logo

STATEMENT - Canada is stronger when human rights are protected

Cision Canada28-05-2025

OTTAWA, ON, May 28, 2025 /CNW/ - Following the 2025 Speech from the Throne, Charlotte-Anne Malischewski, Interim Chief Commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, congratulates Prime Minister Mark Carney along with all members of Canada's new Parliament and issues the following statement:
Now is an opportunity for the country to remain true to Canadian values, to look at what unites us, and to put in place bold policies that strengthen our country.
Canadians care about human rights— 86% agree that human rights have a social and democratic benefit. Our commitment to human rights – to equality, dignity and respect for all – is what makes us who we are. It is a Canadian value, and a defining part of our shared identity.
Today, Canada faces significant and complex challenges. This government has committed to addressing the rising cost of living and the urgent need for adequate housing, to championing the safe integration of artificial intelligence into society, and to standing firm in protecting of our sovereignty.
We believe that meaningful, sustainable solutions to these challenges must be rooted in a steadfast commitment to human rights. Whether we are growing our economy, making housing more affordable, addressing systemic racism and the rise in hate, creating a barrier-free Canada, upholding Canada's diversity and serving the most vulnerable, or ensuring that every person has the opportunity to live free from discrimination, Canadians are looking for leadership that reflects their values and aspirations.
As we chart the course ahead, we must lead with the values of equality, dignity, and respect for all. This means advancing accessibility for people with disabilities, closing persistent pay gaps through pay equity, and removing systemic barriers so that everyone can fully participate in society.
Building a strong Canada will take all of us. Making sure everyone is included and can participate will only make us stronger.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Inviting Narenda Modi to the G7 summit was the right move for Mark Carney
Inviting Narenda Modi to the G7 summit was the right move for Mark Carney

