Search results for “site/human rights”

  • Waning transparency in Canada: Is access to information broken?

    At the federal, provincial and even the local level, there was a time when governments in Canada seemed to think transparency about their operations was a pretty good idea. Not anymore. At the federal level, the issue of transparency through access to information has even been sent to the United…

  • May 2003: West Paupans Oppressed by U.S. Multinational

    An interview with John Rumbiak John Rumbiak is a supervisor for West Papua Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy (ELSHAM) based in Jayapura, the capital of West Papua province in Indonesia. He toured Canada in November 2002 to promote awareness of the oppression and exploitation of the Papuan people…

  • A Foolhardy Approach to Criminal Justice

    Harper’s “tough-on-crime” bills costly, counterproductive The Harper government is reintroducing its proposed “tough-on-crime” laws that were killed when Harper prorogued Parliament in January. These crime bills, if passed, will result in the lengthy incarceration of hundreds of additional offenders under harsh conditions. Many Canadians approve. Fine, they say — whatever…

  • The Latin American Revolution (V)

    In Bolivia, under Morales, the revolution is indigenous Evo Morales, Bolivia’s indigenous President, started his second term in January by declaring colonialism dead in his country. Morales emphasized that he has attempted to “eradicate all vestiges of colonial repression and discrimination against Bolivia’s indigenous majority.” He certainly has, which is…

  • Social Watch

    Budgets profoundly affect human rights says international report

    READ THE FULL REPORT HERE. Ottawa—On the eve of the 60th anniversary of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights a new international report concludes that budgets profoundly impact the attainment of human rights, and the attainment of human rights impacts the quality of our lives. This conclusion flows from…

  • July 2006: Privacy in the Workplace

    Our right to privacy as employees is being increasingly violated Recent CCPA Monitor articles described how our privacy as citizens and consumers is under world-wide siege by governments and transnational corporations. Employee privacy isn’t faring very well, either. Understand the forces at work. Know the stakes and what to look…

  • Out of the Closet on Site C

    For years, successive BC governments have forbidden any new large-scale hydro dams. When I was on the BC Hydro Board of Directors in the mid-1990s, the Board passed a motion that all government land-holdings associated with Site C should be sold. The BC Hydro Board was against building Site C,…

  • Site C

    I recall talking to a senior BC Hydro planner a number of years ago who mapped out a very sensible way to develop the BC Hydro system. Retain the Burrard gas-fired thermal power plant as a back-up for extreme drought, when electricity supply at the hydro facilities on the Peace…

  • Canada’s Afghanistan “mission” cripples democracy at home

    Stephen Harper’s Conservative government shut down Parliament until March, mainly to avoid answering politically embarrassing questions about the torture of Canadian military detainees in Afghanistan. Especially disturbing are the allegations – and mounting evidence — that our military was complicit in this torture of captives by Afghan government “interrogators.” The…

  • Why is Milk So Expensive in First Nations Communities?

    Access to and Affordability of Milk in Northern Manitoba Download 1.48 MB20 pages This study finds milk is significantly costlier in First Nations communities than in Winnipeg and Northern Manitoba. The cost was higher in First Nations with and without access to an all-weather road. The study is based on…

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    Workplace rights in BC should reflect the realities of the 21st century economy

    For the first time in 25 years, BC’s workplace rights are being reviewed. Disappointingly, however, the fulsome consultation needed to develop policies for the realities of 21st century workers is not happening. BC’s workplace laws were written in the 20th century when there were no smartphones and most workers spent…

  • Economic Security Project (BC)

    Farmworkers relegated to second-class status: study

    Proposed changes would end exploitation of BC’s immigrant and migrant farmworkers CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL REPORT (Vancouver) A new study of farm work in BC reveals systematic violations of employment standards and health and safety regulations, poor and often dangerous working conditions, and dismal enforcement by government agencies.…