Justin Trudeau's record of human rights abuses

Former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation on December 14, 2014, amid mounting discontent with him and the sudden resignation of his finance minister, signaling growing turmoil in the government.

Now, Mark Carney has been sworn in as the new leader of Canada's ruling Liberal Party, replacing Justin Trudeau amid political tensions in the country.

Trudeau stepped down as prime minister after leaving behind a legacy of human rights abuses during his 10 years in power.

Canada's Homelessness Crisis Escalates

Homelessness is a national crisis for Canada. The number of homeless people in Canada is routinely reported in media reports to be at least 235,000.

However, this figure is based on data released nearly a decade ago, in 2016. This was well before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ukraine war, and the associated military spending explosion at the expense of social programs, the inflation crisis, and the decline in real wages in Canada.

The true number of homeless people is certainly much higher, according to the World Socialist Web Site. The Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness (CAEH) estimates that the number of homeless people is close to 300,000, and says that chronic homelessness has increased by 40 per cent in some areas since the start of the pandemic.

Canada’s Indigenous Prison Population Is Rising

Canada’s Indigenous mass incarceration crisis has deepened under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, despite his promise to address the crisis.

Indigenous Canadians make up just 5 per cent of the country’s population, but they account for a third of Canada’s federal prison population.

Studies show that the number of Indigenous people in Canada who are placed under strict conditions after completing prison sentences has increased by 53 per cent over the decade to 2023-2024.

Data shows that Indigenous people are more likely to be incarcerated at every stage of their experience with the Canadian criminal justice system and are more likely to be denied bail before trial; if convicted, Indigenous people are more likely to be incarcerated in high-security units, where there is limited access to rehabilitation programs that are a prerequisite for parole.

Supporting the crimes of the Zionist regime

Trudeau will also be remembered for his foreign policy towards Palestine, a policy characterized by hypocrisy, inaction and complicity in the genocide in Gaza.

Trudeau never condemned the Zionist regime’s killing of more than 18,000 children in Gaza or used the term genocide. While Trudeau’s foreign policy rhetoric focused on supporting human rights, his actions proved otherwise, as his government over the years supplied arms to the occupation regime and fueled atrocities and war crimes against Palestinians.

Canada’s response to the Gaza genocide, refusing to call for a ceasefire for months, freezing UNRWA funding for weeks, and questioning the International Court of Justice, demonstrates that political considerations often trump humanitarian obligations.

Meanwhile, Canada has consistently abstained or voted against UN resolutions supporting Palestinian rights.

Last year, Canada voted against a UN resolution calling on Israel to end its occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, and abstained from a UN General Assembly vote supporting Palestinian membership.

Amnesty International classified Israel as an apartheid regime in a 2022 report, citing systematic human rights violations against Palestinians. Despite these findings, Canada set a new record in 2023 by exporting $30.6 million in military goods to the occupied territories.

The Trudeau government continued to export weapons even during the 15-month Gaza genocide. The Canadian government claimed in early 2024 that it had suspended new arms export licenses. However, reports revealed that Canadian military goods were still reaching the occupied territories through unrecorded channels, raising serious questions about the transparency and accountability of Canada’s export practices.

Structural Abuse of Migrant Workers in Canada

Amnesty International has said in a report that Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) is designed to facilitate shocking abuse and discrimination against migrant workers.

The report, “Canada has destroyed me,” says the exploitation of migrant workers in Canada exposes the impact of Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program, which allows employers to hire migrant workers, mostly for low-wage jobs, in sectors including agriculture, food processing, care, and construction. The TFWP visa ties workers to an employer who controls both their immigration status and working conditions.

According to human rights groups, people who are currently employed or have worked under the program have said that after arriving in Canada, they were forced to work long hours without breaks and were paid less than they were promised. They were often forced to perform tasks not included in their contracts and suffered physical, sexual and psychological abuse.

Many of these migrants reportedly work in unsafe conditions, lack access to adequate housing and healthcare, and face discrimination in the workplace. Many were unable to access effective remedies for the abuses they suffered.