Toronto Star

time40 minutes ago

  • Toronto Star

Inviting Narenda Modi to the G7 summit was the right move for Mark Carney

Stephen Harper was right about India. And Mark Carney was right to invite India's Narendra Modi to next week's G7 summit in Canada. As a former Canadian prime minister offering advice to the current PM, Harper argued persuasively this month that Canada needs to move on from the latest impasse with India. Carney did precisely that because the time was right. Many Sikh Canadians bristled over the decision. Human rights critics argued that Carney moved too fast. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW But the world of law and order is changing in the new world order. As a middle power caught between the big players, Canada doesn't have as many choices — or as many choice friends and allies — as it might have once imagined. Justin Trudeau liked to say, upon defeating Harper as prime minister a decade ago, that the world needs more Canada. But Canada has moved on from Trudeau — and the world has moved on, too. The world doesn't much need Canada anymore. Today, it wants India more than ever. Canada, too, needs India, the world's largest democracy and most populous nation. As this year's host for the summit of industrialized nations, Canada plays a special role convening all seven member countries — and inviting guest leaders, like Modi, to join them in Alberta next week. It's an exclusive club that operates by consensus, which means we can't just pick and choose who's invited, who's disinvited and who displeases us. In truth, we're in the club and it's our turn to convene, but it's not our club to reconfigure. Federal Politics Analysis Mark Carney prepares for G7 summit littered with potential landmines Tonda MacCharles As G7 host, we don't just invite who we like. We invite who matters. That's diplomacy. That's the compromise of politics and the reality of realpolitik. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW That's not to say Canada was wrong to call out allegations of Indian misconduct at the bilateral level in late 2023. But at the multilateral level in 2025, we need to pick our fights and choose our timing. It has been nearly two years since Canada publicized and protested 'credible allegations' linking agents of India to the killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar near Vancouver. India dismissed the allegations and bilateral ties plummeted. Of course, when the United States made related allegations of Indian misconduct on American soil, India's government had a more measured and co-operative response. But at the end of the day, the U.S. and India moved on — not because the indictment didn't matter, but because national interests also matter. America needs and wants India as a counterweight to China. Canada, too, needs counterweights — not just against China but America. In today's beggar-thy-neighbour world, beggars can't be choosy. Middle powers can't be fussy. Canada is still reeling from the rupture in relations with China, when Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were held hostage over the Huawei affair pitting U.S. commercial and criminal interests against those of China. Today, Canada is once again talking to China and trying to rebuild relations despite the bad blood. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Canada has barely recovered from the disruption of relations with Saudi Arabia in 2018, when criticism of its human rights record led to commercial retaliation and the sudden withdrawal of its medical students from Canadian universities. Against that backdrop, Canada can't stay mad at so many countries for so long. Bilateral irritants are real and human rights matter, but international relations and commercial ruptures can have enormous fallout — as our farmers in Saskatchewan can attest after bearing the brunt of Chinese retaliation over exports from the prairies. Canada cannot hold out forever against two of the most populous countries on the planet (China and India) and one of its richest nations (Saudi Arabia). We cannot fight everyone else at once. That explains why Carney has belatedly reached out to Saudi Arabia's Prince Mohammed bin Salman to attend the summit. The crown prince was an outlaw and an outlier amid allegations that his intelligence services killed dissident Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, but even America's then-president Joe Biden set aside his harsh rebukes to meet bin Salman in Saudi Arabia when the time came. India is a consequential country that matters in any global discussion about trade, climate change and health. It cannot be wished away or put on hold. Two decades ago, ahead of another such summit for the G8 (as it was then called, before a warmongering Russia was disinvited), I was assigned to write about India's challenges because its then-prime minister, Manmohan Singh, was invited to attend. Then as now, India was at the table with industrialized nations as a rising global power. Canada, like the G7, can't afford to exclude India — or Saudi Arabia or China or America. No truck or trade for their transgressions? That's a dead end given the obstacles facing Canada today. Politics Headlines Newsletter Get the latest news and unmatched insights in your inbox every evening Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. Please enter a valid email address. Sign Up Yes, I'd also like to receive customized content suggestions and promotional messages from the Star. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Politics Headlines Newsletter You're signed up! You'll start getting Politics Headlines in your inbox soon. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page.

U.S. warns Canada is not yet ready to handle F-35 fighter jets
U.S. warns Canada is not yet ready to handle F-35 fighter jets

Ottawa Citizen

time40 minutes ago

  • Ottawa Citizen

U.S. warns Canada is not yet ready to handle F-35 fighter jets

Article content U.S. officials warned that the Canadian military didn't have the proper facilities to house the F-35 stealth fighter jet, forcing a redesign of the buildings and extra costs for Canadian taxpayers, according to a new report by Canada's auditor general. Article content The Americans also highlighted ongoing concerns in Canada's plans to support the arrival of the first planes in 2028. Article content Article content Article content The Liberal government announced in January 2023 it was spending $19 billion to acquire 88 F-35s from the U.S. government. Article content As part of the F-35 program, the Americans have a say on whether hangars and other facilities being built in Canada to house the aircraft are up to their standards. Such a requirement is needed to protect the U.S. technology outfitted on the stealth fighters. Article content But such standards weren't met for the infrastructure originally being built at military bases at Cold Lake, Alta and Bagotville, Que., said the auditor general's report, which was released on June 10. Article content In addition, the U.S. Joint Strike Fighter Program Office, which oversees the continued operation and sustainment of the F-35, including those in foreign service, noted that Canada wasn't ready to receive the plane because of ongoing issues. Article content 'In June 2024, the Joint Strike Fighter Program Office conducted an assessment of the interim operations plan to determine how ready National Defence was to support the first aircraft arrival in Cold Lake in December 2028,' Auditor General Karen Hogan noted in the report. 'The overall rating for this assessment was 'RED,' meaning that significant issues remained unresolved and required senior leadership action.' Article content Article content Both DND officials and staff at the Joint Strike Fighter Program Office noted additional requirements that were needed, including the redesign of the facilities to handle the jets, the auditor found. Article content Article content That, and other problems dogging Canada's F-35 program, meant that the cost of the project is now $27.7 billion, according to Hogan's report. That is nearly 50 per cent more than originally anticipated, she added. Article content Another $5.5 billion will be needed to achieve full operation capability for the planes, Hogan added. Article content The DND released a statement Tuesday that it accepted Hogan's findings and is working to follow her recommendations to improve the project. Article content Defence Minister David McGuinty blamed the cost overruns on inflation and the pandemic but told journalists Tuesday that Canada is soon to receive its first 16 F-35s. 'We'll be taking possession of those 16 F-35 fighter jets in the next several months,' he added.

