In 1999, NAWL presented a Brief to the Canadian Human Rights Act Review Panel. We underlined the need for a better, faster way of processing human rights complaints. We urged the Task Force to recommend inclusion of social condition as a protected ground of discrimination under the Act. We also told the Review Panel that…
In December of 1999, NAWL presented a Brief to the Canadian Human Rights Act Review Panel. We recommended inclusion of social condition as a protected ground of discrimination under the Act. We also told the Review Panel that if the Human Rights Act is to make a difference for the most disadvantaged women in Quebec…
Over the past three decades, some 500 Aboriginal women have disappeared or been murdered in Canada. A 2004 Amnesty International Report documented the systemic killing of indigenous women in Canada, particularly those who were young and impoverished. The Report concludes that Canadian authorities could and should have done more to ensure the safety of these…
Canada adopted the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 1976. Countries like Canada that have signed the International Covenant must submit progress reports to an International Committee. Groups like NAWL can also present alternative reports to the Committee. In November of 1998, NAWL submitted a report called: Women and the Social Deficit.…
In 1976 Canada ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Yet, despite having ratified this Covenant 30 years ago, little progress has been achieved for the most vulnerable groups in Canadian society. Right Honorable Stephen Harper Prime Minister of Canada House of Commons Ottawa Prime Minister Harper, As you know, in 1976…
OTTAWA – The National Association of Women and the Law released a Mother’s Day Statement that has been endorsed by over 100 local, provincial and national organizations across the country. While more fathers have been getting involved, women still do the lion’s share of the work of caring for children and the home. Most mothers…
On Mother’s Day, we celebrate our mothers and all they have done for us. Yet in all our communities everywhere in Canada, mothers are struggling to make ends meet, to do well by their children and their families. Women must work hard to bring about a world where their children will not have to fear…
OTTAWA – Today in Geneva, women’s organizations and other social justice groups from Canada will report on Canada’s disappointing performance under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The United Nations Committee is due to review Canada’s compliance under this Convention in the coming week. FAFIA, a broad alliance of women’s organizations and…
Aside from federal/provincial division of powers arguments, the Québec Appeal Court decision raised some important questions about maternity and parental benefits. The Court saw motherhood as an individual choice and therefore an individual responsibility. At NAWL, we think that society as a whole benefits from the work mothers (and increasingly, fathers) do raising children. The…
Aside from federal/provincial division of powers arguments, the Québec Appeal Court decision raised some important questions about maternity and parental benefits. The Court saw motherhood as an individual choice and therefore an individual responsibility. At NAWL, we think that society as a whole benefits from the work mothers (and increasingly, fathers) do raising children. The…
On January 27, 2004, the Quebec Court of Appeal ruled that the maternity benefits and parental benefits provisions of the Employment Insurance Act encroach upon provincial jurisdiction and are beyond the jurisdiction of the Parliament of Canada. This decision calls for action by us, since the funding of maternity leaves and parental leaves is a…
Cet article est disponible uniquement en anglais. The World March of Women (WMW) is a global network for feminist action that had its genesis in the Quebec women’s movement. WMW focuses on struggles against poverty and violence against women. In 2000, the WMW carried out a series of national actions including popular education, national marches…
December 2002 was a most significant month for women’s equality seeking organizations. The Supreme Court of Canada released three important decisions (Gosselin, Walsh, and Chamberlain, the federal government tabled Bill C-22 in the House of Commons, proposing major changes to the Divorce Act in the area of custody and access, and NAWL submitted an extensive…
There are good news elements in the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Gosselin v. Québec (Attorney General). Justice Arbour has written an important and fresh decision on section 7, finding that it creates a positive obligation on governments to deal with economic deprivation. In addition, the majority on the discrimination issue is a slim…
ADVERTISEMENT Volume 14:1: Women and Poverty: The Challenge of Social and Economic Rights Feminist activists and scholars consistently argued that equality rights guarantees would be of little value to women unless they were read as a source of substantive governmental obligation to address the real life circumstances of women’s lives. The latest volume of the…
At its most extreme, the criminalization of poverty costs lives. That is exactly what happened to Kimberly Rogers. Kimberly Rogers was charged and pled guilty to welfare fraud in April 2001. She had collected social assistance and failed to report that she was collecting student loans simultaneously. Social assistance recipients cannot also collect student loans…
Summary of a presentation from NAWL’s 14th Biennial Conference In the Fall of 2001, the Supreme Court of Canada heard Louise Gosselin’s Charter claim to an adequate level of social assistance (Gosselin v. The Attorney General of Québec, 27418, decision reserved). Gosselin raises important questions regarding whether states have a positive duty to provide social…
Good evening everyone. I am glad to declare this conference open. Finally, after a full year of work and preparations, I think we have put together a very rich and very diversified conference, with a strong thematic link. Andrée Côté’s brilliant ideas have also allowed us to create a full French program and a series…
Ratification of the American Convention on Human Rights L’information d’organisation Presented to the Senate Committee on Human Rights. Available in French only. Présenté au Comité sénatorial permanent des droits de l’homme. L’Association nationale de la femme et du droit (ANFD) est très heureuse d’avoir la possibilité de témoigner devant le Comité sur les droits de…
Cet article est disponible uniquement en anglais. After the World Trade Organization wrapped up its meetings in the heavily patrolled city of Doha, Qatar this past November, Farah Khan, an observer, stated: “Compared with other international gatherings, Doha has been a remarkable and unrelenting gathering of male suits. From the opening plenary to the closing…
