of the Canada Health Act by increasing transfer payments, promoting research, improving health information and enhancing services for vulnerable populations such as those in First Nations and Inuit communities.
   
   
7. The premise of a universal health insurance scheme is that all citizens will have access to the care they need within reasonable time periods. Through the National Population Health Survey both the federal and provincial/territorial levels of government are monitoring "unmet health care needs." The incidence of unmet needs in 1996-1997 was 5 percent of the population age 12 and older (nonsignificant increase from 1994-1995, when 4 percent of the population reported unmet needs). There was little systematic variation in the incidence of unmet needs related to sex or age. This information is made available to the public in the Second Report on the Health of Canadians, prepared by the Federal, Provincial and Territorial Advisory Committee on Population Health.
   
   
8. The Canadian Federal government has a significant role in the delivery of health services to First Nations and Inuit communities, and these investments in First Nations health care complement developments in the larger health system. In 1997, the federal government announced "Gathering Strength: Canada's Aboriginal Action Plan," a commitment to setting a new course in its policies for Aboriginal people. The federal government is following through on these commitments with new investments and initiatives in health services for Aboriginal populations. The 1999 budget announced substantial and sustained investments of $190 million over three years to improve the health of First Nations and Inuit as part of the health renewal system. These investments promote an integrated health system providing a more complete continuum of necessary care for First Nations and Inuit communities.
   
   

Health care expenditures

1. In 1998, gross domestic product (GDP) reached $30,249 per capita. Total health expenditures were $83.6 billion in 1998, representing 9.1 percent of GDP, down from the peak level 10 percent in 1992. Total health expenditures reached $89.8 billion in 1999 and $97.4 billion in 2000.
   
   
2. On a per capita basis, the health expenditure was $2,765 in 1998 — a 5.5 percent increase from 1997, or $145 per capita. Per capita spending on health continued to increase by 6.4 percent in 1999 and 7.5 percent in 2000. These expenditures were equivalent to 9.1 percent of GDP in 1998, and remained stable at 9.2 percent in 1999 and 9.1 percent in 2000.
   
   
3. In 1990, just over 25 percent of health care in Canada was financed with private funds (out-of-pocket, health insurance), while the rest was paid for with public funds. By 1999, the private share had increased to almost 30 percent. Most of the increase occurred over the first half of the 1990s, largely under the influence of cost-control efforts with respect to publicly financed health care.
   
   
4. Health expenditures by governments and government agencies (the public sector) in 1998 were estimated at $58.8 billion, equivalent to $1,946 per capita. This accounted for 70.1 percent of total health care spending, and was an increase of 5.9 percent compared to 1997. Private sector spending by households and insurance firms in 1998 totaled $25.1 million (or $830 per capita). The private sector accounted for an estimated 29.5 percent of total expenditures in 1999, down from 29.9 percent in 1998. This decrease is expected to continue in 2000.
   
   
5. Historically, the largest category of health care spending in Canada has been and still is hospital care, although its share has been gradually falling for at least two and a half decades. In 1999, hospital care accounted for about one-third of total health care spending — a sizable drop compared with a share of nearly 50 percentin the mid-1970s. In 1999, drugs and physician services accounted for close to another one-third of total health care spending, with roughly equal shares. Most of the remaining one-third was on other institutions, other professionals, and public health.
   
   

Mental health of Canadians

1. The Federal/Provincial/Territorial Advisory Network on Mental Health was created as an intergovernmental forum devoted exclusively to mental health issues. It provides a crucial link between jurisdictions enhancing the capacity of the federal and provincial/territorial governments to work together for the mental health of all Canadians.
   
   
2. For detailed information on the physical and mental health of Canada's population, please refer to Toward a Health Future — The Second Report on the Health of Canadians (1999) and The Statistical Report on the Health of Canadians available on the Web site of Health Canada (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/).
   
   

Infant mortality rate

1. The Canadian infant mortality rate has declined from 6.3 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1994 to 5.3 in 1998. This is due to a decline in both neonatal deaths and post-neonatal deaths. The single most important cause of both infant mortality and perinatal death was perinatal complications. The two leading causes of postneonatal deaths were Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and congenital anomalies. There are substantial variations in infant mortality rates among the Canadian provinces and territories, with higher rates found in northern areas and areas with a larger percentage of Aboriginal residents. In some Aboriginal populations, infant mortality rates are two times higher than the national rate.
   
   

Access to safe water and adequate excreta-disposal facilities

1. Governments, industry, communities and individual Canadians are making significant progress in achieving clean, safe and secure water. A key component to achieving these objectives is through strengthening collaboration between federal and provincial and territorial governments to establish priorities and plans for action to better protect Canada's water resources. Federal departments work closely to ensure a fully integrated approach to addressing freshwater priorities.
   
   
2. The majority of the population has safe drinking water services and adequate disposal facilities. Eighty-seven percent of Canadians receive treated municipal drinking water. Aboriginal populations lack plumbing in a higher proportion. Canada is aware of problems associated with potable water on Indian reserves, and notes the Committee's concerns in this regard. Ensuring a supply of clean, safe drinking water in First Nations communities is a priority for the Government of Canada. The Department of Indian and Northern Affairs is continuing its efforts to assist First Nations in establishing basic water and sewage services for approximately 5,000 homes currently without these services, in a number of mostly northern communities.
   
   
3. The Government of Canada is undertaking on-site assessments of all community water and sewage treatment systems located in First Nations communities. Plansto undertake corrective measures will be developed in collaboration with First Nations and other partners as problems are identified. A national First Nations Water Management Strategy is being developed which will improve drinking water systems in First Nations communities, including the training of all plant operators, adequate operation and maintenance of the facilities, adoption of appropriate water standards and monitoring procedures, and enhancement of public awareness about drinking water safety.
   
   
4. Canada has one of the lowest incidences of waterborne diseases in the world. The incidence of waterborne diseases is several times higher in First Nations communities, than in the general population, in part because of the inadequate or non-existent water treatment systems. The Assembly of First Nations in partnership with Health Canada, is taking steps to improve this situation.
   
   
5. Government of Canada established the National Soil and Water Conservation Program (NSWCP) during 1997-1999. It was implemented nationally by industry-led provincial/regional adaptation councils to help address priority agriculture and agri-food sector environmental sustainability issues, including ground and surface water quality, water quantity, environmental management systems, soil management, endangered species habitat, on-farm storage of pesticide and other farm inputs. This program has been redesigned and extended under the new environmental stewardship and the renewed adaptation programs. Other strategies have been developed and are described in the Canada's Second Progress Report to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Committee on World Food Security on Implementing the World Food Summit Plan of Action (http://www.agr.gc.ca/misb/fsb/fsb-bsa_e.php?
   page=index).
   
   

Infant immunization

1. In Canada, rates of immunization coverage have remained high throughout the 1990s. Estimates suggest, however, that immunization rates are lower for Aboriginal children in most provinces. Detailed information is shown in the Statistical Annex.
   
   

Life expectancy

1. Canada ranks in the top three developed countries in the world in measures of life expectancy, self-rated health and mortality rates. In 1997, Canadians of age 14 or younger made up 20 percent of the population, and 12 percent of the population was age 65 and older. In Canada, life expectancy at birth was 82.1 years for women and 76.3 years for men in 2000. At all ages, women have a greater life expectancy than men, yet the 5.6 year advantage that existed at birth declined to 2.6 years by age 75.
   
   
2. The health regions with the lowest life expectancies tend to be in remote regions or northern parts of certain provinces and have significant Aboriginal populations.
   
   
3. In Aboriginal populations, in 1995 life expectancy at birth for men was seven years less than the national average, and five years less for women. This gap between the life expectancy of Aboriginal populations and the national average has narrowed over time but is still appreciable.
   
   

Health-vulnerable groups

First Nations and Inuit populations

1. Health Canada, in collaboration with the provinces and territories, ensures access to quality health services and programs that address health inequalities and disease threats, in a manner that supports First Nations and Inuit autonomy and control. Health Canada provides public health services on reserve, as well as primary care and emergency services in isolated reserves where provincial services are not readily available. In the North, Health Canada provides funding to the territorial governments, except the Yukon, to deliver health programs for First Nations and Inuit on behalf of Health Canada. In the Yukon, some First Nations deliver health programs under self-government agreements, while programs for the remaining First Nations continue to be managed by Health Canada.
   
   
2. The National Native Alcohol and Drug Abuse Program (NNADAP) represents a network of 53 treatment centres and 500 community-based prevention programs operated by First Nations organizations and/or communities to provide culturally appropriate in-patient and out-patient treatment services for alcohol and other substance abuse. Twenty-eight million dollars per year is allocated for residential treatment and $30 million per year is allocated for the community-based component.
   
   
3. The solvent abuse program provides culturally appropriate community-based prevention, intervention and inpatient treatment services to First Nations and Inuit youth solvent abusers. A national network of nine solvent addictions treatment centres target youth aged 12 to 19 years with one treatment centre targeting youth aged 16 to 25 years. Intervention and Prevention funding is $6 million annually, and treatment funding is $13 million annually.
   
   
4. Aboriginal Head Start is an early intervention strategy addressing the needs of Aboriginal children and their families. Funding for the Aboriginal Head Start On Reserve program was set at $100 million over four years, beginning in 1998- 1999, and $25 million per year on-going. The program was introduced in 1995 in urban and northern communities. The program was expanded in 1998 to First Nations communities on reserve. There are currently over 300 projects on reserve serving 7,700 children.
   
   
5. A range of research initiatives focussing on Aboriginal health is being funded through the Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health at the University of Toronto as part of the larger Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
   
   
6. First Nations and Inuit organizations have also developed and fielded a Regional Health Survey which has provided detailed health information on Aboriginal people on reserve and in the north. A second survey is currently being discussed.
   
   
7. The First Nation and Inuit Home and Community Care program was announced in the 1999 Budget. With the announcement commenced a three-year developmental period for First Nation and Inuit communities to carry out planning activities to enable access of home and community services by the majority of First Nation and Inuit communities. Prior to the release of funding, extensive consultation with First Nation and Inuit communities, provincial and territorial authorities was carried out to: support the development of services that were strongly linked with existing health care services; and build on existing investments made through both the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs inhome adult care program and the Building Healthy Communities — Home Nursing investment. The home and community care program is comprised of a set of common program elements which includes: client assessment, case management and coordination, access to personal care, nursing services, in-home respite care, medical supplies and equipment and strong linkages with other health and social services, including the Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative.
   
