E/C.12/CAN/CO/6 (e) The State party’s commitment to reinstate the long-form census and the launch of the new Canadian Survey on Disability; (f) The recent appointment of the new federal Cabinet, in which 50 per cent of new ministers are women and 17 per cent are “visible minorities”. C. Principal subjects of concern and recommendations Domestic application of the Covenant 5. The Committee is concerned that, despite certain promising developments and the Government’s commitment to review its litigation strategies, economic, social and cultural rights remain generally non-justiciable in domestic courts. The Committee is also concerned at the limited availability of legal remedies for victims in the event of a violation of Covenant rights, which may disproportionately impact disadvantaged and marginalized groups and individuals, including homeless persons, indigenous peoples and persons with disabilities. 6. The Committee recommends that the State party take the legislative measures necessary to give full effect to the Covenant rights in its legal order and ensure that victims have access to effective remedies. The Committee recommends that the State party implement its commitment to review its litigation strategies in order to foster the justiciability of the economic, social and cultural rights. The State party should engage civil society and organizations of indigenous peoples in that revision, with a view to broadening the interpretation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, notably sections 7, 12 and 15, to include economic social and cultural rights, and thus ensure the justiciability of Covenant rights. The Committee also recommends that the State party improve human rights training programmes in order to ensure better knowledge, awareness and application of the Covenant, in particular among the judiciary and law enforcement and public officials. The Committee refers to its general comments No. 3 (1990) on the nature of States parties’ obligations and No. 9 (1998) on the domestic application of the Covenant. Intergovernmental arrangements under the federal system 7. The Committee welcomes the reassurance provided by the State party that its federal structure may enhance implementation through local and regional accountability measures and notes that the State party has referred in its common core document to section 36 of the Constitution Act, 1982 in that context. The Committee is concerned, however, that funding and other agreements with provinces, territories and municipalities do not establish responsibilities for the implementation of Covenant rights at the different levels. 8. The Committee recommends that economic, social and cultural rights be incorporated into intergovernmental agreements and enabling legislation for municipalities, and that transfer of payments take into due account compliance with Covenant rights. Maximum available resources 9. The Committee is concerned about stagnation in the levels of social spending as a share of gross domestic product. The Committee is also concerned at the low levels of corporate tax rates if compared with other rich countries, and about the disproportionate impact of austerity measures introduced in a number of provinces on disadvantaged and marginalized groups and individuals (art. 2 (1)). 2