The Canadian Human Rights Commission is concerned by Quebec’s recent adoption of Bill 62, the Religious Neutrality Law, which prohibits public workers, as well as those receiving public services from covering their faces.
Tomorrow, the Canadian Human Rights Commission (the Commission) will appear before the Supreme Court of Canada to argue on behalf of the people of Canada—that they be allowed to use the human rights system to fight discrimination when it results from a federal law.
“It is widely acknowledged that our aging and elderly populations are particularly vulnerable to human rights abuses, and these vulnerabilities are all the more acute during and after a period of incarceration,” said Marie-Claude Landry, Chief Commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission. “Our organizations are uniquely placed to assess these vulnerabilities and provide a way forward.”
These last few weeks have been filled with news of a troubling rise in intolerance throughout the world: terror attacks in Europe, alt-right protests in the U.S., white supremacist rallies being held in cities across Canada, and organized groups protesting the arrival of refugees. We continue to see human rights tested every day around the world.
Looking back, I believe 2017 will be remembered as a pivotal year for the advancement of equality in Canada – a tipping point. It was a year when the invisible became visible. When the tolerable became intolerable. People across Canada joined the chorus of voices around the world speaking out against discrimination and harassment in ways we have not seen in decades.
Ten years ago today, the United Nations adopted a declaration that affirmed to the entire world, the rights of Indigenous peoples as equal members of the human family. For Canada, it meant that the rights of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples were now given due recognition by international human rights law.
At a ceremony in Montreal today, the Canadian Human Rights Commission and the National Association of Friendship Centres signed a partnership agreement to help Indigenous peoples in urban centres across Canada find the information and services they need to fight back against discrimination
These changes come in the wake of Parliament’s recent change to the Canadian Human Rights Act, which added “gender identity or expression” to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination.
“The Canadian Human Rights Commission welcomes the federal government’s introduction of federal housing legislation, in particular the appointment of a Federal Housing Advocate.
“Late in December, the Quebec Court of Appeal gave its opinion that the criminal sanctions in the federal law prohibiting genetic discrimination, which was passed in 2017, are unconstitutional and beyond the power of the federal government.