wr2014_web_0

WORLD REPORT 2014Many also suffered physical and sexual abuse. In 2013, information surfacedindicating that some children in residential schools in the 1940s and 50s weresubjected to medical experimentation.Indigenous groups have criticized Canada for failing to respect land agreementswith indigenous communities or to consult adequately with them, includingwith regard to resource extraction plans on traditional lands. The governmenthas to pay adequate attention to severe poverty, housing, water, sanitation,health care, and education problems in indigenous communities, particularlythose in remote and rural areas.Freedom of ReligionIn September 2013, the provincial government of Quebec introduced a potentiallydiscriminatory proposal that would impinge on freedom of religiousexpression by prohibiting government employees from displaying conspicuousreligious symbols, which would include head scarves, but not small symbols,such as cross pendants. Women’s centers in Quebec reported an increase inverbal and physical attacks on Muslim women after debate over the proposalbegan.Asylum Seeker and Migrant RightsIn September 2013, more than 150 immigration detainees in a Toronto detentioncenter launched a hunger strike to demand improved access to medicalcare and better conditions. In June 2012, Canada’s parliament passed Bill C-31,which permits the government to designate a group of people arriving as an“irregular arrival,” making them subject to mandatory detention with limitedjudicial review and risking the prolonged detention of refugees and children 16and older.C-31 created an administrative Refugee Appeal Division, but asylum seekersfrom 27 “designated countries” that have a history of respecting human rightsare not allowed to appeal their denials to it, although the Federal Court mayreview their denials. C-31 also places a five-year ban on “irregular arrivals” fromapplying for permanent residence, negatively impacting the right of separatedrefugee families to reunite.640