   
8. Numerous planning and training resources were developed for this developmental period. Many of these planning resources were based on lessons learned and experienced by the First Nation and Inuit home care pilot projects which were funded by the Health Transition Fund. During the initial developmental period, a significant investment was made in both training and capital to support the delivery of this program. At the time of this report less than 5 percent of the 700 eligible communities are not actively engaged in either program planning or service delivery, with 33 percent of these communities accessing home and community care services.
   
   

Women's health

1. Funded by Health Canada's Women's Health Contribution Program, the National Coordinating Group on Health Care Reform and Women examines the impact of health care reform on women as patients, providers (paid and unpaid) and decision makers. They synthesize research on health reform and women, identify gaps in research, develop strategies to fill those gaps and link research to policy through various means. The Coordinating Group is examining issues related to privatization, primary health care and community caregiving.
   
   
2. The Women's Health Strategy, which was launched by the Minister of Health in March 1999, conforms with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and with the principles of the Beijing Platform for Action and the Federal Plan for Gender Equality. The overarching goal of the Women's Health Strategy is to improve the health of women in Canada by making the health system more responsive to women and women's health. It promises that Health Canada will integrate gender into all its programs and policies by conducting gender-based analysis. The Women's Health Bureau leads the on-going development of the strategy and co-ordinates its implementation.
   
   
3. Information related to the Centres of Excellence for Women's Health Program, established in 1996, was provided in Canada's Third Report. The five centres,located in Halifax, Montréal, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver, are managed by the Women's Health Bureau and will each receive approximately $2 million over a six-year period.
   
   
4. Funded by the Women's Health Contribution Program, Health Canada, the Health Protection and Women Working Group is actively involved in consultations to identify ways for gender to be taken into account in health protection issues. Health Canada convened an Advisory Committee on Women's Health Surveillance Issues, which included external experts in women's health. The Committee will advise the department on issues to be addressed in creating a national health surveillance system for women's health, including priority surveillance issues, quality and availability of data, data analysis and dissemination.
   
   
5. In infancy and childhood, girls use fewer health services than boys. But once beyond childhood, Canadian women make greater use of a wide array of health services. Changes in the health system will, therefore, have a significant impact on women. The Women's Health Strategy commits Health Canada to monitoring the effects of the process of health system renewal on women, both as users and as providers of care and to consider the particular needs of women in interpreting and enforcing the Canada Health Act. The Centres of Excellence for Women's Health are active in documenting and researching the impact of health renewal on women and the significance to women of access to pharmaceuticals and home care.
   
   
6. The Women's Health Bureau of Health Canada chairs the Federal Interdepartmental Working Group on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Its purpose is to inform and educate, prevent the practice from being performed in Canada, and address health-related, legal and cultural/social issues. The government is also currently working with health care providers and educators to provide effective and sensitive responses to girls and women affected by FGM.
   
   
7. In June 1998, Health Canada allocated $7 million ongoing funding per year towards the renewed Canadian Breast Cancer Initiative (CBCI) for research, prevention, early detection, quality screening, support to community groups and networks, access to information, public and professional education, diagnosis, care and treatment, and surveillance and monitoring of breast cancer. The Medical Research Council of Canada (now the Canadian Institutes of Health Research) will contribute an additional $10 million over the next five years to the CBCI. (Refer to the section on Breast Cancer below for more information.)
   
   
8. Health Canada contributes $2 million per year to the Canadian Heart Health Initiative (1998-2003). Approximately $300,000 per year from this Initiative is allocated to projects that specifically target women's heart health issues, including integrated action on nutrition, physical activity, tobacco reduction and psycho-social factors.
   
   
9. The Women's Health Bureau and the Women and Tobacco Advisory Group have sponsored a policy paper "Filtered Policy," which recommends policy initiatives to address women's tobacco use, based on information gathered in the Tobacco Demand Reduction Strategy and other national and international literature on women's tobacco use.
   
   
10. In September 1996, Health Canada adopted Canada's women and clinical trials policy which stipulates that drug companies also include women in clinical trials, in the same proportion as are expected to use the drug.
    
    
11. As well, Health Canada released the Family-Centred Maternity and Newborn Care: National Guidelines, which were developed to assist hospitals and other health care agencies in planning, implementing, and evaluating maternal and newborn programs and services. The Guidelines are designed for policy makers, health care providers (e.g. physicians, nurses, midwives), parents, program planners, and administrators.
    
    
12. Statistics show that the maternal mortality ratio for Canada has declined significantly. For the period 1993-1997, there were 4.4 maternal deaths per 100,00 live births, compared to 8.2 deaths per 100,000 live births for the period 1973-1977.
    
    
13. In September 1999, the Policy Research Fund of Status of Women Canada, under the theme "Where Have All the Women Gone? Changing Shifts In Policy Discourses," produced papers such as Mothering Under Duress: Policy Discourses in the Context of Women Abuse, Illicit Substance Use and Mental Illness and Gender Equality Promotion Strategies for Regional Planning, in the Context of Health Reform.
    
    

Children's health

1. Canada develops policies and programs to promote the health of children and their families through the preconception, prenatal, postpartum, and infancy periods. Comprehensive strategies include research, monitoring and surveillance, education, resource development and dissemination, consensus-building, and inter-sectoral collaboration. Through the development of policy statements, professional guidelines, and public awareness campaigns, professionals and the public are provided with information to help address and enhance healthy child development. For example, the decline in the rate of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) in Canada in the mid-1990s coincides with the identification of modifiable risk factors for both parents and children and public education on these factors.
   
   
2. Federal, provincial and territorial governments in Canada work cooperatively to ensure that all Canadian children have the best opportunity to develop to their potential and are healthy emotionally and physically. Information on areas of cooperation, such as the National Child Benefit and the National Children's Agenda, is provided in the Introduction to this report.
   
   
3. Given the importance of health and social investments during the early years of life, the Government of Canada has introduced and enhanced a number of innovative initiatives to help Canadian children develop to their full potential. Federal programs such as the Community Action Program for Children (CAPC), the Aboriginal Head Start Program (AHS), and the Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program (CPNP) recognize the importance of early childhood development, parental involvement and education, cross-sectoral approaches for children's well-being, and partnerships with other governments, non-governmental agencies, and communities. These community-based programs reach over 150,000 Canadian children and parents in over 3,000 communities each year.
   
   
4. The Community Action Program for Children (CAPC) provides long term funding to community groups to establish and deliver services to improve the health and development of children from birth to age six who live in conditions of risk, including children living in low-income families. CAPC projects provide parents with the support, information, and skills they need to raise their children through services such as family resource centres, parent education, home visiting, play groups and community kitchens. Results indicate that CAPC projects are successfully reaching their at-risk target group, as 42 percent of CAPC households have incomes of less than $15,000 and 38 percent of CAPC mothers had not finished high school. For additional details on the Aboriginal Head Start and Canada Prenatal Nutrition Programs, see Article 11.
   
   
5. The Government has developed a National Strategy on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome/Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAS/FAE), issuing a joint statement on the prevention of FAS/FAE in 1996, funding provincial/territorial programs for treatment and rehabilitation through the Alcohol and Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation (ADTR) Program and the Native Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Program (NNADAPP), and announcing in 1999 additional funding for the enhancement of activities related to FAS/FAE.
   
   
6. Through population-based surveys such as the World Health Organization collaborative Health Behaviours in School-Aged Children Study, National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, and monitoring and surveillance activities such as Canadian Perinatal Surveillance Program and the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program, Canada has built an evidence base that can be used for reporting, decision-making, policy and program development.
   
   

Health of seniors

1. The responsibility for policies and programs to address the needs of seniors (65+) is shared between the federal and provincial/territorial levels of government. Each government has appointed a Minister Responsible for Seniors to ensure appropriate representation of seniors' issues in the formulation of government policies.
   
   
2. The Government of Canada works to provide leadership in areas pertaining to aging and seniors through the provision of advice and support to policy development; by conducting and supporting research; and providing information/education to seniors, seniors organizations and people who work with seniors in Canada.
   
   
3. Research co-ordination is facilitated by the Policy Research Initiative, a secretariat attached to the Cabinet office, which has identified population aging as a priority. Among other activities, the secretariat supports periodic meetings of senior researchers working on aging from across the federal government.
   
   
4. A federal government interdepartmental committee on seniors issues was formed in 1994 to facilitate responding to the needs of seniors and an aging population. In 1998, interdepartmental working groups began reviewing potential issues, knowledge gaps and possible actions related to population aging. A diagnostic based on this work and on the findings of researchers from within and outside the government was subsequently presented to senior officials from key departments. The diagnostic will help guide future policy work to respond to aging.
   
   
5. The National Advisory Council on Aging (NACA), created in 1980, continues to assist and advise the Minister of Health on all matters related to the aging of the Canadian population and the quality of life of seniors. Most recently, NACA published 1999 and Beyond: Challenges of an Aging Canadian Society, which examines and provides advice on the challenges population aging presents in a range of areas, including health, the labour force and the financial security of future seniors.
   
   
6. The health and disability-free life expectancy of successive cohorts of seniors has been improving, indicating that further gains in health and reduced burdens on the health care system are achievable through strategic population health and health promotion policy measures.
   
   
7. Because of their health conditions, seniors (65+) make greater use of all health services than younger Canadians, including acute care, drug care, home care and institutional long-term care. This is especially true for older seniors (75+). Improvements in health status, medical technologies and the expansion of home and community care have resulted in some decline in rates and duration of hospital stays and in rates of long-term institutionalization.
   
   
8. The National Forum on Health was launched in 1994 to consult with Canadians and advise government on innovative ways to improve the health of Canadians. The Forum's publications include a volume on seniors' determinants of health. The National Forum on Health has completed its work and has presented its report to the Prime Minister of Canada. As a result, the Forum officially ended its operations in June 1997 (www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/care/health_forum/
   forum_e.htm). Through the Health Transition Fund, several provinces are documenting innovative service models designed to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of health services for an older population in the areas of home care, pharmacare and integrated service delivery.
   
   
9. Recognizing the vulnerability of seniors to preventable injuries, the Government (led by Health Canada and Veterans Affairs) is planning a four-year pilot initiative to fund community-based projects that will design and assess the effectiveness of injury prevention interventions.
   
   
10. "New Horizons: Partners in Aging" was a Health Canada community funding program that provided financial support for innovative demonstration projects involving seniors at the grassroots level, including many projects relevant to senior women. The Seniors' Independence Research Program is an extramural research program designed to strengthen national research with a balanced emphasis on social, economic and health determinants for seniors. This Program has a major focus on dementia (including Alzheimer's Disease) and osteoporosis. These two programs were completed in 1997.
    
