Canada has solidified its reputation globally as a leader on women, peace and security, and has invested significantly in gender-responsive humanitarian action. In 2019, the government appointed Canada’s first Ambassador for Women, Peace and Security, formally joined the Arms Trade Treaty that regulates the international flow of weapons, and launched a new feminist humanitarian policy that commits to supporting local women’s rights groups and strives to pursue gender-transformative humanitarian action where and when possible. However, Canada must do more to help the world’s most vulnerable seek the protection they deserve within our borders. The government has backtracked on its support for refugees, and has stripped refugee claimants, including women fleeing domestic violence, of crucial human rights protections. Ongoing arms sales to Saudi Arabia, a country with a terrible women’s rights record and engaged in a devastating war on Yemen, continue to undermine Canada’s feminist agenda.
