Ending Coerced and Forced Sterilization of Indigenous Women – 2020

BACKGROUND: With the release of the reports of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the recent Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, Canadians are becoming more aware and starting to acknowledge our long history of colonial oppression. Recently, another travesty has become public—that of coerced and forced sterilization of Indigenous women. The Saskatoon Health Region was instrumental in shining light on coerced and forced sterilization of Indigenous women by commissioning Dr. Yvonne Boyer and Dr. Judith Bartlett to study the issue which resulted in a ground-breaking 2017 report. Reports in media from individual indigenous women indicate that the practice of forced sterilization has been undertaken as recently as 2018.

Senator Yvonne Boyer continues to advocate to the Senate Standing Committee of Human Rights for a more thorough investigation to better understand the issue of coerced and forced sterilization of Indigenous women in Canada; to bring awareness of the issue to the public, health professionals and Indigenous women and to work towards stopping its practice.
Coerced and forced sterilization of Indigenous Women has not been addressed in Canadian public policy although the practice is clearly unlawful under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.