Thank you, Chair.
Commissioner, thank you for being here.
As a state party to the UN convention against torture, Canada's record on preventing and addressing torture and other forms of treatment is periodically reviewed by the UN Committee Against Torture. Canada's most recent review took place last November in Geneva, and in its final report, the committee officially recognized that the “extensive forced or coerced sterilization of indigenous women” in Canada is a form of torture.
The UN committee provided Canada with a number of recommendations, including that the Government of Canada ensure that all allegations of forced or coerced sterilization are impartially investigated.
In your view, which institution in Canada should bear primary responsibility for ensuring that all allegations of forced sterilization are impartially investigated in Canada?