Canada faces a "crisis" over the living conditions of its aboriginal residents, the UN special rapporteur for the rights of indigenous peoples has said.

James Anaya said Canada had taken "positive steps" but that "daunting challenges" remained, including a lower level of "well-being".

He said aboriginal women and girls remained vulnerable to abuse, and noted a lack of trust of the government.

Alison Redford’s unexpected resignation has reignited the debate on gender in politics. Some declare that gender had everything to do with it, while others argue as strongly that nothing could be further from the truth. We think that gender was not inconsequential to her experiences as leader, as her experiences follow a pattern we’ve witnessed amongst women party leaders at the federal and provincial levels in Canada. In a nutshell, the pattern is this: The expectations placed on women party leaders are greater, their mandates weaker and their tenures shorter.

A landmark Canadian parliamentary report released on March 7, 2014, failed to recommend needed steps to stem violence against indigenous women, Human Rights Watch said today. The committee did not recommend either an independent national inquiry or a comprehensive national action plan on the violence, and made no recommendations to address accountability for police misconduct.

As we gather with family and friends across our great country to celebrate the end of 2013, and as we look forward to a more hopeful 2014, let this be a New Year focused on Canadians, and not on political drama and scandal. And let parliamentarians work to ensure a brighter future for all women in Canada.

These are my New Year's wishes for the women in our lives -- the women who give us life, care for us, inspire us, and who are there for us when life treats us unkindly.