    
11. In 1997, Health Canada adopted a population health approach and created National Population Health Fund. This approach promotes prevention and encourages positive action on the determinants that affect the health of the population, or that of specific population groups such as children, youth, mid-life and later life. The Population Health Fund has an annual budget of $14 million and its goal is to increase community capacity for action on the determinants of health.
    
    
12. Government-funded research carried-out by academics, often located in specialized centres focussing on aging issues, also informs the policy-making process. Examples include:
    
    
    • SEDAP (Social and Economic Dimensions of an Aging Population) is an ongoing four-year multi-disciplinary research program, funded in 1999 and involving more than 28 academics from five Canadian universities. The overall purpose of the program is to provide a comprehensive, scholarly investigation of issues related to population aging. An important element is communicating results to the academic research community, policy makers and the public at large,
      
      
    • The longitudinal Canadian Study of Health and Aging (CSHA) which collected data in 1991 and 1996, focussed on the epidemiology of dementia. The study has provided estimates of prevalence, incidence and risk factors for dementia, and the burden it places on family caregivers. The CSHA has also described patterns of disability, frailty and health aging.
      
      

Rural health

1. Health Canada created an Executive Director position for Rural Health in 1998 in response to the federal government's commitment that federal departments and agencies consider the impact on rural Canada when they formulate and implement policies, programs and services for Canadians. An Office of Rural Health will be established later to provide support to a two-year, $11 million contributions program for 2000-2001 and 2000-2002 to fund projects that promote better access to needed services to rural Canadians. Improving access to health care at reasonable cost was recognized among the 11 policy priorities areas for government under the Canadian Rural Partnership Framework. More specifically, the objectives of the funding program will be to promote the integration and accessibility of the full range of health services, including primary care and specialty care; explore ways to address workforce issues, including but not limited to gaps in the supply of health professionals; and explore system reforms to improve the delivery of health services in rural and remote areas. During its mandate, the Office of Rural Health will provide a national perspective on rural health concerns in relation to broad federal, departmental and regional priorities. It will identify and build consensus on current and emerging rural health issues, areas of shared concern as well as potential gaps and opportunities; establish partnerships and/or liaise with major stakeholders to promote, encourage, or influence action on national rural health priorities; and promote the involvement of rural citizens, care providers, and communities in federal decision-making about rural health concerns.
   
   

Community information and involvement

1. The Government makes health information easily available through the Canadian Health Network, which enables all Canadians to have direct access to health information through the Internet (http://www.canadian-health-
   network.ca/).
   
   
2. Through community-based programs, operation of national information clearinghouses, and by developing information, education, and prevention resources, the Government informs the public about issues of concern, promotes healthy lifestyle choices that contribute to long-term health (e.g. good nutrition, active living, non-smoking), promotes parenting skills, and increases parental, public, and professional awareness of healthy child and youth development as well as issues related to ensuring healthy, safe, and supportive environments.
   
   
3. There are also various working groups and consultative mechanisms through which civil society is consulted and involved in health care programming and policy development. Such dialogue is seen as a valuable means of engaging and working cooperatively with Canadians and community-based organisations across the country.
   
   
4. Through the Population Health Fund, Canada supports communities and organizations in defining and developing solutions to community-identified problems, and fosters community change.
   
   

Specific health issues

Injury prevention

1. Canada has in place many activities that address injury prevention through research, surveillance, legislation, and programming. The Government has been a catalyst in the promotion of comprehensive, multi-sectoral action that addresses injury prevention at local, regional, provincial, territorial, and national levels. Canada will continue to strive for a coordinated and comprehensive approach to this major public health problem. A large multi-disciplinary group of stakeholders continues to work towards a national strategy for injury prevention and control in Canada.
   
   

HIV/AIDS

1. The new Canadian Strategy on HIV/AIDS was launched by the Minister of Health in May 1998, committing $42.2 million annually to the fight against HIV/AIDS. The Canadian HIV/AIDS Strategy grew out of extensive consultations with volunteer and community groups, First Nations and Inuit organisations, researchers, the private sector, professional associations, health and social care providers and governments — and most importantly, with individual Canadians living with HIV/AIDS.
   
   
2. The Strategy has ten components: prevention; community development and support to national non-governmental organisations (NGOs); care, treatment and support; research; surveillance; international collaboration; legal, ethical and human rights; Aboriginal health and community development; correctional services; and consultation, evaluation, monitoring and reporting. These components are used to guide and support programming and policy development in response to HIV/AIDS. The international collaboration component focuses on improving the capacity of Canadians to act globally against the HIV/AIDS epidemic; expanding information sharing and knowledge in Canada concerning the global context of HIV/AIDS, and assisting in the coordination of Canadian government and community involvement in the international response to HIV/AIDS. Several important initiatives in the area of sexual orientation have occurred over the last decade beginning with an amendment to the Canadian Human Rights Act in the early 1990s, and culminating in the Reference to the Supreme Court of Canada on the definition of marriage. These initiatives have resulted in Canada being at the forefront of the advanced industrialized states in terms of formal equality rights for gays and lesbians.
   
   

Diabetes

1. The Canadian Diabetes Strategy is a collaborative effort to develop the measures needed to prevent, control and combat diabetes in a coordinated way. The Strategy's purpose is to raise Canadians' awareness of how they can prevent diabetes and its complications; and support improved monitoring of diabetes in the population, with an eye to improving the planning and evaluation of future diabetes reduction strategies.
   
   
2. Throughout 1998, consultations on diabetes were held with First Nations, Métis, Inuit and urban Aboriginal people to determine what would be needed to create a comprehensive Aboriginal Diabetes Strategy. Several working groups were formed, and a national committee created. A report was prepared, which formed the basis of the present Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative (ADI). Work was done to determine the incidence and prevalence of diabetes, mostly in Manitoba, and focussing primarily on First Nations.
   
   
3. In February 1999, the budget announced the creation of a Canadian Diabetes Prevention and Control Strategy, funded at $55 million over three years. However, during the next several months, the strategy evolved to the "Canadian Diabetes Strategy" (CDS), with funding of $115 million over five years. The CDS has four major components: the Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative (ADI), the National Diabetes Surveillance System (NDSS), Prevention and Promotion, and National Coordination. The ADI was granted $58 million over five years (or just over half the funding). The NDSS and National Coordination components also address Aboriginal issues.
   
   
4. The Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative was announced in 1999-2000 as a major component of the Canadian Diabetes Strategy. The $2 million in funding allocated to the program in 1999-2000 was spent on implementation planning. Implementation planning meetings were held in all eight First Nations and Inuit Health Branch regions as well as by National Aboriginal organizations (Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, Métis National Council and the National Aboriginal Diabetes Association). These meetings involved First Nations, Inuit, Métis and urban Aboriginal stakeholders at the community, regional/territorial and national level. In addition, bridge funding was provided to 12 existing diabetes pilot projects which had previously been funded through the National Health and Research Development Program (NHRDP).
   
   

Cardiovascular disease

1. The Canadian Heart Health Initiative (CHHI) was launched in 1986 as a collaborative effort of the federal and provincial governments and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. The CHHI focussed on building capacity in the public health system, delivering heart health interventions at the community level, and developing partnerships. In the long term, the goals of the CHHI were to reduce premature morbidity and mortality from heart diseases, and to reduce the prevalence of modifiable risk factors (e.g. smoking, sedentary lifestyle, high blood pressure), and risk conditions (e.g. social inequities, lack of access to nutritious foods).
   
   
2. The Initiative has completed four phases — policy development, risk factor surveys, demonstration projects, and evaluation — and currently has a dissemination phase in progress. The Canadian Heart Health Dissemination Project (ChhDP) is a five-year research project to advance our understanding of dissemination research and capacity building in order to deliver more effective heart health promotion in Canada. The ChhDP will focus on a synthesis of the learnings from each provincial Dissemination Project of the CHHI with a view toinforming the field of dissemination and capacity research and policy development related to CVD prevention and chronic disease prevention more broadly. The project aims to provide information of value to public health policy makers, while building a foundation for the next generation of research studies that will inform the evolving policy agenda related to chronic disease prevention.
   
   
3. The dissemination phase is being implemented at a time of significant environmental shifts in Canada, particularly in primary care and public health. CHHI continues to evolve both within and parallel to this changing environment. A Situational Analysis of CHHI has been undertaken. The analysis examines and presents possible uses of CHHI assets within the current environment. Learnings from CHHI have already helped to guide the development of an integrated approach to chronic disease and its risk factors. The concept of "heart health" has been expanded to include other chronics diseases such as diabetes and cancer.
   
   
4. The experience with this initiative among others has also led to the creation of the Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance of Canada (CDPAC). The mission of CDPAC is to "foster a countrywide movement towards an integrated population health approach for prevention of chronic diseases through collaborative leadership, advocacy and capacity building." The significant knowledge gleaned through the CHHI experience has contributed greatly to the rapid and growing momentum around this countrywide movement (www.cdpac.ca).
   
   

Breast cancer

1. The Canadian Breast Cancer Initiative (CBCI) was renewed for a second fiveyear phase in 1998 for five years and then ongoing at $7 million per year. The renewed CBCI was the result of extensive consultations with breast cancer partners and stakeholders. It is active in several areas including: prevention and quality screening; surveillance and monitoring; quality approaches to diagnosis, treatment and care; community capacity building; coordination and evaluation; and research. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (previously called the Medical Research Council of Canada) is contributing an additional $10 million from 1998 to 2003 for breast cancer research.
   
   

Cancer control

1. Key cancer stakeholders — the federal government, provincial cancer agencies/programs and non-governmental cancer organizations — began planning the Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control in 1999. Over 800 experts/survivors/care providers/health service administrators began examining key issues and issuing recommendations across the cancer control continuum in the following areas: Prevention, Screening, Diagnosis, Treatment, Supportive Care, Palliative Care, Genetics, Pediatric Cancer, Human Resources, Research, Informatics and Technology. The recommendations has formed the basis for prioritisation for a national cancer control strategy (www.cancercontrol.org) that would involve all sectors of health and health care in Canada.
   
   

Tobacco control

1. Tobacco use is the single largest cause of preventable illness, disability and premature death in Canada. During the period covered by this report, it was estimated that the deaths of about 45,000 Canadians each year were attributable to the use of tobacco products, even though the national average smoking prevalence rate (daily + occasional use, age 15+) had been reduced by about half, from over 50 percent in the mid-1960s to about 25 percent by 1999. Addiction to tobacco was estimated in 1991 to cost Canadian society as a whole about $15 billion annually, including medical costs, foregone income to households and lost productivity. Direct medicare costs attributable to tobacco use were estimated to be about $3.5 billion annually.
   
