Minority Report – The "True" North

The biggest takeaway from the first 120 days of Mark Carney’s Liberal government is the almost complete absence of any concrete mention of human rights. As I said in my post Minority Report #1, the Speech from the Throne, which outlines the government’s priorities, doesn’t explicitly mention human rights. It simply says, “The Government will always protect the rights and freedoms that the Charter guarantees for every Canadian.” The government’s priorities, as stated in Prime Minister Mark Carney’s mandate letter, are:

Establishing a new economic and security relationship with the United States and strengthening collaboration with reliable trading partners and allies.
Building one Canadian economy by removing barriers to interprovincial trade and expediting nation-building projects.
Bringing down costs for Canadians and helping them get ahead.
Making housing more affordable by unleashing public-private cooperation and catalysing a modern housing industry.
Protecting Canadian sovereignty and keeping Canadians safe by strengthening our Armed Forces, securing borders, and reinforcing law enforcement.
Attracting the best global talent while returning immigration rates to sustainable levels.
Spending less on government operations so that Canadians can invest more in people and businesses.

This is in stark contrast to the Trudeau government that explicitly mentioned human rights in the 2019 and 2021 Throne speeches and, in May 2023, announced Canada’s bid for a seat on the United Nation Human Rights Council for the 2028-2030 term.

This omission supports the argument that Canada faces a human rights credibility gap due to its domestic human rights record. That argument was advanced in the July 30, 2025 Policy Options article Canada’s foreign policy credibility begins at home. For the article, the four authors, all graduate students at the University of British Columbia’s School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, interviewed dozens of officials and civil society leaders. They found, “Canada’s human rights record looks strong on paper, but the reality is more complicated. We have ratified numerous international human rights treaties, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. But those commitments rarely make it into enforceable domestic law. Canada’s dualist legal system means international treaties require domestic laws to be enacted to give the treaties legal force at home. Without that, they remain aspirational.”

The authors detail issues with Canada’s domestic human rights system including lack of transparency in human rights reporting, data accessibility and weak enforcement. They said, “Interviewees consistently called for stronger accountability mechanisms. Some proposed legislation to mandate follow-up on UN recommendations or to establish an independent co-ordinating body with real authority.” They ended by saying, “Human rights can’t remain a bureaucratic side project buried in intergovernmental committees. Federal leaders must set clear expectations for provinces and territories, give oversight bodies true power and — most importantly — show Canadians and the world that they are willing to be held accountable.”

It would also be a good idea to not pass laws like Bill C5 which Ecojustice says, “erodes democratic principles, runs roughshod over Indigenous rights, shuts Canadians out of decisions that could affect them, and puts the environment at risk.” One of the most controversial parts of Bill C5 is the powers it gives the government to fast track projects it determines are of “national interest.”

The Assembly of First Nations held national discussions on Bill C5 ten days before it became law. “During the discussion, Chiefs raised strong concerns over the rushed legislative process, lack of meaningful consultation, narrowly defined national interest that excludes First Nations priorities and perspectives…and the broader implications for rights and jurisdiction.” The meeting also featured a First Nations political panel featuring B.C. Regional Chief Terry Teegee; the Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould, former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada; and former National Chief Ovide Mercredi. “Speakers emphasized that Bill C-5 represents a significant step backward in the Crown–First Nations relationship and questioned the federal rationale to once again sidestep their obligations to First Nations rights holders. They noted that the concept of “national interest” must include the rights of First Nations as original stewards of the land. Speakers stressed that the Bill stands in contrast to what First Nations have long advocated for, and conflicts with Canada’s own laws, including the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.”

So Carney is doing things which Indigenous people see as directly attacking their human rights – and saying absolutely nothing about the human rights of Black Canadians. This is also in stark contrast to Justin Trudeau who was the first Prime Minister to acknowledge the existence of systemic anti-Black racism in Canada and whose government formally recognized the UN Decade for People of African Descent. The Trudeau Liberals also committed to including Black folks as a distinct group under the federal Employment Equity Act and launched Canada’s Black Justice Strategy.

Luckily, history has shown that fundamental change for Black folks has always come from Black folks’ resistance. So some Black folks aren’t waiting for Mark Carney to show he cares about Black Canadians – they’re taking action now. One tool of resistance available to Black folks (and all folks) is filing human rights complaints with the Canadian Human Rights Commission and its provincial counterparts like the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission and the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario. Such complaints are potentially powerful as the Commission/Tribunal has the power to order the target of the complaint to respond – and the person filing the complaint doesn’t have to pay anything, including legal fees as no lawyer is required. The problem is that it can take years to get a result due to huge backlogs at the Commission/tribunals. If Carney really cares about human rights he’ll provide adequate funding to the Canadian Human Rights Commission and the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal to allow them to deal with complaints in a timely manner.

