Last week during Aboriginal Awareness Week, our blog United Nations says Canada’s Poor are Hungry discussed the findings of UN special envoy Olivier De Schutter, who was invited to examine hunger and food access in Canada. What he found was that there are significant barriers that prevent those living in poverty, and groups such as Aboriginal Canadians, from accessing healthy and nutritious food.

The federal government has dismissed De Schutter’s findings as “ridiculous” and “ill-informed” with Minister of Citizenship Jason Kenny saying “…the contributions we make to the UN should be used to help starving people in developing countries. Not to give lectures to wealthy and developed countries like Canada.”

In response to the federal government’s reaction, representatives from over 100 organizations across the country, including Amnesty International Canada and Food Secure Canada have sent this letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, demanding an apology and an explanation on whether Canada will continue to invite UN human rights envoys to our country in the future.

An excerpt from the letter reads:

“While there is much to be proud of with respect to the protection of human rights in Canada, there is a pressing need to do better. The human rights of many in Canada, including Aboriginal peoples and those living in poverty, without adequate food or housing, are violated daily. If the UN ignored these violations or failed to hold Canada accountable in the same way as other governments are held accountable, the entire UN human rights protection system would be discredited.”

So far the Prime Minister’s office has “no comment.”

More Information:
“Feds urged to apologize to UN human rights expert.” The Montreal Gazette