   
2. Canada has implemented a series of country-wide strategies aimed at reducing tobacco use by reducing demand for tobacco products. Under various names — National Strategy to Reduce Tobacco Use (1986-1993), Tobacco Demand Reduction Strategy (1994-1997), Tobacco Control Initiative, Phase I (1998-1999) and National Tobacco Control Strategy (1999) — Canada has funded (and continues to fund) comprehensive efforts designed to address the tobacco problem. All such strategies have aimed to reduce harm by promoting prevention of the uptake of smoking by youth, cessation from smoking by youth and adults and protection of non-smokers from involuntary exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke. Canada's tobacco control programmes are complemented by a policy of taxation of tobacco products, which aims to discourage tobacco consumption while minimizing contraband.
   
   
3. Canada's tobacco reduction efforts include measures aimed at reaching and engaging with Aboriginal communities. There are higher smoking rates within Aboriginal communities; in some cases, smoking prevalence rates are thought to be about two or three times the national average. There are and unique needs and requirements among Canada's Aboriginal peoples: First Nations, Métis and Inuit. In many Aboriginal communities, commercial tobacco use often overlays a long tradition of ceremonial tobacco use. A strategy, First Nations & Inuit Strategy, is in the developmental stages, and will be launched in 2001, in conjunction with First Nations and Inuit partnership using collaborative, community-based mechanisms.
   
   
4. Canada's tobacco reduction strategies operate within the framework of a federal system and therefore involve commitments to take action on the part of both the federal and provincial/territorial governments. A collaborative mechanism exists in the form of a working or liaison group that reports to the F/P/T Advisory Committee on Population Health (ACPH).
   
   
5. Canada is a strong supporter of the development of The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Canada hosted the first (Halifax, 1997) and second (Vancouver, 1998) WHO preparatory meetings of public health and legal experts on the development of the Convention and provided developmental funding for the initiative during this period.
   
   

Tuberculosis

1. First Nations Inuit Health Branch delivers a $3.8 million tuberculosis program to the First Nations population living on reserve. The program was implemented due to the much higher burden of TB experienced by First Nations population, and it has as its primary goal the elimination of the disease. Funding of Regional programs and program evaluation are national-level responsibilities, while case management and registry, and control of drug supply are regional program responsibilities. This centralized direction supports a decentralized implementation through primary health services at the community level, where early case finding and prevention are the main focus. Communicable disease control in First Nations, on-reserve and Inuit communities is a responsibility of First Nations Inuit Health Branch and its First Nations and Inuit partners. Immunization against vaccine-preventable diseases included in provincial schedules, outbreak management, water quality testing, and preventive education are all activities First Nations Inuit Health Branch engages in routinely. Funding for these activities is decentralized to the Regional and community levels, as part of regular community health programming.
   
   

Prevention and control of influenza

1. Several efforts are underway to prevent and control influenza pandemics in Canada, including:
   
   
   • Stand-by vaccine capacity: Vaccines are the first line of defence. Annual use of vaccines has increased across Canada. Many orders of government rely on annual immunization campaigns as a tool to prepare for pandemic capacity. Other options and strategies such as antiviral drugs are being explored.
     
     
   • Contingency and emergency plans: All orders of government are developing contingency plans that will be integrated and harmonized across the country. The Pan-Canadian Contingency Plan for Pandemic Influenza forms a guide for orders of government to employ; federal emergency plans will be developed and tailored to address pandemic influenza.
     
     
   • Surveillance: Enhanced international surveillance sentinel systems will provide an early warning system enabling Canada time to react; domestic surveillance systems will also be enhanced.
     
     
   • Communications frameworks: Federal communications frameworks, tool kits and Web communication channels will provide a resource to all orders of governments;
     
     
   • Clinical and health services: Guidelines are being developed to address critical aspects of an influenza pandemic;
     
     
   • Simulation Exercise: Health Canada undertakes various simulation exercises/mock emergency programs to test critical elements such as reporting/governance frameworks, communication, emergency and health care/service response in preparation for different health emergencies, including influenza, as well as nuclear, biological and chemical terrorism, nuclear emergencies, etc.
     
     
   • Best practices: On an annual basis, best practices in flu management will be identified and developed, building on recommendations provided by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization.
     
     

Environmental health

1. The physical environment is a crucial health factor. In Canada, environmental quality is generally quite good. However the dangers and problems associated with the physical environment affect some groups more than others.
   
   
2. Health Canada is a partner in the federal Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Action Plans and their corresponding Canada-Ontario and Canada-Québec Agreements coordinating federal and provincial actions to clean up and protect these ecosystems. The health objectives are to assess and reduce population exposures to selected chemical and biological contamination from Great Lakes and St. Lawrence waters. Activities span research, surveillance, assessment, information and health promotion/awareness related to exposure to environmental chemicals such as PCBs in newborn infants, and in fish and wildlife eaters; to health risks associated with consumption of molluscs, shellfish and marine algae; to health risks associated with recreational activities involving contact with water; and with consumption of drinking water. The health programs contribute to regional, national and international policy development related to managing the health risks and controlling the widespread circulation of persistent organic pollutants, metals and other pollutants.
   
   
3. In 1998, a campaign, which is expected to last for five years, against contaminants in the North received an additional amount of $6 million a year. Activities will focus on human health risk assessment, results-based research, a continuous flow of health-related observations to Northern residents and a campaign for international commitments to reduce contaminant use and discharge. This program has established new standards for participants in the area of scientific work conducted by Aboriginal partners, institutions and communities.
   
   

International cooperation

1. CIDA's "Strategy for Health" outlines six objectives for Canada's development cooperation in the field of health: 1) to promote the development of sustainable national health systems; 2) to improve women's health and reproductive health; 3) to improve children's health; 4) to decrease malnutrition and eliminate micronutrient deficiencies; 5) to help prevent and control important and emerging pandemics which cause more than one million deaths per year and for which cost-effective interventions exist; 6) to support efforts to introduce appropriate technologies and special initiatives.
   
   
2. Health Canada's International Affairs Directorate (IAD) initiates, coordinates and monitors the Department's health policies, strategies and activities in the international field. The International Health Division (IHD) of IAD is responsible for policy analysis on international health issues as well as coordinating federal involvement and input into the activities and policies of international organisations such as the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO), World Health Organisation (WHO), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Commonwealth and organisational bodies of the United Nation's such as the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). On these matters, Health Canada works closely with CIDA. CIDA provides funding for these organizations and contributes to development programming through these multilateral programs.
   
   

Article 13: Right to Education

1. As indicated in earlier reports, education falls under provincial jurisdiction in Canada. However the federal government is responsible for the instruction of children living on Indian reserves or Crown lands. As well, the Government of Canada continues its financial support to post-secondary education.
   
   
2. As previously noted, CHST cash and tax transfer help the provinces fund post-secondary education, as well as health care.
   
   

Aboriginal education

1. The Government of Canada continues to transfer the control of schools on reserve to First Nations. In 1998, 466 schools were operated by First Nations, compared with 429 in 1996, and 280 in 1988-1989.
   
   
2. Educational reform is one of the main thrusts of Canada's Aboriginal Action Plan. Canada is making a series of educational reforms to raise the educational levels of Aboriginal students in accordance with general priorities agreed to with theEducation Committee of the Assembly of First Nations. The long-term objective is to strengthen First Nations capacities for managing education, improve school retention and graduation rates, increase job market prospects and improve employability, job opportunities and work force integration for Aboriginal students.
   
   
3. The Education Reform program of the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs was, launched in 1998, provides resources to improve the quality of education and academic achievement in First Nation Schools. In 1998-1999, $10 million was contributed to 200 initiatives in four priority areas: strengthening management and governance capacity, improving the quality of classroom instruction, increasing parental and community involvement in education and aiding the school-to-work transition for First Nations youth.
   
   
4. In the 1998-1999 school year, the number of First Nations students on reserve attending elementary and secondary schools was 110,687. Approximately 80 percent of First Nations school age children are enrolled in grade school, and 60 percent of these students attended band-managed schools on reserve. Of schools reporting on the level of Aboriginal language instruction, 70 percent of the student population received some such instruction, and 6 percent received 76 percent or more of their instruction in their Aboriginal language. ¹²
   
   
5. The First Nations SchoolNet Program of Industry Canada provides multilingual on-line learning resources for Aboriginal people and First Nations cultures' enthusiasts.
   
   
6. The Post-Secondary Student Support Program (PSSSP) continues to apply to all levels of post-secondary education for Status Indian and Inuit students. Between 1988 and 1999, the number of Status Indian and Inuit students pursuing a college or university education increased from 15,572 to more than 27,000. Today, almost 100 percent of all post-secondary funding is administered by First Nations and Inuit organizations who establish their own priorities for the funding. The program offers students support for tuition, travel, and living expenses. The total funds allocated to this programme increased from $147.2 million in 1989-1990 to $261.3 million in 1995-1996 and $282 million in 1998-1999.
   
   

Financial assistance for students in higher education

1. In 1998, the Government of Canada introduced the Canadian Opportunities Strategy, a coordinated set of measures to expand access for Canadians to higher education through programs such as the Canada Student Loans Program (CSLP), the Canada Study Grants, the Canada Millennium Scholarships initiative, and the Canada Education Savings Grant Program (CESG).
   
   
2. Canada's Student Loans Program is administered by the Department of Human Resources and Development Canada (HRDC). The purpose of CSLP is twofold. First, to assist Canadians with demonstrated financial need to access and pursuepost-secondary education in universities, community colleges and private vocational schools. Second, to reduce geographic, socio-economic and other constraints on participation in post-secondary education. Since its inception in 1964, the CSLP has helped over 3.4 million full-time students to pursue post-secondary education with more than $15 billion in subsidized loans.
   
   
3. The CSLP supplements the student's own resources from employment, academic awards and family contributions. The program is delivered in partnership with participating provinces, which are responsible for assessing a student's financial needs, determining eligibility, issuing loan certificates and designating eligible institutions. Québec, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut do not participate in the CSLP and receive compensation to operate their own student financial assistance plan.
   