According to the office of my Member of Parliament, Liberal Anita Vandenbeld, Carney’s government still has aspirations of a UN Human Rights Council seat and is maintaining Canada’s bid. Canada also said it intends to recognize the State of Palestine at the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2025, with some conditions, which would be a huge step in supporting the human rights of the Palestinian people. However, Canada must ensure things are right in its own human rights house before seeking a leadership role on the international stage.

This is the first in a series of posts focussed on the new Liberal minority Parliament. This post focuses on Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first 30 days (34 to be exact).

Carney’s election night acceptance speech was gracious, including thanking his opponents for taking part in the democratic process. In his first post-election press conference, May 2, Carney focussed on “affordability, security and safety”, saying he was responding to Canadians saying they “wanted their cost of living reduced and their communities to be safe.” He didn’t specify which Canadians wanted to be safe, and from whom.

He promised he’d announce his new Cabinet May 12 (he did May 13) and said he’d invited King Charles to deliver the Speech from the Throne, outlining his government’s priorities, May 27 (which the King did). During the press conference, Carney said having King Charles read the Throne speech would demonstrate Canada’s sovereignty then struggled to respond when a Quebec journalist asked him how having the King read the Throne Speech demonstrates Canada’s sovereignty.

Carney said his government would cut taxes for the middle class and keep programs that benefit them, including pharmacare, dental care and child care.

On immigration, Carney said he would cap the total number of temporary workers and international students at less than five per cent of the population by the end of 2027, adding,

“It’s a sharp drop from the high of 7.3 per cent and this will help ease strains on housing, on public infrastructure and social services.”

On housing, Carney outlined plans to reduce taxes for first-time home buyers and development charges (that cities charge developers to provide infrastructure to new developments), and create a modular and prefabricated housing industry.

To keep “Canadians” “safe” in their communities, Carney promised to add 1000 more RCMP officers and toughen up bail laws for anyone charged with stealing cars, home invasion, human trafficking or smuggling.

And he said he would cap the public service (presumably to reduce government spending but he didn’t say that).

And he mentioned one other priority: Canada’s relationship with the U.S.

The Speech from the Throne – which was written by the government and read by King Charles – included pretty much everything Carney said in his first press conference. However, what was more notable was what it didn’t mention: diversity, equity and inclusion. The only mention of diversity was King Charles saying, “I have always had the greatest admiration for Canada’s unique identity, which is recognized across the world for bravery and sacrifice in defence of national values, and for the diversity and kindness of Canadians.” Equity and inclusion aren’t mentioned once. However, King Charles did say, “The Crown has for so long been a symbol of unity for Canada. It also represents stability and continuity from the past to the present. As it should, it stands proudly as a symbol of Canada today, in all her richness and dynamism.” So, just as the Speech ignores diversity, equity and inclusion, it also ignores the views of the many Canadians who see the Crown as a symbol of violent colonization of their countries of origin.

Consistent with this omission, the Speech also doesn’t explicitly mention human rights. It simply says, “The Government will always protect the rights and freedoms that the Charter guarantees for every Canadian.”

The King also said, “It is with a sense of deep pride and pleasure that my wife and I join you here today, as we witness Canadians coming together in a renewed sense of national pride, unity, and hope.”, which completely ignored the fear that’s driving much of the current “unity”.

In another attempt to put a positive spin on a grim reality, the King said, “The Prime Minister and the President of the United States, for example, have begun defining a new economic and security relationship between Canada and the U.S., rooted in mutual respect…”. Is Trump saying Canada should become the 51st state and calling former Prime Minister Trudeau “governor” how he shows his respect?

The Speech included some good things to address the national housing crisis, including cutting the GST on homes at or under $1 million for first-time home buyers and lowering the GST on homes between $1 million and $1.5 million. The Government also said it will undertake a series of measures to help double the rate of home building while “creating an entirely new housing industry”. It will do this by introducing measures to deliver affordable homes by creating Build Canada Homes, a “mission-driven organization” that will act to accelerate the development of new affordable housing by investing in the growth of the prefabricated and modular housing industry. The Government says it will provide “significant” financing to “affordable” home builders. It promised to “make the housing market work better”, including by cutting municipal development charges in half for all multi-unit housing (which seems like a pretty blatant intrusion on municipal jurisdiction). The Government says it will “drive supply up to bring housing costs down”. But it said nothing about preserving existing affordable housing despite groups like the Canadian Housing Evidence Collaborative producing reports saying this:

“At a national level Canada is losing eleven lower rent affordable homes for every one home added (at considerable subsidy cost) under federal and federal-provincial-territorial programs. The lesson from this analysis is that it is not enough to focus on adding new supply (both market and affordable). It is critical to slow the erosion, and to plug the holes in the bottom of the bucket – a solution that is currently absent in the National Housing Strategy (NHS).”

