A/HRC/43/41/Add.2 B. Institutional and policy framework 21. The Office for Disability Issues is the federal focal point on disability, as provided for by article 33 (1) of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Office works to build capacity, improve knowledge and foster coherent disability-related programmes across federal agencies and departments. Each provincial and territorial government has a similar office responsible for providing policy advice and expertise on disability issues within their jurisdiction. However, there is no national mechanism to coordinate disability-related action in the different sectors or among the federal, provincial and territorial levels. The Special Rapporteur encourages the authorities to consider establishing such a mechanism to enhance national coherence in the implementation of the Convention. 22. The Accessible Canada Act amends the Canadian Human Rights Acts by designating the Canadian Human Rights Commission as the independent body responsible for monitoring the Government’s implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as required by its article 33 (2). The Special Rapporteur welcomes this positive development and underlines the importance of providing the Commission an unequivocal national monitoring mandate and appropriate financial and human resources to implement this function. In addition, she encourages each province and territory to designate its own independent monitoring mechanism, which could coordinate with the national mechanism and support national monitoring efforts. 23. Although there are several examples in which the federal, provincial and territorial governments have come together to coordinate actions in diverse areas, there is no panCanadian strategy on the rights of persons with disabilities. Prior to the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, in 1998, the federal, provincial and territorial governments, with the exception of Quebec, which passed the Loi assurant l’exercise des droits des personnes handicapées in 1978, adopted a common vision and long-term policy directions aimed at addressing gaps in the provision of support services, employment and income security for persons with disabilities. 6 A new comprehensive national policy is needed to secure the implementation of the Convention. 24. The Special Rapporteur welcomed the availability of data disaggregated by disability status and the use of the Canadian Disability Screening Questions and the short set of questions of the Washington Group on Disability Statistics. These positive efforts are key to monitoring the implementation of the Convention and the Sustainable Development Goals in an internationally comparable manner. However, it is worrying that the statistical and administrative information available is not adequately used at the provincial and territorial level to inform the design, implementation and monitoring of policies and programmes. Moreover, there are information gaps in relation to persons with disabilities in institutions. 25. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the increased domestic commitment towards the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, which provides an opportunity to include the rights of persons with disabilities in national development policies and plans. She encourages the federal, provincial and territorial governments to work together to implement these obligations as part of their efforts to leave no one behind. C. Issues to be addressed in the area of legal and policy harmonization 26. While acknowledging the existing disability framework, the Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government of Canada conduct a comprehensive legislative review to fully harmonize the federal, provincial and territorial normative frameworks with the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Current legislation does not yet reflect the model of substantive equality introduced by the Convention, which 6 Federal/Provincial/Territorial Ministers Responsible for Social Services, In Unison: A Canadian Approach to Disability Issues. 5