   
4. The CSLP is a statutory needs-based program, meaning funds are driven by demand and not a limited budget. Assistance is provided to eligible students regardless of discipline of studies. The number of full-time and part-time students assisted has risen from about 270,000 in 1991-1992 to about 354,000 in 1997-1998, a 30 percent increase. Consequently, over the same period, the value of loan assistance has risen from $800 million to over $1.6 billion a year, an increase of 100 percent.
   
   
5. CSLP provides a loan of up to 60 percent of a student's assessed need up to a weekly limit of $165; provinces decide how and to what extent they will meet the remainder of the assessed need. To determine a student's assessed need for the full-time loans program, the following factors are considered: student category (dependent, independent, married, single parent); costs (education and living); resources available to student from spouse, parents and own earnings. After the borrower leaves full-time studies, interest on the loan begins to accrue. The student must begin repayment on the interest and principal in the seventh month after leaving school.
   
   
6. Since 1998, to help borrowers repay their loan, students are allowed to claim a 17 percent federal tax credit on the interest portion of the amount paid on their loan in the current year.
   
   
7. Borrowers who experience difficulty in repaying, due to low income, may apply for up to 30 months of Interest Relief anytime during the lifetime of the loan. This allows for the deferral of payments while the federal government pays the interest to the lender. Students who exhaust 30 months of interest relief will be asked to extend the repayment period of their loans from 10 to 15 years, thus reducing the monthly payment. If this reduction is still not sufficient to allow them to repay their loans in good order, Interest Relief could be extended to 54 months during the five years after their leaving school. Borrowers who are still experiencing financial difficulties after five years may apply to have their loan principal reduced through the Debt Reduction in Repayment; the maximum amount of reduction is $10,000 or 50 percent of the loan, whichever is less.
   
   
8. The Part-time Loans Program is based on the assumption that most part-time students are working and have their living costs covered. Assistance is therefore provided to help students cover education costs only. Interest accrues from the date of negotiation and interest payment starts after 30 days. The maximum part-time loan a student may have outstanding at any given time is $4,000.
   
   
9. The federal government offers non-repayable assistance in the form of Canada Study Grants to students with disabilities (grant maximum of $5,000 per loan year), high-need part-time students (grant maximum of $1,200 per loan year), female doctoral students enrolled in certain PhD programs (grant maximum of $3,000 per loan year for up to three years) and students with dependants (grant maximum of $3,120 per loan year).
   
   
10. As a key part of the strategy, the Government of Canada established the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation in June 1998, as an independent body to manage a $2.5 billion endowment from the Government of Canada and award some 100,000 Canada Millennium Scholarships annually to post-secondary students across Canada. This initiative aims to help Canadians gain access to post-secondary education and participate in today's knowledge-based economy.
    
    
11. The Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG) provides an incentive for individuals to save in Registered Education Savings Plans (RESP). For the first $2,000 saved each year in an RESP for Canadian children aged 0-17, an additional 20 percent (up to a maximum of $400 per year) will be contributed by the CESG. The aim is to encourage families to prepare their children from an early age for the financial, social, and academic aspects of post-secondary education. Since the inception of the program, the number of RESP contracts has more than doubled and the number of beneficiaries has been increasing steadily. By March 2000, 15 percent of Canadian children were beneficiaries of an RESP and 1.1 million beneficiaries were receiving grants. Savings in RESPs increased from $2.4 billion in 1997 to $6 billion by the end of 1999, a 150 percent increase in assets. CESG is delivered in co-operation with the financial services industry and several Government of Canada departments.
    
    

Measures to promote education and literacy

1. Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) is supporting a number of key post-secondary initiatives of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC). In particular, the Accessibility and Research initiative, builds on The Public Expectations of Post-Secondary Education Project (initiated in 1998). Through the Accessibility and Research Project, the CMEC is working with all jurisdictions and key stakeholders to review barriers to accessibility of post-secondary education and identify ways of enhancing access to post-secondary education.
   
   
2. CanLearn Interactive Products Group (CIPG) was launched in October 1999. It was created through a broad-based partnership of all provincial/territorial governments, 25 national learning stakeholder organizations and several private sector corporations. Through the CanLearn Interactive Web site, CIPG offers a one-stop Internet-based resource for learning information to support informed decision making and life-long learning by Canadians (http://www.canlearn.ca/). The site promotes informed decision making by Canadians in the selection and financing of learning opportunities. Individuals are provided with online access to interactive planning tools to help them explore career possibilities, identify learning requirements, develop learning strategies and create financial plans to achieve their learning goals.
   
   
3. HRDC's Office of Learning Technologies (OLT) is working with partners such as learning institutions, community organizations, business, labour, not-for-profit associations and governments to expand innovative learning opportunities through the use of technology. It supports the research, development and demonstration of learning technologies. OLT's budget is increasing from $6 million per year in 1997-1998 to reach over $18 million per year starting in 2001-2002.
   
   
4. The OLT has established funding programs in three key areas:
   
   
   • New Practice in Learning Technologies (NPLT) — The NPLT funds projects that contribute to the understanding, development and awareness of new effective practices in using technologies with adult learners, particularly with those who traditionally face barriers to learning.
   • Community Learning Networks (CLN) — In partnership with community organizations, CLN supports pilot projects that develop new models or enhance existing exemplary models to promote and increase access to learning opportunities within and across communities through the use of technologies.
   • Learning Technologies in the Workplace (LTW) — The LTW funds projects that expand opportunities for learning and skills development in the workplace through the implementation of technology-enabled learning solutions for workers.
     
     
5. Given the nature, complexity and rapid evolution in fields related to learning technologies, the OLT must continually strive to remain current on emerging trends, issues and challenges facing adult learners. OLT works with an Advisory Network of Experts, consisting of some 70 members from the academic community, private sector, public sector, and non-government organizations. ThisNetwork of Experts provides information and advice on a broad range of issues related to learning technologies. The OLT is developing a new funding program that will support research in areas related to OLT's three key initiatives. OLT also facilitates the sharing of knowledge and information about learning technologies through its Web site (http://olt-bta.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/).
   
   
6. The Learning Initiatives Program (formerly the Learning Initiatives Fund) was established in 1994 to support key pan-Canadian lifelong learning initiatives while encouraging partnerships between the learning community, governments and the private sector. Its objective is to support HRDC's interest in promoting a lifelong learning culture in Canada and more specifically, to encourage and support partnership initiatives that will contribute to the development of a more results-oriented, accessible, relevant and accountable learning system. This includes supporting initiatives that enhance research and analysis, increase academic mobility (both national and international), and promote learning information dissemination.
   
   
7. In 1997-1998, the budget for the National Literacy Secretariat (NLS) increased by 31 percent to $29.3 million. The increase was earmarked for family and workplace literacy projects as well as research. Since then, the NLS has encouraged a number of provinces to focus their efforts on family literacy initiatives.
   
   
8. The NLS has relied on the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) findings and proposed areas for further study to identify and develop projects with its partners. Based on a survey which was conducted in 1994, in the summer 2000, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and Statistics Canada released the final report of the International Adult Literacy Survey, Literacy in the Information Age. The report compares the literacy skills in 20 countries: Australia, Belgium (Flanders), Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Some of the key findings are:
   
   
   • On the prose literacy scale, Canada ranked fifth among the 20 countries surveyed, behind Sweden, Finland, Norway and the Netherlands;
   • On the document and quantitative literacy scales, Canada ranked eighth and ninth respectively;
   • Canada consistently outranked the United Sates, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand on all three literacy scales;
   • Canada was second only to Sweden in terms of the proportion of adults aged 16 to 65 at the very highest literacy levels.
   • Among Canadian participants there was a large range between very high and very low scores on the prose literacy scale. IALS showed that the discrepancy between people with low and high literacy skills was far larger in Canada than in European countries such as Denmark, Norway, Germany, Finland and Sweden.

Mother-tongue instruction

Official languages

1. Linguistic duality is a vital element in the maintenance of Canadian diversity and search for excellence. To energize this linguistic duality and in compliance with section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Government of Canada intends to provide young Canadians in minority language situations (English in Québec and French elsewhere in the country) an education of comparable quality to that available to the majority and expand access to Francophone post-secondary education in all regions of the country.
   
   
2. In March 1998, the federal government announced additional support to official language teaching of $684 million over five years. This funding increase enabled the Department of Canadian Heritage (PCH) to substantially augment the amounts paid to the provinces and territories for education in the minority language and the teaching of French and English as second languages. At the same time, the implementation of special measures for investment in education helped to consolidate expertise in school management and the network of post-secondary institutions. In this context, a federal contribution of $90 million over five years was granted to the Ontario government in June 1998 to upgrade French-language school management in that province.
   
   
3. In January 1999, the Government of Canada announced the creation of the Centre national de formation en santé (CNFS), a French-language national health training centre. The project's management was handed to the University of Ottawa and the Centre is working in partnership with health institutions across the country and with post-secondary institutions serving minority Francophone communities in various parts of Canada. The CNFS intends to provide members of minority French-speaking communities across Canada with increased access to post-secondary programs leading to health-related occupations.
   
   
4. Also in 1999, PCH made a $3.5-million grant to the Regroupement des universités de la francophonie hors Québec to implement the Réseau national d'enseignement universitaire en français that gives thousands of Francophone students from across Canada access to the best resources in French in their various fields of study without having to leave their own regions.
   
   
5. PCH also ensures the promotion of second language instruction. The steady increase in levels of bilingualism among youth proves the effectiveness of this activity. Statistics Canada's 1996 census data revealed:
   
   
   • an increase in the level of bilingualism in each province and territory except for Saskatchewan, where the percentage remained stable.
   • 17 percent of Canadians (5 million) speak both official languages compared to slightly over 16 percent in 1991 and 13 percent in 1971.
   • 24.4 percent of young Canadians aged 15 to 19 are bilingual (this is the most bilingual generation in Canadian history).
     
     
6. As a result of the federal government's financial assistance to provincial and territorial governments for the teaching of French or English as a second language, more than 2.7 million young Canadians are learning their second official language, over 300,000 of them in immersion classes. The budget increases announced in March 1999 will make it possible to increase the number of students enrolled in these programs and strengthen the networks of parents and agencies working to promote second language instruction.
   
   
7. In 1997-1998, PCH announced a five-year renewal of the Summer Language Bursary Program and the Official Language Monitor Program. Over 7,000 post-secondary students enter these programs every year. The first one enables young people to take immersion French or English courses in the summertime. The second offers students full-time or part-time employment in their mother tongue to help English or French second language teachers with their work.
   
