A/HRC/41/42/Add.1 Annex Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, on her visit to Canada I. Introduction 1. At the invitation of the Government, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Dubravka Šimonović, visited Canada from 13 to 23 April 2018. 2. During her visit, the Special Rapporteur met key stakeholders at the federal, provincial and territorial levels regarding the situation of violence against women, gathering first-hand information through visits to 3 of the 10 provinces (Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec), and the territory of Nunavut. 3. At the federal level, she held several meetings and round tables with officials from the Ministries of Women and Gender Equality (formerly Status of Women Canada), Justice, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs, Employment, Families, Children and Social Development, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, National Defence and Global Affairs, and from the federal agency Correctional Service Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency. 4. At the provincial and territorial levels, in Toronto, she met ministers and authorities representing the government of Ontario; in Montreal, with authorities from the government of Quebec; in Winnipeg, with ministers and authorities representing the government of Manitoba; and in Iqaluit with one minister and government officials from Nunavut. 5. She visited two women’s correctional facilities: the Nunavut Women’s Correctional Centre in Iqaluit and the Women’s Correctional Centre of Manitoba in Headingly. She also visited shelters for women fleeing violence in each location. 6. The Special Rapporteur also met a range of representatives of statutory human rights agencies such as the Canadian Human Rights Commission, the Ontario Human Rights Commission and the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse of Quebec. She also met representatives of other institutions and advisory bodies: the Office of the Correctional Investigator, the Qulliit Nunavut Status of Women Council, the Protecteur du citoyen du Québec and the Conseil du statut de la femme of Quebec. 7. In addition, the Special Rapporteur held a videoconference with the Chief Commissioner of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, and met representatives of the Public Inquiry Commission on relations between Indigenous Peoples and certain public services in Québec, also known as the Viens Inquiry. 8. She convened meetings with a broad range of civil society representatives, academics, service providers and women’s legal centres, such as the National Association of Women and the Law, the Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic and the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action. She also held several meetings with academics in Ottawa and Toronto. 9. The Special Rapporteur expresses her gratitude to the Government of Canada and the governments of the provinces and territories for welcoming her on her first visit and for their excellent cooperation, and to civil society organizations, academics and other stakeholders for their valuable input. She expresses her heartfelt thanks to victims of violence who agreed to relate their personal experiences, which were crucial to gaining a deeper understanding of the situation of violence against women in Canada. 2