A/HRC/39/11 reconciliation efforts, including its unqualified endorsement of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. 10. In December 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission had released its final report, which included 94 calls to action. The Government had signalled that it would fully implement the calls to action in partnership with indigenous communities, the provinces, territories and other partners. 11. Indigenous women and girls in Canada were disproportionately affected by all forms of violence. Canada was committed to ensuring the safety and security of all women and children in the country. During the second cycle of the universal periodic review, many delegations had recommended that Canada launch an inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. The National Inquiry had been launched in December 2015 and was an important step towards ending that ongoing national tragedy. Furthermore, in its broad review of the criminal justice system, the Government was looking, among other things, at ways to address the overrepresentation of indigenous women and girls as victims of crime. 12. The Government had renewed its commitment to gender equality, including by appointing the first federal minister fully dedicated to gender issues, and the first genderbalanced federal Cabinet. With regard to the gender wage gap, the Government recognized that pay equity was a human right and had taken action in that regard, including at the provincial level. 13. Gender-based violence remained a significant barrier to achieving gender equality. In order to address that issue, in 2017, the Government had announced the first federal strategy to end gender-based violence, which included investments in important programmes for at-risk populations, including indigenous women and girls. The Government had also introduced numerous criminal law reforms to better protect women and all Canadians from violence, including strengthened sexual assault laws and responses to intimate partner violence. 14. A key priority was increasing the inclusion of persons with disabilities in society. Following extensive consultations, the Government expected to introduce legislation in 2018 to transform how accessibility was addressed at the federal level. 15. Canada had inclusive migration policies that supported diversity and a two-way approach to integration. The Government worked closely with provincial, territorial, municipal and community-based partners to ensure the successful integration of newcomers, including refugees. It also strove to address vulnerabilities faced by some immigrant subgroups, such as women who were victims of gender-based violence. 16. Canada recognized the importance of addressing racial and religious discrimination and crimes motivated by hate and the challenges that remained in those areas. 17. The visit of the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent in 2017 had highlighted many issues of discrimination against African Canadians. The Government was making significant new investments towards a new national anti-racism approach, including measures to address the challenges faced by Black Canadians. Action had also been taken at the provincial level, including in Ontario and Quebec. 18. Canada had an excellent agenda to promote equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex persons, protect their rights and address violence and discrimination against them, both historical and current. Several measures had been adopted recently in that regard. 19. While Canada was a prosperous country, too many Canadians did not share in that prosperity. A poverty reduction strategy was therefore being developed. Additionally, several provinces, territories and municipalities also had stand-alone poverty reduction strategies. 20. Canada had recently unveiled its first National Housing Strategy to help ensure that Canadians had access to affordable housing that met their needs. It was also funding the creation of three distinctions-based (culturally specific) housing strategies for First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities. 3