   

Aboriginal languages

1. There are more than 50 Aboriginal languages in Canada, most of them threatened with disappearance or extinction. The Government of Canada wants these languages preserved, protected and taught to current and future generations: to this end it granted $20 million in 1998 to the Aboriginal Languages Initiative of PCH. Aboriginal organizations take on the program management and delivery. This program complements the current Aboriginal language teaching programs in schools by placing the emphasis on Aboriginal language instruction in communities. Funding was also provided in support of Aboriginal languages through the Canada/Northwest Territories cooperation Agreement for French and Aboriginal Languages, and the Canada/Yukon Cooperation and Funding Agreement on the Development and Enhancement of Aboriginal Languages.
   
   

Other initiatives

1. While the education of children is under provincial jurisdiction, and as such, Citizenship and Immigration Canada's language training is delivered solely to adult immigrants, CIC nevertheless has taken measures to address the needs of children. The Host Program has been matching Canadian families with newcomer families since it 1986 to mitigate the isolation and emotional burden of moving to a new country, and to assist in creating more welcoming communities for newcomers to Canada. Since 1991, the Host Program has experimented with various youth models across the country. Through peer matching or buddy programs, immigrant and refugee youth are able to practice French or English, obtain assistance with their schoolwork and learn about Canadian culture through games and play with Canadian children. In 1998, Ontario Region introduced the Settlement Workers in Schools Program, as a result of province-wide consultations on newcomer settlement needs. The Program works in partnership with municipal school boards to assist newcomer students and their families within the school system.
   
   
2. Canada recognizes that teachers play a key role in preparing youth for the challenges of a changing society and knowledge-based economy. Launched in 1993, the Prime Minister's Awards for Teaching Excellence honour exceptional elementary and secondary school teachers in all disciplines based on their ability to achieve outstanding results with students, to inspire them to learn and continue learning, and to equip them with the knowledge, attitudes and abilities they will need to succeed in the future. Award recipients' best teaching practices are promoted and shared with other educators. The program is administered with advice and support from most major education stakeholders in Canada and with funding from corporate partners.
   
   

International cooperation

1. CIDA's Draft Basic Education Action Plan recognizes education as a human right that all people possess, regardless of gender, race, age, socio-economic status, disability or geographic location. The Action Plan promotes education as a critical tool for poverty reduction, and as an indispensable means for effective participation in the societies and economies of the twenty-first century. CIDA's spending on education was $41 million in 1999-2000.
   
   
2. Canada continues to participate actively in the Program for North American Mobility in Higher Education and the Canada-European Community Program for Co-operation in Higher Education and Training. Established in 1995, these programs support international mobility opportunities for Canadian students. The key objective is the development of knowledge, skills, and competencies to ensure successful participation of young Canadians in the global economy.
   
   
3. Student mobility is arranged via sustainable multilateral partnerships of universities and colleges which ensure tuition fee waiver and credit transfer. Participating higher education institutions also collaborate on the innovative use of new educational technologies to develop joint courses, teaching materials and strategies for the benefit of 'non-mobile' students who are unable to study abroad.
   
   
4. Projects span a diverse range of subject areas in higher education, including business, engineering, environment, agriculture, health, law and science, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. To date, more than 60 Canadian post-secondary institutions are participating in projects under these programs, providing opportunities for approximately 400 Canadian students to undertake international placements in other countries each year.
   
   

Article 15: Right to Participate in Cultural Life and Benefit from Scientific Progress and the Protection of Authors' Rights

1. Canada's artistic and cultural sector produces a wide range of goods and services in all the country's territories and provinces. The Canadian cultural sector consists mainly of small and medium-sized enterprises and includes entrepreneurs who are women, Aboriginal people or youth. The artistic and cultural content expresses Canadian identity, values and diversity.
   
   
2. During the 1998-1999 fiscal year, all orders of government in Canada together spent about $6 billion on culture. Of this, the federal government contributed $2.8 billion, provincial and territorial governments $1.8 billion and municipal councils $1.3 billion.
   
   
3. Broadcasting absorbs more than half of all federal spending on culture. The federal government has devoted an additional $392 million to heritage treasures.In 1998-1999, the provinces spent $694 million for libraries, and municipalities spent $1.08 billion.
   
   
4. The Department of Canadian Heritage continues as the federal department responsible for promoting culture and cultural identity.
   
   

Linguistic minorities

1. The Department of Canadian Heritage (PCH) has a series of programs that help people to discover and appreciate Canada's linguistic duality. These programs encourage exchanges between Francophone and Anglophone Canadians and promote the economic, social and cultural benefits of this duality.
   
   
2. Through Canada-community agreements with each of the provincial and territorial official language communities and with national Francophone agencies, the Department helps to fund the activities of more than 350 community lobbying, service, animation and educational agencies. The annual injection of $10 million into the program budget announced in 1999 brought its annual funding to the unprecedented level of nearly $32 million. This budget increase made it possible to conclude a new series of Canada-community agreements, support cross-Canada projects with long-term impacts on community development and introduce new initiatives and ranges of economic, social and cultural activities. Examples are the inauguration of the first satellite network of Francophone community radio stations in Canada, and the Multipartite Cooperation Agreement on the Artistic and Cultural Development of Canada's Francophone and Acadian communities.
   
   
3. Moreover, PCH, in conjunction with other federal departments, ensures the implementation of sections 41 and 42 of the Official Languages Act. This initiative includes building awareness in departments of community needs, mainly in terms of cultural, human resources and economic development, community consultation, the preparation of an action plan for federal institutions and submission of an annual report to the Canadian Parliament. This co-ordinator role leads to the introduction of major economic, cultural and human resources development projects in minority official language communities across the country.
   
   
4. As part of the general increase in official languages support programs announced in 1999, the Department is committed to giving new impetus to the government's obligation to minority official language communities by setting up the Interdepartmental Partnership with the Official Language Communities. This new initiative was launched to establish lasting partnerships and strengthen existing ones between minority official language communities and federal agencies.
   
   
5. The agreements on the promotion of official languages reached with provinces and territories authorize the introduction or improved delivery of provincial and territorial services in the minority official language. These services may involve the administration of justice, health and social services or economic and community development. In March 1999, a $4-million increase was announced in the annual budget of these agreements for a new total of $13.4 million. This increased funding will make it possible to expand the range of services provided by provinces and territories and help to conclude an initial agreement with Nunavut.
   
   
6. PCH promotes the significance of linguistic duality as indissociable from the Canadian experience, not only as a source of vitality but also as an asset for Canada's economic, cultural and social development internationally.
   
   
7. As the result of a study published by Canada's Commissioner of Official Languages in August 1999 containing a series of recommendations for improving the status of French on the Internet, the Government of Canada made a commitment to the "creation and distribution of Canadian content in both official languages to benefit the entire Canadian population [as] a primary objective."
   
   
8. Francommunautés virtuelles is a federal program created by Industry Canada (http://francommunautes.ic.gc.ca/). The program is designed to help Canada's Francophone and Acadian communities take full advantage of information and communications technologies. The objectives of the program are to increase content, applications and services in French on the Internet and to promote networking among Francophone and Acadian communities throughout Canada. Since 1998, French-speaking and Acadian communities in all parts of Canada have initiated 74 projects creating new networks, enhancing information technology skills among their members, and contributing to the growing body of on-line content in French.
   
   

Aboriginal people

1. The Cultural/Educational Centres Program provides financial assistance to First Nations and other Aboriginal organizations to preserve, develop and promote Aboriginal culture and heritage. In partnership with the National Association of Cultural Education Centres, the program supports more than 110 centres across Canada, and helps enable First Nations and Inuit people pursue objectives such as: to revive and develop traditional and contemporary cultural skills of Aboriginal people; to conduct and/or facilitate research in Aboriginal heritage and culture; to increase Aboriginal peoples' knowledge and use of their traditional languages; and, to promote cross-cultural awareness in mainstream educational programs and institutions.
   
   
2. The Aboriginal Digital Collections is a unique pilot program by Industry Canada which helps Aboriginal Canadians to preserve, celebrate and communicate their heritage, languages and contemporary life by developing and accessing materials over the Information Highway (http://collections.ic.gc.ca/e/adc.asp). The program has paid Aboriginal youth to create Web sites featuring significant Canadian Aboriginal material. The material can range from information on Aboriginal businesses and entrepreneurship to traditional knowledge and contemporary issues, such as the preservation of Aboriginal languages.
   
   
3. For the first time, a widely available television network was launched on September 1, 1999, to give First Nations, Inuit and Métis people in Canada the opportunity to share their stories and culture. The Aboriginal Peoples Television Network is a national television network dedicated to Aboriginal programming which offers Canadians a window into the diverse worlds of Indigenous peoples in Canada and throughout the world.
   
   
4. The Northern Native Broadcast Access Program from Canadian Heritage, provided funding to 13 Aboriginal communications societies for the production and distribution of both radio and television programming for Aboriginal audiences.
   
   
5. Canada has supported a number of partnerships and special activities that highlight the objectives of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People. The National Aboriginal Achievement Awards, established in 1994, each year highlight and honour Aboriginal men and women in Canada for their outstanding achievements in fields such as business, sports, arts, the environment, health, and public service. In 1996, the Canadian government designated June 21^st as National Aboriginal Day so that all Canadians may share and experience the cultures of Indians, Inuit, and Métis in Canada. Funding provided to organizations and communication societies under the Aboriginal People's Program of PCH facilitate their involvement in the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People.
   
   

Multiculturalism

1. The Canadian Race Relations Foundation was created by an Act of Parliament on October 28, 1996. The Foundation, established to foster racial harmony and cross-cultural understanding and help to eliminate racism, officially opened its doors in November 1997. The federal government provided the Foundation with a $24 million endowment fund. It's annual operating budget comes from the income generated by investing the endowment fund as well as donations.
   
   
2. In 1997, the renewed Multiculturalism Program was announced. Canada's approach to diversity has evolved over the years and is embedded within a broad framework of civil, political, social, language and minority rights both nationally and internationally. The Multiculturalism Program continues to support, among other things, initiatives that facilitate the full and active participation of ethnic, racial, religious and cultural communities in Canadian Society.
   
   
3. The Metropolis Project is a major international interdisciplinary policy-research initiative designed to forge robust knowledge partnerships among researchers, policy-makers and communities to ensure that public policy in the area of diversity is forged on the basis of sound academic research.
   
   
4. This project has fostered cross-government dialogue on a vast array of issues emerging from an increasingly diverse population. The result has been a dramatic increase in nationally and internationally comparative research on best practices and issues arising from diversity. This, in turn, has led to an increasing awareness among policy-makers, researchers, and community organizations that to revise, create and implement the best public policies requires partnership that extends to each level of the research endeavour.
   