It's not the time to cave on booze boycotts
It's not the time to cave on booze boycotts

Winnipeg Free Press

time2 hours ago

  • Winnipeg Free Press

It's not the time to cave on booze boycotts

Opinion A good measure of the true strength of your intentions is how much you're willing to sacrifice to stand up for what you believe. That should be the case even more when what you're sacrificing is essentially a luxury. You should, after all, be able to hold out a good long time without compromising your principles when what you're giving up is not even a necessity. Well, two Canadian premiers have demonstrated that the strength of their convictions is as shallow as a shot glass. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESs fileS Shelves emptied of American alcohol at a Liquor Mart. Remember when many provinces halted their sales of U.S. alcohol products in response to trade action by the American government? You should — it was, after all, only a little over three months ago that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith was saying this about U.S. tariffs: 'This economic attack on our country, combined with Mr. Trump's continued talk of using economic force to facilitate the annexation of our country, has broken trust between our two countries in a profound way… It is a betrayal of a deep and abiding friendship.' A deep betrayal, all right. As of this week, both Alberta and Saskatchewan began purchasing U.S. alcohol products again. The halt in sales had been a clear and decisive multimillion-dollar message to American producers that Canadians weren't going to put up with the endless tariff follies of U.S. President Donald Trump. With plenty of other domestic and global options, we could no doubt put up with the absence of American wine, beer and bourbon. The boycott threatened US$1.1 billion in American wine sales alone, and U.S. spirits producers have said the boycotts were worse than tariffs. It was a strong message to the U.S. that trade is a two-way street. But a boycott — even of a luxury item that will still face a retaliatory tariff of 25 per cent by the Canadian government — is only as strong as its weakest link. And the governments of Alberta and Saskatchewan, always proud chest-thumpers of the innate toughness of good western folk, have proven to be that weakest link. Heaven forbid the Jack Daniels or Maker's Mark bourbon wouldn't be there to flow for the Calgary Stampede. Meanwhile, Alberta's move was swiftly welcomed by the United States' ambassador to Canada, Peter Hoekstra, who couldn't resist taking a social media victory lap, saying on X/Twitter: 'Very glad to see that Albertans can once again enjoy a cold U.S. beer or glass of wine. Thanks to Premier @ABDanielleSmith for your leadership in removing this barrier to fair and reciprocal trade.' Hoekstra's comments have to be read as a bitter little joke: the fact is that the capricious introduction of tariffs across a broad range of Canadian products by Trump is what built the current barriers 'to fair and reciprocal trade.' (If Hoekstra couldn't see the backhander he was delivering for the insult it truly was, then perhaps the carefully wrought world of diplomacy should not be his trade.) Wednesdays Columnist Jen Zoratti looks at what's next in arts, life and pop culture. Alberta seems quite willing to be the butt of that joke: last Friday, Alberta's Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Minister Dale Nally said the sales were being restarted to show a 'renewed commitment to open and fair trade' with the U.S. The United States has shown, of course, not one single iota of renewed commitment to anything like open and fair trade. Let's hope that customers in Alberta and Saskatchewan will continue to make the point that their governments don't have the strength to deliver, and continue to boycott American products until American producers can make their own case to their politicians about the damage done by trade wars. If not? Raise a glass to capitulation. And just wait for the next Trumpian punishment to be dealt out to America's former closest neighbour. Because it will come.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store