Amnesty International's annual report on human rights is criticizing Canada for its failure to protect native girls and women who are killed or go missing.
The survey also slams the Harper government for stalled native land claims, and for cutting funds to groups that advance women's rights.
As well, it knocks Canada's handling of foreign captives in Afghanistan and its refusal to intervene in the U.S. detention of Canadian Omar Khadr at Guantanamo Bay.
And once again, this year's report criticizes the use of Taser stun guns by Canadian police forces, noting last year's deaths of at least six Canadians who had been jolted by one of the guns. The North American total of Taser-related deaths is now at least 366, Amnesty says.
On the issue of missing and murdered native women, the Native Women's Association of Canada recently reported that 520 native girls and women have been killed or have vanished since 1970. About half the cases occurred in the last nine years.
Almost one-quarter of the total number of women are still missing. Among the 348 victims who were murdered, no one has been charged in 150 confirmed cases.
The federal government has said it is responding to the problem by spending $5 million on the Sisters in Spirit research campaign, and is also working on a second phase.
As for the issue of land claims, Ottawa says it has committed $250 million a year for the next 10 years to speed smaller native land-claim settlements. But Aboriginal leaders say the government isn't holding up its end of sweeping deals, such as the Nisga'a agreement in British Columbia.
The Supreme Court of Canada refused last week to hear arguments that Canadian troops in Afghanistan should apply the Charter of Rights in their dealings with prisoners. Its dismissal of the case essentially upheld Federal Court rulings that foreign captives in Afghanistan must rely on international legal protections, not the Canadian Charter of Rights.
That leaves it to the Military Police Complaints Commission to investigate whether foreign captives delivered to Afghan custody by Canadian troops are routinely tortured. Amnesty International has repeatedly raised the concern in court.
Internationally, Amnesty International Report 2009 warns that the global economic downturn has aggravated human rights abuses and distracted attention from others.
The 400-page report looking at 157 countries notes that for many recent years, human rights have been trampled on in the name of security. "Now, in the name of economic recovery they are being relegated to the back seat," =Amnesty International's Secretary Irene Khan said in a statement.
"Ignoring one crisis to focus on another is a recipe for aggravating both. Economic recovery will be neither sustainable nor equitable if governments fail to tackle abuses that drive and deepen poverty, or armed conflicts that generate new violations," she added.
In china, for example, millions of migrant workers drawn to cities from the countryside have been thrown out of work by the collapse in exports. The group says that Chinese authorities continue to harass or imprison those trying to challenge government policies.
In Latin America, Amnesty said the "already critical" situation of many indigenous groups risks being exacerbated by the crisis.
And in Africa, the rising cost of living in countries such as Mali, Cameroon, Tunisia, Somalia, Zimbabwe has sparked protests across the continent -- only to be met by violent repression.
Amnesty International Canada spokesman Alex Neve says while Canada does have the dismal human rights record of such countries as China or Sudan, we have more work to do.
"There are real issues of real concern in Canada when it comes to human rights protection. While we have much to be proud of, we are far from perfect. We owe it to the people whose rights are at stake to do better."