   

Role of the media

1. The Broadcasting Act largely promotes cultural rights by requiring, among other things, that the Canadian broadcasting system encourage the development of Canadian expression and reflect the diversity of the Canadian population.
   
   
2. On June 8, 1998, in response to phenomenal personal computer and Internet access penetration growth among the Canadian population and a proliferation of companies involved in new media (or multimedia) in Canada, the Department of Canadian Heritage announced the creation of the Multimedia Fund. The Multimedia Fund, administered by Telefilm Canada, will receive $30-million over five years in order to bring together high technology and the creative endeavour. Specifically, the Multimedia Fund supports small- and medium-sized new media companies in the development, production and marketing of high-quality, original, interactive Canadian multimedia works in both English and French intended for the general public. The Fund provides citizens with greater access to Canadian cultural multimedia products, and assists in the growth and development of a Canadian multimedia production and distribution industry that is competitive in national and international markets.
   
   
3. Canada's Digital Collections showcases over 400 Web sites celebrating Canada's history, geography, science, technology and culture (http://collections.ic.gc.ca/). It also features a growing set of on-line educational resources, such as curriculum units, classroom activities, quizzes and games. One of the largest sources of Canadian material on the Internet, Canada's Digital Collections has employed more than 2,700 young Canadians to date, under contract to Industry Canada. The program is funded by the federal Youth Employment Strategy.
   
   
4. Given the importance of television as a cultural medium, in 1996, the Department of Canadian Heritage and Telefilm Canada partnered with private industry to create the Canadian Television Fund to maintain and increase the amount of high quality, distinctively Canadian programming for Canadian audiences. The Fund effectively promotes Canadian culture by encouraging productions in the essential areas of drama, variety, children's shows, documentaries and performing arts in English, French and Aboriginal languages.
   
   
5. The new Canadian Television Policy Framework, released in June 1999, is a key document which outlines the obligations of broadcasters. It includes rules on ownership, Canadian content, priority programming, local and regional news coverage, advertising limits, social issues and cultural diversity. Guided by the policy framework, the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) expects all television broadcasters, as a condition of their licence, to state their specific commitments to accurately reflect the presence of cultural and ethnic minorities and Aboriginal people in the communities they serve. Furthermore, licensees are expected to ensure that the on-screen portrayal of all minority groups is accurate, fair and non-stereotypical.
   
   
6. The Government places a high priority on protecting the unique Canadian voice and identity by helping Canadian writers, publishers, magazine, and booksellers to thrive in the global economy and digital age. Among the programs in place is the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP) which contributes $31 million annually to ensure the creation, publication, and distribution of Canadian-authored books, both domestically and internationally by supporting a viable Canadian-owned industry. Among the ongoing successes of the BPIDP is its key role in supporting works by important Aboriginal Canadians through its support of Native-run publishers.
   
   
7. The Canada Magazine Fund was created in 1999 as the key public policy instrument to support the Canadian magazine industry in a changing competitive environment. This program invests $50 million in the Canadian magazine industry each year to offset the cost of producing original Canadian editorial content, to support projects aimed at the business development of small magazines and projects designed to strengthen the infrastructure of the industry as a whole. The Publications Assistance Program offsets the costs of distribution by subsidizing eligible magazines' mailing costs, thus lowering the cost of reaching Canadian readers. These programs create a balanced approach by strengthening the Canadian magazine industry while respecting Canada's international obligations, therefore employing a combination of regulation and appropriate financial assistance.
   
   
8. In 1997, following the recommendations of a task force on the future of the Canadian sound recording industry, funding to the Sound Recording Development Program (SRDP) was increased by $15 million over three years. The SRDP supports Canadian artists, companies and not-for-profit organizations involved in the sound recording industry, with components that provide funding for mainstream and specialized music recordings, artist tours and showcases, business development initiatives and research to support government policy.
   
   
9. Following its review of private radio policy framework in 1997, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) increased its minimum requirements for airplay of "Canadian content" musical selections from 30 percent to 35 percent for most mainstream radio formats effective January 1, 1999. This gives further support to emerging and established Canadian artists. Also, as part of the new framework, provisions were made to ensure that Canadian musical talent continued to benefit even while greater consolidation in the market place was permitted. Thus, 6 percent of the value of a transaction where ownership of a radio station changed hands is required to support Canadian talent development initiatives.
   
   
10. The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) produces and distributes films and other audiovisual works which reflect Canada to Canadians and the rest of the world. Its collection of more than 10,000 films includes a large number of films made for or about children.
    
    
11. Telefilm Canada provides the film, television and multimedia industries with the financial support to producing high-quality works that reflect Canadian society.
    
    
12. Recognizing that cultural expression is closely bound to a country's identity, that feature film is one of the richest forms of art and that it is an influential and vibrant medium, the Government of Canada launched a full review of its intervention in this area in February 1998. Despite the success Canadian filmmakers have achieved over the last 30 years, they still face formidable odds in bringing their works to local movie audiences. Involving a comprehensive consultation process with all interested stakeholders, the review was designed to help set a course towards a future where more Canadians have access to Canadian films playing in their local cinemas — films that reflect their own locales, their own stories and their own culture.
    
    

Preservation and presentation of cultural heritage

1. In 1999, the Museums Assistance Program (MAP), which fosters access and understanding of Canadians to their cultural, natural, artistic and scientific heritage, saw its funding go from $7.2 million to $9.2 million. MAP's priorities are projects that convey Canadian history and highlight interprovincial perspectives; promote and support the development of Aboriginal museums; and support and promote exchanges and dialogue between Canadian museum organizations and sector professionals.
   
   
2. The Canada Travelling Exhibitions Indemnification Program was created in 1999 as part of the Department of Canadian Heritage. By creating this program, the Government of Canada absorbs costs arising from loss or damage to objects and accessories in an eligible travelling exhibition. The indemnification program has two objectives: to give Canadians greater access to Canadian and world heritage by means of exchanges of objects and exhibitions in Canada and to provide a competitive edge to Canadian museums, libraries and archives when they are up against foreign institutions for loans of prestigious international shows.
   
   
3. In 1997, the Canadian Museum of Nature, a Crown corporation, inaugurated the Natural Heritage Building (NHB) as its scientific and administrative headquarters. Embodying the latest high-technology building techniques, the NHB is specially designed to meet the security and conservation standards needed to safeguard Canadian natural history collections. The mission of the Canadian Museum of Nature is to bring the public to take more interest in the natural environment so that nature becomes better known, respected and appreciated.
   
   
4. In 1997, the Government of Canada inaugurated the new National Archives of Canada building. Its Preservation Centre contains the documentary heritage of Canadians. The building includes laboratories and storage rooms with public and private archival records of all kinds: paper and electronic records, maps, architectural drawings, photographs, films, philatelic records, documentary art and so on. The National Archives helps to preserve and safeguard Canadians' heritage.
   
   

Protection of artistic creation and production and intellectual property rights

1. Intellectual property issues have become important to First Nations seeking to protect traditional knowledge. Canada has worked in partnership with Aboriginal organizations to further the discussion of issues related to intellectual property. In 1999, the Government of Canada published Intellectual Property and Aboriginal People: A Working Paper. This paper outlines intellectual property issues from an Aboriginal perspective, and its contents are presented as a guide for Aboriginal people and communities and as a basis for discussion of issues relating to intellectual property and traditional knowledge.
   
   
2. In April 1997, Canada concluded a reciprocal bilateral agreement with the United States which provides for mutual assistance in the investigation of cases of illegally exported archaeological and Aboriginal cultural property, and in the return of any such property to its country of origin. This furthers the protection provided to cultural property in both countries as signatories to the 1970 UNESCO Convention on illicit traffic in cultural property, and protects that property in the interests of citizens of Canada and the United States.
   
   
3. In November 1997, the Government of Canada returned three groups of illegally exported cultural property to its countries of origin: Peru, Mexico and Colombia, as part of its treaty obligations under the 1970 UNESCO Convention. The Convention, implemented in Canada through the Cultural Property Export and Import Act, is a major instrument in the fight against illicit traffic, and ultimately contributes to the protection of cultural diversity and national patrimony in signatory states.
   
   
4. In March 1999, Canada acceded to the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. Canada also, at the time, participated in a Diplomatic Conference which sought to improve the Convention (and resulted in a new Protocol to it) in ways that among other things, recognizes the increased threat to cultural property seen in recent conflicts of an ethnically based, non-international nature, in which cultural property has become a deliberate target in the violation of cultural rights.
   
   
5. Each year, the Government of Canada, through the Income Tax Act and the Cultural Property Export and Import Act, provides for exemptions from the payment of capital gains tax for cultural property certified by the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board, when sold or donated by individuals to designated institutions or public authorities in Canada. Gifts of certified cultural property to designated institutions and public authorities are also eligible for a tax credit to offset the tax on up to 100 percent of net income. The value of certified cultural property donated or sold to Canadian public institutions under these tax incentives totals over 100 million dollars annually.
   
   
6. One of the most important provisions of the Cultural Property Export and Import Act concerns the availability of grants and loans to help designated institutions acquire objects that have been refused export licences as well as objects of Canadian heritage interest currently in other countries. Under this provision, the Government of Canada pays out around $1 million in grants and loans a year.
   
   
7. Contribution to the domestic capacity goals of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights were realized through amendments to the Canadian Copyright Act, which were completed in 1997. Accomplishments directly related to the adoption of the amendments were wide in scope. They:
   
   
   • provided new remuneration rights to producers and performers of sound recordings when their sound recordings are broadcast or publicly performed by radio stations and in public places;
   • created a compensation system for private copying, in the form of a levy on blank audio tapes, benefiting eligible composers, lyricists, performers and producers of sound recordings for the unauthorized making of recordings;
   • provided exclusive book distributors with legal protection in the Canadian market market;
   • created a number of new exceptions to non-profit educational institutions, libraries, archives, museums, broadcasters and persons with perceptual disabilities allowing them to reproduce copyright material in specific circumstances without paying royalties or obtaining authorization from rights holders;
   • enacted statutory damages and wide injunctions to enhance the enforcement of copyright, and modernized the language in the Copyright Act;
   • enabled Canada to accede to the Rome Convention and the most recent version of the Berne Convention.
     
     
8. As a member of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), in December 1997, Canada signed the two treaties that were adopted at the WIPO Diplomatic Conference on Certain Copyright and Neighboring Rights Questions in Geneva, December 2 to 20, 1996: the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances And Phonograms Treaty. And, in 1998 Canada undertook research and consultations on legislative amendments that would be required to ratify these treaties.
   
