OCASI, together with Metro Toronto Chinese and South East Asian Legal Clinic and Colour of Poverty - Colour of Change, has submitted a joint report to the United Nations Human Rights Council for consideration at the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) for Canada.
The joint report is focused on the impact of legislation and public policy on refugees, immigrants and racialized communities. It highlights human rights concerns about changes to refugee determination and the immigration program, as well as other issues of access and equity and makes recommendations for change. The report is contains the following sections:
- Changes to the refugee determination system
- Family class immigrant
- Temporary foreign workers program
- Cuts to settlement services
- Collection of disaggregated data and cancellation of long form census
- Access to justice for vulnerable groups
- Changes to the employment equity program
- Omnibus crime bill
- Access to social services
The UPR and the UN Human Rights Council were created in 2006. The process involves a review every four years, of the human rights records of all UN member States. Canada was first reviewed in 2009. The next review is scheduled for April-May 2013.
Click here for more information about the UPR.
Click here for 2009 UPR reports for Canada.