By Shana Conroy | Tuesday, November 29th, 2011 - 3:20PM
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The 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) taking place in Durban, South Africa, has begun! There, leaders will discuss progress in dealing with climate change, and negotiate a new international agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires this year. Canada’s Minister of the Environment travels to Durban next week.
CPJ created a petition based upon the Canadian Interfaith Call for Leadership and Action on Climate Change. It highlights CPJ’s value for the Earth and the importance of creation care. We hope to have many signed petitions tabled in the House of Commons during COP17 (November 28 – December 9, 2011). Take a look at comments from CPJ supporters who have already taken up the petition in their communities. Read more »
In June 2009, the Government of Canada rejected a recommendation from the UN Human Rights Council that Ottawa establish a poverty elimination strategy. Why? The Government of Canada argued that addressing poverty was a provincial responsibility. Much of the current debate centers on the issue of jurisdictional responsibility. Many advocates for the elimination of poverty argue that any sustainable plan to address poverty on a national level must come from the federal government. However, the federal government argues that programs to address poverty are the responsibility of the provinces as laid out The Constitution Act, 1867.Read more »
Rebekah Sears looks at the proposed changes to the refugee system, questioning whether they emphasize Fast at the Expense of Fair? Rebekah notes several conditions the proposed changes need to meet in order to ensure the system remains fair. Read more »
By Rebekah Sears | Thursday, April 22nd, 2010 - 9:45AM
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Today, April 22, is Earth Day. Initiated by US Senator Gaylord Nelson in 1970 as a national movement for education and promotion of environmental care, Earth Day eventually was recognized and is now celebrated around the world.
The first International Earth Day was held in 1990, with over 140 countries joining the movement. Today, with over 170 countries involved, Earth Day is one of the biggest movements in the world in terms of global environmental education and action. Read more »
Controversy swirls as world leaders prepare to gather in Copenhagen for the UN Climate Change Summit. Global warming caused by human action is still denied by some, while others perceive it to be the defining issue of our age. How are we to know what to believe? For CPJ members, a public justice framing of the complexities of climate change yields some helpful perspectives. Read more »
Signed by most states, the UDHR is an important benchmark in the development of international human rights standards. The 30 articles outline the basic principles, rights, dignities and freedoms to which every person is entitled. Some of these include the right to fair and equal treatment under the law, freedom of expression and thought, and the right to an adequate standard of living. Read more »
Human rights are often defined in terms of political and civil liberties. However, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, signed 61 years ago this December, also includes economic and social rights. As the world attempts to recover from the impacts of a global economic crisis, the need for protection of such rights is greater than ever. Such need has prompted individuals and organizations in Canada and abroad to pressure governments to get involved, creating opportunities for fresh action in the promotion of human rights. Read more »
By Rebekah Sears | Friday, November 13th, 2009 - 11:43AM
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Yesterday Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney released a new study guide for prospective Canadian citizens. Entitled Discover Canada: The rights and responsibilities of Canadian citizenship, the guide is much more extensive regarding Canadian history, and the forming of our country than the old guide.
Much of the historical emphasis, especially pre-Confederation history, is on the role of Aboriginal peoples, as well as the various English and French groups. But the expanding diversity and ethnic and cultural backgrounds among many of the more recent immigrants is also mentioned as well as the role of such immigrants in shaping Canada. Read more »
By Mariel Angus | Wednesday, July 8th, 2009 - 10:21AM
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Today, the leaders of world’s eight most powerful industrialized countries meet in L'Aquila, Italy, to discuss a range of pressing global issues.While the focus of the meetings will likely be dominated by concerns about the current recession, it is crucial that this does not detract attention from the need to take decisive and sustained action on global poverty and climate change. Read more »
By Karri Munn-Venn | Tuesday, May 19th, 2009 - 10:35AM
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On April 30, the Rideau Institute hosted a gathering of social justice and human rights organizations for an update on the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review of Canada. Bruce Porter of the Social Rights Advocacy Centre and Leilani Farha of the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation provided some reflections based on their engagement with the UPR process in Geneva and subsequent discussions of Canadian government officials. Read more »
Controversy swirls as world leaders prepare to gather in Copenhagen for the UN Climate Change Summit. Global warming caused by human action is still denied by some, while others perceive it to be the defining issue of our age. How are we to know what to believe? For CPJ members, a public justice framing of the complexities of climate change yields some helpful perspectives. 
