An United Nations special committee went an hour over its allotted time in Geneva on Monday, asking questions to a Canadian delegation about the country's record on racial discrimination.
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) asked a series of questions that covered topics from violence against Indigenous women to the fact that minority people are disproportionately represented in the country's prisons.
#UN#CERD expert asks #Canada whether it plans to take legal measures to prohibit groups inciting racist #hatespeechhttps://t.co/wFuXgP7hxDpic.twitter.com/3iOVdYKAds
— IMADR (@IMADR_Geneva) August 14, 2017
And because of Canada's proximity to the United States, experts broached the topic of how the two countries approach immigration.
"How far can your country offset the shortcomings of the bigger neighbour?" CERD committee member Marc Bossuyt asked in reference to U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration and refugee bans.
A delegation led by the Canadian Heritage department is in Switzerland to attend two days of questioning before the special UN committee.
First Nations Child and Family Caring Society executive director Cindy Blackstock and lawyer Pam Palmater are also in Geneva to attend meetings at the UN headquarters.
At one point during questioning, the U.S. member of the committee, Gay McDougall, put some pressure on Canada to lead with implementing progressive pieces of legislation to end racial discrimination.
Canada is expected to respond to the UN's suite of questions on Tuesday.
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