For Immediate Release A coalition of national feminist organizations welcomes the initiation of legal action by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association to fight the discriminatory and anti-choice regulation that prohibits the funding of abortion care outside of hospital settings in New Brunswick. In October 2020, Clinic 554, the only free-standing clinic providing surgical abortions in…
Tag: Access to Health Services
Feminist groups call for immediate action on abortion access in New Brunswick
For Immediate Release A coalition of feminist organizations is calling for the federal government and the government of New Brunswick to take immediate action in light of the imminent closure of Clinic 554 in Fredericton. The Fredericton clinic, the only free-standing clinic providing surgical abortions in the province, is set to close by the end…
Joint Letter to Finance Minister on PharmaCare
Over 170 national and provincial organizations have signed the joint Pharmacare Now Statement calling on all parties to work together to implement universal, public pharmacare within this government’s mandate. A diverse coalition of 150 national and provincial organizations representing health care providers, non-profit organizations, unions, workers, business, seniors and patients are now calling on the Finance Minister…
NAWL endorses Pharmacare Now
In the wake of the federal election, our coalition of national and provincial organizations is calling on the new government to immediately implement universal, public pharmacare. Our large and diverse coalition represents health care providers, non-profit organizations, unions, workers, seniors, patients and academics from across the country. Within a minority Parliament, co-operation is more important…
Action Canada & NAWL respond to 2019 Canada Summer Jobs Program
In response to the 2018 Canada Summer Jobs Program, Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights (Action Canada) and the National Association of Women and the Law (NAWL) shared an open letter supporting changes made to the Program. A copy of the open letter can be found here. The framework for the 2019 Canada Summer…
Rachael Harder Was Rejected As Committee Chair For Good Reason
Her views on women’s reproductive autonomy and choice show that she lacks the basic qualifications necessary to be a member, let alone the chair. Written by Martha Jackman, Professor of constitutional law and member of the Centre for Health Law Policy & Ethics at the University of Ottawa Published in the Huffington Post on October…
An Open Letter Supporting Recent Changes to the Canada Summer Jobs Program
The undersigned organizations wholeheartedly support the recent changes made to the Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) program, which seek to secure greater fulfillment of human rights in accordance with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We call on all political parties in Canada to do the same. *** Dear Prime Minister Trudeau, Ms. May, Ms.…
NAWL Responds to Trinity Western University’s School of Law Proposal
Cette lettre est uniquement disponible en anglais. In a letter addressed to the Canadian Federation of Law Societies, NAWL expresses its grave concern regarding Trinity Western University’s proposal to open a new law school. Trinity Western’s University’s requirement that students and staff sign a “community covenant agreement” is discriminatory. PDF version available here…
Women’s rights organizations call for resignation of Status of Women Minister Rona
OTTAWA / The National Association of Women and the Law(“NAWL”), along with a number of Canadian women’s equality groups, joins the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada in demanding the immediate resignation of the Minister Responsible for the Status of Women Rona Ambrose. A woman’s right to reproductive choice has been a central tenet of NAWL’s…
Open Letter: Resignation of Rona Ambrose re M-312
Lettre ouverte au gouvernement: Démission de Rona Ambrose re M-312 NAWL calls for Rona Ambrose’s resignation as the the Minister Responsible for the Status of Women. L’ ANFD réclame la démission immédiate de la ministre responsable de la Condition féminine, Rona Ambrose. September 28, 2012 Stephen Harper Office of the Prime Minister 80 Wellington Street…
NAWL calls for Rona Ambrose’s resignation as the the Minister Responsible for the Status of Women re M-312
September 28, 2012 Stephen Harper Office of the Prime Minister 80 Wellington Street Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2 By e-mail: pm@pm.gc.ca cc Minister Ambrose: rona.ambrose.c1a@parl.gc.ca Re: Resignation of Rona Ambrose re M-312 The National Association of Women and the Law (NAWL), along with the undersigned organizations, joins the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada in demanding the…
Abortion and Reproductive Rights
Women’s reproductive rights, including the right to abortion, are increasingly under attack in North America. In 2006, the South Dakota Legislature voted a law that would make it a crime for doctors to perform an abortion unless it was necessary to save a woman’s life. The law makes no exception for cases of rape or…
Women’s Reproductive Rights and the American Convention on Human Rights
The American Convention on Human Rights is an important human rights instrument, yet it contains a right to life provision. NAWL will not endorse ratification of the American Convention until we have the assurance that women’s reproductive rights, including the right to abortion, will be effectively guaranteed. NAWL wrote letters to the Ministers of Foreign…
Ratifying the American Convention on Human Rights: The Stakes for Women
This report was written for the Working Group on Abortion, Reproductive Health, and Women’s Citizenship in the Americas of the National Association of Women and the Law (NAWL). Table of Contents Foreword & Acknowledgments Introduction The OAS and the Inter-American Human Rights System ACHR Ratification: Characteristics, Issues and Difficulties for Canada Abortion, Reproductive Health and…
Ratifying the American Convention on Human Rights: The Stakes for Women
Women and the Canada Health and Social Transfer: Ensuring Gender Equality in Federal Welfare Reform
This brief assesses the implications of the repeal of the Canada Assistance Plan, the attendant loss of national standards, and the resulting need for protection of the social welfare net. It suggests how the CHST might be amended to better reflect and promote women’s equality rights.…
Consent to Treatment and Substitute Decision Making
NAWL responded to Ontario legislation that recognizes a new category of “partners” (in addition to spouses). The document comments on the implications of this category for lesbian and gay partners, and advocates for a guarantee of explicit consent to treatment for pregnant women.…
Brief to the Legislative Committee on Bill C-43, An Act Respecting Abortion
This brief explains in detail why Bill C-43 is fundamentally flawed. Some of the reasons are that this is an inappropriate use of the criminal law, that it will open a door to legal harassment of women and doctors and that its provisions violate women’s Charter rights.…
A Response to Crimes Against the Foetus, the Law Reform Commission of Canada’s Working Paper #58
Takes issue with the Law Reform Commission’s proposal to create a crime of harm to or destruction of the foetus. Argues that the commission fails its own test for the criminalization of behaviour and that the commission displays little understanding of women’s rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.…
