Alberta Human Rights Information Service March 12, 2003
COMMISSION NEWS
Brenda Scragg was recently appointed as a member of the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission. You can read Ms. Scragg's biography on the Commission website.
Alberta human rights commissioners have developed a new Code of Conduct, which will help to ensure that the human rights panel process is fair and transparent. Read the information bulletin.
Recent panel decisions include:
Kathy Hansen v. Big Dog Express Ltd. and Jonathan Grant (December 17, 2002; Diane Colley-Urquhart, Panel Chair)
Sonia Jacknife and Cassandra Collins v. Elizabeth Metis Settlement (December 6, 2002; H Colonel Delano W. Tolley, Panel Chair)
PLEASE NOTE: In the following sections of the newsletter, we publish news and information provided by other organizations and we cite websites related to human rights and diversity. The Commission is not responsible for the content provided by other organizations on their websites or by other means. Comments or inquiries regarding these organizations or their websites should be directed to the organization in question.
OTHER HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY NEWS
New developments
The Ontario Human Rights Commission has launched a province-wide inquiry into the effects of racial profiling on individuals, families, communities and society as a whole.
Events and conferences
Since 1966, the 21st of March has been recognized by the United Nations as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Canada was one of the first countries to support the UN declaration, and in 1989, the Department of Canadian Heritage launched its annual March 21 Campaign. The University of Calgary March 21 Committee is sponsoring a number of events related to March 21, including its annual Rock Against Racism event. The Northern Alberta Alliance on Race Relations (NAARR) will launch its March 21 campaign on March 13. Watch for other events in your community.
The 2003 CASHRA (Canadian Association of Statutory Human Rights Agencies) conference will take place in Winnipeg from May 25 to 28. The main focus of the conference will be human rights issues facing Aboriginal people.
The Alberta Civil Liberties Research Centre is hosting a symposium about Engaging Students in Social Responsibility from May 29-31, 2003 in Calgary.
Grants and awards
The Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Education Fund has published information about grant recipients and their funded projects for the period April 1, 2002 to January 30, 2003. The next deadline for grant applications is May 1, 2003.
The Reebok Human Rights Award honors young people from around the world who have made significant contributions to the cause of human rights. The deadline for nominations is May 31, 2003.
Publications
The Northern Alberta Alliance on Race Relations recently released several reports:
Multiculturalism in the City of Champions: Realities and the future directions
The Simmering Pot Boils Over: Racist backlash in Edmonton after September 11
The Cultural Diversity Institute recently published Diversity Education: A Literature Review. This review looks at current practices in diversity, anti-racism, human rights and multicultural education. The Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Education Fund provided funding for this project.
Learning about Walking in Beauty: Placing Aboriginal Perspectives in Canadian Classrooms, written by The Coalition for the Advancement of Aboriginal Studies, has been published with funding support from the Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF). You can access highlights or the full report on the CRRF Web site.
The Canadian Mental Health Association has updated its 1993 publication Diversity Works: Accommodations in the Workplace for People with Mental Illness. The updated version, called Working Well: An employer's guide to hiring and retaining people with mental illness, is for sale on-line. For more information, you can visit the association's website.
Canadian Policy Research Networks has released a paper called Immigration, Diversity and Social Inclusion in Canada's Cities. This paper discusses the importance of immigration to the future of Canada's cities. Follow the link from their home page to access the publication.
Statistics Canada released the fourth round of data from the 2001 Census of population in December, profiling the changes in the composition of Canada's language groups, and migration and mobility patterns.
RELATED WEBSITES
Visit http://www.peace.ca/, the Web site of the Canadian Centres for Teaching Peace. To find out about an upcoming peace conference in Alberta and to subscribe to a peace listserver, visit the Upcoming Events page and see the October 2003 entry.
http://www.edmontonmulticultural.com/ is the new Web site of the Edmonton Multicultural Society.
Visit http://www.youthroar.org/, the Web site of Reach Out Against Racism, an organization that encourages "youth leadership in promoting the unlearning of racism." The Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Education Fund supports the ROAR initiative.
The Quebec Commission des droits de la personne et les droits de la jeunesse has launched a new website.
Visit http://collections.ic.gc.ca/famous5, an interactive Web site that chronicles "the lives and achievements of the Famous Five. Together, Emily Murphy, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Louise McKinney, Irene Parlby and Nellie McClung achieved the recognition of women as persons under the British North America Act in 1929."
Due to confidentiality concerns, the Commission cannot reply
to complaints of discrimination using the Internet.
Please contact the Commission by telephone or regular mail
if you have a specific complaint.
The Commission will make publications available in accessible multiple formats upon request. Multiple formats provide access for people with disabilities who do not read conventional print.