   

International cooperation

1. Since 1994, the International Exhibitions Program of the Department of Canadian Heritage has made it possible to offer more than 20 foreign exhibitions in nearly 100 Canadian museums and art galleries, helping Canadians to gain a better knowledge of world cultural heritage.
   
   
2. The International Affairs Branch of Canadian Heritage has been working at several levels to preserve and promote the rights of all Canadians to participate in the cultural life of their country. Through participation in international expositions, advancing the linguistic and cultural rights of french speaking Canadians through participation in La Francophonie, as well as through advancing cultural rights through bilateral and multilateral cooperation, International Affairs Branch has been contributing to meet Canada's obligations under the Covenant.
   
   
3. Through the establishment of the International Network on Cultural Policy in 1998 and as host of the international secretariat for the organization, Canada has contributed to a global dialogue on how to preserve and promote various forms of cultural expression in a context that respects all fundamental human rights and freedoms. Canada has actively advocated and examined these issues at various fora. This includes leading a hemispheric dialogue on culture and cultural diversity at the Summit of the Americas in Québec City in April 2001. Ensuring effective international dialogue on cultural rights is an important strategy in sharing of promising practices that contribute to universal enjoyment of cultural rights.
   
   

Right to benefit from scientific progress and its applications

Institutional infrastructure

1. In 1996, the National Advisory Board on Science and Technology was replaced by the Advisory Council on Science and Technology (ACST) to advise the Prime Minister and Cabinet on critical science, technology and innovation issues. Since this time they have produced the following reports:
   
   
   • "Public Investments in University Research: Reaping the Benefits; Report of the Expert Panel on the Commercialization of University Research," ACST, May 1999
   • "Stepping Up; Skills and Opportunities in the Knowledge Economy," ACST, October 1999
   • "Reaching Out; Canada, International Science and Technology, and the Knowledge-based Economy," ACST, June 2000
   • "Creating a Sustainable University Research Environment in Canada; The Role of the Indirect Costs of Federally Sponsored Research," ACST, September 2000
     
     
2. In 1996, the government issued a federal strategy for science and technology, Science and Technology for the New Century, that set out the goals for the federal investment and principles to assist departments in working toward those goals. A key theme of the Strategy was the federal role in building the Canadian innovation system. Science and Technology for the New Century called for a greater reliance on external advice which resulted in the creation of the Council of Science and Technology Advisors (CSTA ) in 1998. The CSTA provides the Canadian Cabinet, with external expert advice on internal federal government science and technology issues requiring strategic attention. The CSTA is chaired by the Secretary of State for Science, Research and Development.
   
   
3. In April 1998, the CSTA held its inaugural meeting and established two sub-committees to undertake the tasks requested by the Canadian Cabinet. The CSTA released its report Science Advice for Government Effectiveness (SAGE), in May 1999. The report recommended a set of principles and guidelines for the effective use of science advice in decision-making.
   
   
4. The CSTA has produced a number of additional reports that fall outside this reporting period. Reports of the CSTA , as well as supporting documents, can be found on the CSTA Web site (http://csta-cest.gc.ca). The CSTA 's reports and their findings are having a positive impact, with a number of science-based departments and agencies independently moving forward on report recommendations.
   
   

Highlights of federal initiatives

1. The Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) Program is an innovative approach to building partnerships between universities, industry and government to work together on problems of strategic importance to Canada. The program provides funds to support networking collaborations between university, industry and government researchers. The program was initiated in January 1988 and made permanent in 1997 with an annual program budget of $47.4 million which was increased by $30 million starting in 1999. There are 22 nation-wide, multi-disciplinary networks in areas ranging from biotechnology to telecommunications. Four new networks were chosen in 1998, three in 1999 and four in 2000, by peer-review selection committees. The Networks of Centres of Excellence Program has produced significant discoveries, and has fostered dynamic and productive university-industry collaboration, helping to accelerate technology development and application.
   
   
2. The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), which was created in 1997, is an arm's length organization, established by legislation, that reports to Parliament through the Minister of Industry. Its main goal is to provide financial assistance for the modernization of research infrastructure in Canadian universities and colleges, research hospitals and not for profit research institutes in the fields of health, environment, science and engineering. By investing in research infrastructure projects, the CFI supports research excellence, and helps strengthen research training at institutions across Canada. The CFI supplies on average 40 percent of a project's costs — the remaining 60 percent is supplied by partners in the public, private and voluntary sectors (particularly provincial governments).
   
   
3. The Canada's SchoolNet program, a joint federal, provincial and territorial initiative, helped connect 500,000 computers in schools and libraries across Canada. This initiative provides Canadians educators, librarians and students with valuable electronic learning tools and services, and encourages the development of information-technology skills.
   
   
4. A national network of 8,800 community access sites was established to create new and exciting opportunities for growth and jobs and to help provide rural and urban communities affordable access to the Internet, as well as the skills to use it effectively. These public Internet access sites serve as information highway "on ramps."
   
   
5. In addition, the Computers for Schools Program (CFS) was established to enable schools and libraries to have better access to computers and supporting software to allow them to take full advantage of the new information technologies. In collaboration with educational institutions, communities, businesses and provincial and territorial governments, CFS has delivered more than 250,000 refurbished computers to schools and libraries, free of cost.
   
   
6. Industry Canada supports people with disabilities through providing information and support to the assistive technologies industry and to the rehabilitation engineering research sectors. The department is a leader in the development of accessible Web standards and multiple format production standards to provide accessible information for all Canadians. Departmental staff also work on the development of other standards to provide an accessible living and working environment for Canadian citizens.
   
   

Expenditures for scientific activities

1. Canada's total expenditures on research and development amounted to $13.367 billion in 1994 and $15.703 billion in 1999; in proportion to the gross domestic product, they decreased from 1.77 percent in 1994 to 1.66 percent in 1999.
   
   
2. In 1999, the federal government spent $6.16 billion on science and technology activities without including federal research and development tax credits. About 58 percent of science expenditures are spent on activities done by the federal government itself. In addition, the federal government funds scientific activities in business enterprise, higher education, provincial governments, private non-profit organizations, and other Canadian and foreign organizations.
   
   
3. Extramurally, the largest recipients of federal government funds in 1999 are the higher-education sectors (19 percent) and the business sector (16 percent).
   
   
4. The government has made the commitment to make Canada one of the top five countries for research and development performance by 2010. This is a challenge for all Canadians, but in particular for the private sector as the largest research investor in Canada. As its contribution, the federal Government will at least double the current federal investment in research and development by 2010.
   
   

Technology transfer

1. The Expert Panel on the Commercialization of University Research was created in October 1998 by the Advisory Council on Science and Technology (ACST). The Panel's mandate was to provide independent, expert advice on options to maximize the social and economic benefits to Canada from the public investment in university research. The Panel completed its work in May 1999. Its report Public Investments in University Research: Reaping the Benefits is available on the ACST Web site (http://acst-ccst.gc.ca). The report calls for coherent university intellectual property policies, adequately resourced university commercialization offices, skills development measures, a competitive business environment and increased investments in university research.
   
   

Measures taken to promote the dissemination of information about technical progress

1. The mandate of the Research Branch of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) is to promote the development, adaptation and competitiveness of the agriculture and agri-food sector through policies and programs that are most appropriately provided by the federal government. The overall goal is to help the sector maximize its contribution to Canada's economic and environmental objectives and achieve a safe, high quality food supply while maintaining a strong foundation for the agriculture and agri-food sector and rural communities. Research Branch's internet home page was redesigned to organize information into areas targeted at key audiences: scientists, industry, managers, reporters, and youth. The annual 200 page Directory of Research for 1998 was produced and made fully searchable on the Internet.
   
   
2. "CanExplore," a one-stop tool to search federal information resources in science and technology for sustainability, was launched. Developed through a cooperative agreement with Environment Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Natural Resources Canada, it indexes more than 200,000 Internet documents (http://canexplore.gc.ca/).
   
   
3. "Agvance" and "Connect with Research" were posted on the Internet. A search engine can explore Agvance for stories on sustainability. "Connect with Research" describes work done to achieve sustainable agriculture in 10 commodity areas, with contact names.
   
   
4. The Research Branch produced and promoted "Earth Tones" videos for the Discovery Channel and the Internet. The series packages sustainability stories into themes related to climate change, health, toxins in air and water, biodiversity, and citizen engagement. Internet material forms the basis for "Cable in the classroom," a teaching tool using the videos and lesson plans to reach 12-16 year old children in school.
   
   
5. The Research Branch has also initiated actions to collaborate with provinces, universities, and industry to undertake the development, and encourage the transfer of innovative, affordable agriculture technologies.
   
   
6. The on-line Canadian Rural Information Service's (CRIS) Environmental Directory provides links to a wide range of agricultural and rural environmental sites. CRIS responds to inquiries through the Internet, telephone, fax, mail and e-mail.
   
   

Protection of authors' moral and material interests

1. The principal laws that protect the moral and material interest resulting from scientific, literary or artistic productions are: the Patent Act, R.S.C., c. P-4, the Plant Breeder's Right Act, R.S.C., c. p-14.6, the Trade-marks Act, R.S.C., c. T13, Copyright Act, R.S.C., c. C-42, the Industrial Design Act, R.S.C., c. I-9 and the Integrated Circuit Topography Act, R.S.C., c. I-14.6.
   
   

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⁷ March 1995, World Summit for Social Development, Copenhagen, Denmark; September 1995, Fourth United Nations World Conference on Women, Beijing, China; June 1996, Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements, Habitat II, Istanbul, Turkey; November 1996, World Food Summit, Rome, Italy.
⁸ A breakdown of expenditures for each sector is not available; therefore, this amount includes expenditures for post-secondary education. The CHST is made up of a combination of cash and tax point transfers. The 1998-1999 total does not include the $3.5-billion CHST supplement for health.
⁹ Data for 1998-1999 are not available for provincial welfare and Workers' Compensation expenditures. Amounts are based on 1997-1998 totals.
¹⁰ The Old Age Security system comprises three elements: an Old Age Security pension, a Guaranteed Income Supplement and a Spouse's Allowance.
¹¹ Section 143(4) of the Income Tax Act defines "family" for the purposes of dividing income among members of a communal organization.
¹² Aboriginal language instruction is an optional reporting field for Canadian schools. Of the 110,687 students at issue, schools responsible for only 48,151 of these students responded with information on Aboriginal language instruction.

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