The Speech also said nothing about addressing the role of real estate investment trusts in creating – and maintaining – the housing crisis. REITs allow corporations to invest in real estate without needing to manage a property, whether residential or commercial. Investors receive the rental income as a dividend. According to Doreen Nicoll’s August 2024 rabble article Long-term care REITs fueling the housing crisis in Canada,

“REITs own over 20 per cent of the private rental stock in Canada. From 2011 to 2016, a total of 320,000 rental units became unaffordable to tenants with incomes under $30,000 annually. REITs and other financial models incentivize taking affordable units off of the market. That’s part of the reason affordable rental units continue to be lost at a rate 15 times faster than new affordable units are being created.” If the Government really cares about Canadians’ safety, it should put more money into affordable housing and less in policing.

The Throne Speech included only two references to one of the biggest threats to Canadians’ safety: climate change. The Speech was much more focussed on getting energy projects built than on ensuring they didn’t accelerate climate change. The Government committed to creating a new Major Federal Project Office mandated to reduce the time needed to approve a project from five years to two; “all while upholding Canada’s world-leading environmental standards and its constitutional obligations to Indigenous Peoples.” The Government said that by “removing these barriers that have held back our economy, we will unleash a new era of growth that will ensure we don’t just survive ongoing trade wars, but emerge from them stronger than ever. It will enable Canada to become the world’s leading energy superpower in both clean and conventional energy. To build an industrial strategy that will make Canada more globally competitive, while fighting climate change.” How the Government will fight climate change while approving energy projects faster, isn’t clear.

What is clear is how the Government continues to respond to non-existent “crises” dreamt up by Donald Trump, including the false idea that massive amounts of fentanyl are pouring across the Canadian border into the U.S. To address this “crisis”, the Government plans to “introduce legislation to enhance security at Canada’s borders. Law enforcement and intelligence agencies will have new tools to stop the flow of fentanyl and its precursors. The Canada Border Services Agency will be given new powers to examine goods destined for export, to prevent the transport of illegal and stolen products, including cars.” This War on Fentanyl risks having some of the same disastrous impacts on marginalized people as the War on Drugs, which at least was attempting to address a real problem.

Real problems – like crime – need solutions that address their root causes. Instead, the Government has chosen to hire a thousand new RCMP officers and toughen up bail laws for anyone charged with crimes including stealing cars and home invasion. First, hiring more police and imposing stricter bail conditions have both proven ineffective as they don’t address the roots of crime, including poverty. Secondly, the focus on car theft and home invasion shows who the government cares about as poor people don’t have cars to steal or homes to invade.

The Throne Speech does address another real problem: immigration. The Government says it’s “dedicated to rebuilding the trust of Canadians in immigration by restoring balance to the system.” What is meant by Canadians’ “trust in immigration” and what evidence the Government has that they’ve lost it, isn’t clear. What is clear is the Government’s promise to cap the total number of temporary foreign workers and international students to less than five percent of Canada’s population by 2027. Carney said this move — promised by then-immigration minister Marc Miller under the previous government — will ease the pressure on housing and social services. This is backed up by evidence. However, federal public servants told the government about these pressures in 2022 – the same year Canada opened its doors to Ukrainians fleeing the war in their country. The federal government said nothing about immigration worsening the housing crisis then despite things like Ottawa – the seat of the federal government – becoming the first Canadian city to declare a housing and homelessness emergency in January 2020. Could this be because the immigrants coming to Canada now are a different color than they were then? That’s the kind of question the few remaining NDP MPs will hopefully ask. They will also, no doubt, push the government to keep its promise to protect child care, pharmacare and dental care – programs the NDP pushed the Trudeau government to implement via the agreement the NDP had to keep the minority liberals in power.

The Throne Speech says the Government will “embark on the largest transformation of its economy since the Second World War…”, aimed at creating a “new economy that serves all Canadians.” This sounds great except that the only means of paying for it that the Government mentions in the Throne Speech is capping the public service. It says nothing about increasing corporate taxes or closing corporate tax loopholes.

Considering some of the corporations that will benefit from the Government’s favourable corporate tax policy are media companies it’s good that the Government has promised to protect CBC/Radio Canada – because we’re going to need journalists willing to bite the hand that feeds them.

The Government has promised a fall budget we can expect to reflect the priorities in the Speech from the Throne. Black Canadians aren’t among those priorities – as Carney’s Cabinet reflects.