Posts Tagged ‘rabble.ca’

Ending discrimination against First Nations children in Canada

February 26th, 2015 by Priya Sarin

In February 2007, a human rights complaint was filed by the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society (the “Caring Society”) and the Assembly of First Nations (“AFN”) against the Government of Canada, alleging that the government discriminated against First Nations children by providing inequitable child welfare services to children living on-reserve as compared to children living off-reserve (First Nations Child).

In particular, the First Nations Child complaint alleges that the federal government’s program underfunds children living on-reserve, such that children do not receive needed care and support that would permit them to continue to live at home and, as a result, First Nations children are disproportionately removed from their families in comparison to non‑First Nations children. The impact of the child welfare system on First Nations communities has been compared to the legacy created by the residential school system.

Read more on rabble.ca

Taking the fight for housing rights to court

December 18th, 2014 by Safia Lakhani

Earlier this year, we considered the Ontario Superior Court’s decision on the landmark Charter application regarding housing rights in Tanudjaja et al. v. the Attorney General (Canada) (“Tanudjaja”). The applicants, four individuals in precarious housing situations, requested the Superior Court make a declaration that the federal and provincial governments had violated their rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms: specifically, the right to life, liberty and security (Section 7), and the right to the equal protection and equal benefit from the law (Section 15), by failing to implement a national and provincial housing strategy.

Read more on rabble.ca

Anti-terror bill C‑44: Pushing the limits of Canadian rights

November 27th, 2014 by Shelina Ali

On October 29, 2014 the government introduced Bill C‑44, an Act to amend the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act and other (related) Acts, cited in short form as the Protection of Canada from Terrorists Act. Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney stated that the amendments put forward under Bill C‑44 are required to keep Canadians safe from terrorism and to protect and uphold the privacy of confidential informants. However, in achieving the government’s stated goals, Bill C‑44 deliberately pushes the limits of Canadians’ right to privacy, protection from unreasonable search and seizure, and the right to life, liberty and security of the person.

Read more on rabble.ca

Expiring co-op housing operating agreements: An opportunity for housing innovation

September 25th, 2014 by Celia Chandler

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) operating agreements with non‑profit housing co‑operatives and rental housing providers have begun to expire across Canada at a rapid rate. These agreements with their related mortgages, entered into under various federal programs between 1970 and 1994, supply housing providers with between 25 and 40 years of annual subsidy money to provide reduced monthly charges to a specified percentage of tenants and members who qualify for support. With the conclusion of these agreements and their related mortgages, housing providers will cease making mortgage payments, but at the same time, they will no longer receive housing subsidy payments — payments that subsidize some 200,000 households in Canada comprising half a million people. While not all subsidized housing providers in Canada get their subsidies through CMHC operating agreements, the potential loss is a big blow to the sector. This, on top of an already serious affordable housing shortage, is cause for concern.

Read more on rabble.ca 

Does the right to housing belong in Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms?

May 29th, 2014 by Shelina Ali

This week, the Ontario Court of Appeal is hearing an appeal of the 2013 court decision in Tanudjaja et. al. v. Attorney General (Canada) et al. dismissing an application — of four individuals who identified as homeless, together with the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (the Applicants) — concerning the right to housing. The application in Tanudjaja asked the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to, among other things, make a declaration that the Government of Canada’s and the Government of Ontario’s failure to implement a national and provincial housing strategy violates the federal and provincial government’s obligations under sections 7 and 15(1) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the Charter). By seeking this declaration, the application put the issue of whether social and economic rights are embodied in the Charter squarely in front of the court.

Read more on rabble.ca

Rana Plaza victims still awaiting compensation after garment factory disaster

February 27th, 2014 by Kirsten Iler

Following the failed compensation talks in Geneva in September 2013, an agreement has now been reached and a process established to compensate the victims of the Rana Plaza factory disaster in Bangladesh. Very few of the 28 retailers involved, however, have signed the accord or agreed to provide compensation to victims and their families.

One of several Bangladesh garment factory disasters in recent times, the Rana Plaza building collapsed in April 2013, killing or injuring nearly 3,000 workers. Reports have since surfaced that the mainly female workforce were threatened with losing their pay if they refused to work that day, even though the building was already showing cracks. Once inside, the doors were locked and managers instructed workers to continue to work, even as the building began to shake and crumble.

To date, some emergency relief has been provided by a few retailers (notably, Primark and Loblaw, sister companies both controlled by the Westons). However, Rana Plaza victims still await compensation. Workers who survived but are disabled await medical care and rehabilitation. Families who lived off of the meagre wages of workers who died are now in dire straits.

Read more on rabble.ca