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International Relations

Human Rights platforms

Here's what the 2021 Canadian election parties are promising.

Liberal

  • Eradicate forced labour from Canadian supply chains.
  • Make democracy & human rights a core strategic priority.
  • Establish a Canadian Centre for Peace, Order & Good Government.
  • Enable embassy staff to support feminists, LGBTQ2 activists, & human rights defenders by quadrupling annual investment in the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives.
  • Provide new funding for the Women's Voice & Leadership Program.

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Make Canada’s commitment to democracy and human rights a core strategic priority, including expanding fast and flexible support for fragile and emerging democracies, increasing Canada’s diplomatic presence in regions of strategic importance, and working more closely with democratic partners to promote open, transparent, and inclusive governance around the world.

Establish a Canadian Centre for Peace, Order and Good Government to expand the availability of Canadian expertise and assistance to those seeking to build peace, advance justice, promote human rights, inclusion, and democracy, and deliver good governance.

Establish Canada as a safe haven for those facing persecution by leading the world in providing safe resettlement to those fleeing political or security crises, especially human rights defenders, journalists, feminists, LGBTQ2 activists, members of religious or ethnic minorities at risk, and other persecuted groups who remain under threat. We will expand the new immigration stream for human rights defenders and work with civil society groups to ensure safe passage and resettlement of people under threat, including from Afghanistan.

Continue to help support Afghan citizens through humanitarian assistance and to work with our allies to protect democratic and human rights, including for women, girls, and minorities. We will continue to facilitate the safe passage and resettlement of Afghan citizens and will increase the number of eligible refugees from 20,000 to 40,000. Many of these individuals will be women, children and minorities fleeing the Taliban, or individuals who supported Canada and our allies over the past two decades. As with the Syrians who have resettled in Canada over the past five years, these individuals will enrich our communities and make invaluable contributions to Canadian society.

Expand the broad coalition of more than 65 states that have supported Canada’s initiative to condemn and eradicate the practice of arbitrary detention and advance an action plan to coordinate collective international responses to specific incidents of arbitrary detention.

Enable staff at Canada’s embassies around the world to support the work of feminists, LGBTQ2 activists, and human rights defenders by quadrupling our annual investment in the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives.

Defend the right to free expression and oppose the mistreatment or arbitrary detention of journalists, building on the Media Freedom Coalition that we established with the UK.

Support women leaders and feminist groups who are leading efforts to promote peace and protect the rights of women and vulnerable groups, including new funding through the Women’s Voice and Leadership program.

Help establish an International Anti-Corruption Court, to prevent corrupt officials and authoritarian governments from raiding the resources of their citizens and impeding development.

Continue to engage with our international allies and partners and convene a multilateral meeting to raise additional humanitarian funds and build consensus on how to support and establish an enduring democracy in Lebanon.

Forward. For Everyone., retrieved 2021-09-02

Introduce legislation to eradicate forced labour from Canadian supply chains and ensure Canadian businesses that operate abroad are not contributing to human rights abuses.

Forward. For Everyone., retrieved 2021-09-02

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Conservative

  • Revise supply chain legislation to not import products made with slave labour.
  • Create an International Human Rights Advisory Committee.
  • Advocate for persecuted sexual minorities.
  • Allow Parliament & citizens' groups to petition for officials to be listed under the Magnitsky Law.

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• Dramatically revise supply chain legislation to meaningfully enforce Canada’s commitment not to import products made with slave labour.

• Make it a criminal offence for Canadians to go abroad to benefit from serious violations of human rights, such as becoming complicit in organ trafficking through receiving an organ that has been forcibly harvested.

• Place limits on the ability of the Government of Canada to grant waivers permitting those complicit in or responsible for serious human rights violations to come to Canada.

• Require the Minister of Foreign Affairs to table an annual report in Parliament outlining the work of the government to protect and promote human rights and democracy;

• Require the Government of Canada to maintain a public list of prisoners of conscience of particular concern, and create mechanisms by which citizens can petition to add names to that list.

• Create an International Human Rights Advisory Committee, with representation from a broad range of cultural and religious communities in Canada, advising the government on international human rights issues.

• Amend the Official Development Assistance Accountability Act to prevent Canadian development assistance that undermines international peace and security.

• Update the Sergei Magnitsky Law to allow Parliament and groups of citizens to directly petition the Minister to list officials under the law and require the Minister to respond in writing to petitions that have achieved a certain threshold of support.

• Restore Canadian leadership in advocating for persecuted sexual minorities in the face of repression. The Trudeau government has dispensed with standing as strong allies of LGBTQ advocates, bowing before authoritarians. A Conservative government will speak clearly and confidently for the inalienable human dignity of LGBTQ people and deploy resources to help their activists.

Canada's Recovery Plan, retrieved 2021-08-18

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We don't have any Bloc policies on Human Rights.

NDP

Make sure Canadian-made weapons aren't fuelling conflict & human rights abuses abroad.
We don't have any Green policies on Human Rights.

Looking for the parties' positions on other topics?

See our full 2021 Canadian election platform comparison