with attempted homosexuality, affront to The authorities failed to fully implement and public decency and non-possession of share a public timeline for the 94 calls to identity cards, and were sentenced to five action of the Truth and Reconciliation years’ imprisonment and a fine of 200,000 Commission of Canada or to implement the FCFA (about US$345). They were released in 142 calls for action from the Public Inquiry June pending appeal. Commission on relations between Indigenous On 24 February, according to Human peoples and public services in Quebec. Rights Watch, police forces raided the office In September, the Federal Court upheld the of Colibri, an HIV/AIDS prevention and Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruling treatment group in Bafoussam, West region, ordering Ottawa to pay Can$40,000 and arrested 13 people on charges of (approximately US$32,000) to each of the homosexuality, before releasing them a few approximately 50,000 First Nations children days later. Those arrested said they were forcibly separated from their families. At the forced to sign statements, were physically end of the year, the parties reached an and verbally assaulted, and were forced to agreement-in-principle whereby Can$20 undergo HIV tests and anal examinations. billion (approximately US$15.7 billion) will be Article 347-1 of the Criminal Code punishes paid in compensation to First Nations with up to five years’ imprisonment “any children who were removed from their homes person who has sexual relations with a and approximately Can$20 billion over five person of his sex”. years will be spent on long-term reform of the First Nations Child and Family Services program. CANADA JOYCE’S PRINCIPLE In February, the minister of Indigenous Canada services announced Can$2 million Head of state: Elizabeth II, represented by Governor (approximately US$1.6 million) in funding to General Mary May Simon (replaced Julie Payette in July) the Conseil de la Nation Atikamekw (Council Head of government: Justin Trudeau of Atikamekw Nation) and the Conseil des Atikamekw de Manawan (Atikamekw Council There were concerns about government of Manawan) to advance their advocacy for responses to the Covid-19 pandemic and the implementation of Joyce's Principle, inaction on the rights of Indigenous which aims to guarantee all Indigenous peoples, Black and racialized communities, people the right to equitable access to all women, refugees and migrants. social and health services without discrimination. The Principle was named INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS after Joyce Echaquan, an Atikamekw woman In April, the CERD Committee called on who was subjected to racist taunts by Canada to investigate allegations of racist hospital staff before dying in a Quebec violence against Mi’kmaw people. hospital in September 2020. In June, parliament passed a law In September, the Quebec provincial implementing the UN Declaration on the government again denied the existence of Rights of Indigenous Peoples. systemic racism in the province and INDIGENOUS CHILDREN continued to refuse to adhere to Joyce’s Between May and the end of the year, the Principle. The coroner's report investigating remains of more than 1,381 Indigenous Joyce Echaquan’s death stated that the children buried at six former residential province of Quebec's government must schools were located. The Canadian acknowledge the existence of systemic government established the schools, and racism and commit to eliminating it. churches administered them.1 Amnesty International Report 2021/22 116