On December 3, 2018, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the Government of Canada announced that with the support of all provinces and territories Canada has acceded to the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). This means that Canadians can now make complaints to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of violations of their rights guaranteed under the CRPD. As well, it means that Canada will allow the UN body responsible for the CRPD to undertake systemic inquiries into rights violations in Canada. In doing so, Canada has equipped persons with disabilities, both as individuals and as groups, with new avenues to seek justice and defend their rights.

Second, the government announced its intention to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act to empower the Canadian Human Rights Commission to monitor the federal implementation of the CRPD in Canada independently, and to ensure the Commission has the resources for this purpose. The CRPD calls for the appointment of an independent monitoring mechanism, and so this is another step in bringing Canada fully into compliance with the treaty.