Purpose and approach

Section 7 of the UN Declaration Act states that the Minister must, in consultation and cooperation with Indigenous peoples, prepare a report for the previous fiscal year on the measures taken under sections 5 (consistency of laws) and 6 (action plan) of the UN Declaration Act.

Throughout this report, in referring to Action Plan Measures (APMs), we use the following short forms to reference the chapters and numbers of each APM. The chapters are Shared Priorities (SP); First Nations Priorities (FN); Inuit Priorities (IN); Métis Priorities (MÉ); and Modern Treaty Partner Priorities (MT). The reference numbers are the chapter abbreviations followed by the number of the measure (e.g. Shared priorities measure 1 is SP1).

Annual report development

This report builds upon previous annual reports. Justice Canada continues working with Indigenous partners and government departments and agencies to improve its process to create a report that reflects the shared experiences of implementation throughout the reporting period. The guiding objectives of this work continue to be accountability and transparency; balance between government and Indigenous perspectives; collaboration; and iteration – working to improve year-over-year.

There are three distinct phases of consultation and cooperation with Indigenous peoples in the annual reporting cycle:

During the feedback phase of this annual reporting cycle, partners acknowledged that the annual report is an important tool for accountability while suggesting ways to improve clarity, relevance, and transparency. Many partners appreciated how the 2024–25 Annual Report provided an update on each APM in Annex B allowing them to understand what is being done to advance implementation.

Indigenous partners requested more information on section 5 (consistency of laws) initiatives to understand how the Government of Canada is ensuring consistency of laws and regulations with the UN Declaration. In response, Justice Canada asked departments to provide information on how legislation tabled in Parliament and regulations published in the Canada Gazette were assessed for consistency with the UN Declaration and if any consultation and cooperation activities informed the development of those laws/regulations. More information on laws and regulations can be found in Section 5 – Consistency of Laws and Annex C: Consistency Assessments of Laws and Regulations. Through this year’s validation phase, some Indigenous partners have already provided valuable feedback on ways to improve Annex C including ways to strengthen the analysis and reporting on assessing consistency with UN Declaration.

Additionally, this year we asked departments and agencies which APMs they would like to have highlighted in this year’s report. The work highlighted throughout this report comes from those submissions.

Use of artificial intelligence (AI)

In support of the Government’s commitment to the effective and ethical use of AI, last year Justice Canada piloted the use of an internal AI tool called Otto. Used again this annual reporting cycle, Otto supported departmental staff with the analysis and synthesis of a large quantity of information received from Indigenous partners and government departments. Developed with a strong emphasis on security and privacy, Otto offers multiple productivity tools, while ensuring that sensitive information remains protected. Justice Canada analysts read all submissions to ensure the accuracy of the analysis produced by Otto.

Links with government-wide initiatives

The federal implementation of the UN Declaration supports and is supported by other government-wide initiatives that seek to address the ongoing impacts of colonization on Indigenous peoples such as responding to the Calls to Action (CTAs) from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the responses to the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls’ Calls for Justice (CFJs) in the Federal Pathway to Address Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People, among others. While the implementation of the UN Declaration is unique because legislated obligations require the Government of Canada to take specific actions, many related activities intersect, overlap, and reinforce one another.

Where possible, Justice Canada makes linkages between initiatives and cross-references, rather than duplicates, content from other reports and data sources.

Equality, non-discrimination, and intersectionality

Indigenous women, youth, 2SLGBTQI+ people, persons with disabilities, and Elders offer valuable and necessary perspectives on how to implement the UN Declaration. Partners highlighted the need for implementation, including consultation and cooperation, to meaningfully incorporate their experiences and priorities. They stressed the importance of designing engagement processes that are inclusive and capable of reflecting a broader range of Indigenous perspectives. We also heard that the Government of Canada could make additional efforts to ensure that youth, as the future leaders of their communities, have more opportunities to participate in discussions and decision-making processes.

“To ensure that Indigenous women, Two-Spirit and 2SLGBTQ+ people, youth, Elders, and other marginalized groups are fully represented, Canada must establish dedicated advisory tables. Mandate intersectional analysis across all measures. Support Indigenous-led monitoring and evaluation. Strengthen data sovereignty and disaggregated reporting. Provide sustained funding for community participation. Apply Indigenous legal orders and knowledge systems. These steps would ensure that implementation of [the UN Declaration] is not only collaborative but genuinely inclusive.”

– Hiawatha First Nation

Indigenous diversity organizations have told us that existing Indigenous governance structures do not always capture the full diversity of Indigenous voices and that Indigenous people living off-reserve or in urban centres face additional challenges in having their priorities heard. To close these gaps, partners recommend that the Government of Canada provide Indigenous governments and representative institutions, including urban Indigenous organizations, with the resources needed to lead engagement, embed participation of these groups in UN Declaration Act governance structures, and implement clear indicators and reporting mechanisms that demonstrate how intersectional analyses influence decisions and outcomes.

Section 6(2) of the UN Declaration Act requires that the Action Plan include measures to address injustices including systemic racism and discrimination against Indigenous peoples in all their diversity. The Action Plan includes many measures that address these issues such as working to address systemic racism in the health system (SP6 to 8); tackling gender-based violence (SP9 to13); and ensuring equality rights for Indigenous people with disabilities (SP85, FN18, IN15).