This report summarizes key points of the discussion and recommendations arising from this dialogue, which featured the collective wisdom of Indigenous Elders, knowledge keepers, academics, political and government leaders, advocates, lawyers, policy makers and activists. Representatives of the OHRC, Human Rights Legal Support Centre, Social Justice Tribunals of Ontario, and the Canadian Human Rights Commission also took part.

Participants discussed several key questions, including:

• What are Indigenous perspectives of human rights?
• What might Indigenous world views, constitutions and laws contribute to the ongoing evolution of human rights?
• How can federal and provincial statutory human rights institutions, including commissions, tribunals and legal service organizations, adapt their processes to better advance Indigenous peoples’ human rights? What, if any, amendments would be required to existing human rights legislationto ensure Indigenous peoples’ human rights are better protected?
• What are the most effective ways to implement a broad range of human rights set out in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) at the federal and provincial levels? What legal or policy considerations should be addressed?

Appendix 1: Key Recommendations

Dialogue participants made many recommendations. Here is a summary of the key recommendations, for the OHRC, Ontario and Canadian Human Rights institutions and systems more broadly, all levels of government and other organizations in the business of delivering public services to Indigenous peoples. Some of the recommendations, although directed towards a particular actor (e.g. government, human rights institutions), may be relevant across sectors and organizations. Recommendations do not necessarily reflect the consensus of dialogue participants, unless explicitly stated otherwise.

A. Recommendations for the OHRC (*in addition to all recommendations in B & D below)

1. Promote understanding and monitoring of UNDRIP in Ontario.
2. Promote ongoing dialogue about Indigenous peoples’ human rights and UNDRIP implementation.
3. Amplify Indigenous voices and human rights concerns.
4. Act as an ally including (where appropriate) helping to support and facilitate Indigenous peoples’ communication with government.
5. Use the OHRC’s powers to advance systemic policy changes in key institutional areas (e.g. justice, education, child welfare).
   • Analyze and report on Indigenous identity data to monitor and evaluate the state of Indigenous human rights fulfilment.
   • Use public inquiry and legal intervention powers to expose Indigenous human rights violations and enforce Indigenous people’s human rights.
   • Educate and communicate to the public about the impact and benefits of systemic changes resulting from OHRC interventions.
6. Prioritize, advance and promote Indigenous language rights as a human right, and within the education system.

B. Recommendations for human rights institutions in Canada and Ontario

1. Use UNDRIP as the organizing framework for understanding, interpreting and implementing Indigenous peoples’ human rights in Canada.
2. Interpret human rights laws and advance policies in alignment with UNDRIP.
3. Develop mechanisms to systematically monitor, track and report on UNDRIP implementation.
4. Promote understanding, translation and use of UNDRIP for domestic human rights duty and rights holders.
5. Monitor, track and publicly report on organizational best practices respecting, protecting and advancing Indigenous peoples’ human rights. This could include issuing a report card.
6. Strengthen the human rights system’s capacity to deal with systemic human rights issues, including by creating a separate stream for handling systemic human rights applications.
7. Give greater emphasis in human rights law, policy and education to collective human rights and responsibilities.

C. Recommendations for governments at all levels in Canada

1. Use UNDRIP as the organizing framework for understanding, interpreting and implementing Indigenous peoples’ human rights in Canada, including but not limited to “Aboriginal rights” under the Constitution.
2. Review and amend domestic legislation, including human rights law, to ensure alignment with and accountability for implementation of UNDRIP.  
3. Consider legislative reform to the Ontario Human Rights Code to better recognize, respect and reflect Indigenous rights and unique constitutional status and to give greater visibility and effect to UNDRIP.
4. Create a National Action Plan for implementing UNDRIP, in partnership with Indigenous peoples and the provinces and territories.
5. Develop mechanisms to systematically monitor, track and report on UNDRIP implementation.
6. Support the development and maintenance of autonomous Indigenous institutions to advance Indigenous human rights.
7. Strengthen domestic human rights law and policy to better address social, economic and cultural rights.
8. Equitably fund public services for Indigenous communities and address cultural, linguistic and geographical barriers to service.

D. Recommendations for organizations in general (including government, public, private, non-profit sector and human rights institutions). See also Business and Reconciliation

See also Section 1 (“On walking together, meaningful engagement and reconciliation”) for more general advice in the below respects.

1. Recognize and respect Indigenous peoples’ sovereignty and right to self-determination.
   • Interrogate and transform colonially-shaped organizational paradigms, structures and relations of power underlying and shaping program and service provision.
   • Empower Indigenous peoples and perspectives, including by vacating institutional space to support and make way for Indigenous peoples and organizations to exercise sovereignty in your service area.
2. Engage in ongoing dialogue and relationship-building, as equal partners. Value cultivating and preserving good relationships over (but not necessarily to the exclusion of) short-term actions and deliverables.
3. Increase representation of First Nations, Métis and Inuit people at all staff, management and governance levels, and create inclusive, empowering work environments to help ensure Indigenous staff retention.
4. Design and provide services in a culturally and linguistically accessible, relevant and competent manner.
5. Collect Indigenous identity data to monitor and evaluate service access and outcomes for Indigenous peoples

https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/dream-together-indigenous-peoples-and-human-rights-dialogue-report