Reading Time: < 1 minute Disponible en français. Canadians have a wide range of views about what comprises appropriate physical contact when parenting or teaching a child. These differences have prompted debates about what behaviours are harmful enough that they should be prohibited. In Canada, the crime of assault… Read More ›
Reading Time: 2 minutes Disponible en français. Refugees are people who flee their countries because of a well-founded fear of persecution. Once refugees arrive in another country and seek asylum, international law protects them from being sent back to face serious threats. Of course, not… Read More ›
Reading Time: 6 minutes Disponible en français. “Everyone has the … freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication.” – Section (2b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms Freedom of Expression and the… Read More ›
Reading Time: 5 minutes Disponible en français. In June 2022, the Minister of Public Safety announced that all members of Parliament are to receive mobile duress devices, or “panic buttons.” This was in response to threats and safety concerns that are on the rise for… Read More ›
Reading Time: < 1 minute Disponible en français. The United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (the CRPD) is an international treaty that was adopted in 2006 to help protect the rights of people with disabilities around the world. Canada and 183 other states parties have… Read More ›
Reading Time: 2 minutes Disponible en français. Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms sets out the right to equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination. The Supreme Court of Canada (the Court) has consistently interpreted this right as protecting substantive equality. This means that laws – as well as government activities and policies – must not simply treat people the same. Instead, the effect that a law has on different… Read More ›
Reading Time: 2 minutes Disponible en français. Trafficking in persons is an increasingly pressing issue in global migration policy, particularly in the wake of the COVID‑19 pandemic that has exacerbated many contributing factors. The United Nations describes trafficking in persons as “the recruitment, transportation,… Read More ›
Reading Time: 2 minutes Disponible en français. This Background Paper provides an overview of the duty to accommodate – a fundamental principle of equality included in all Canadian human rights laws – and describes how that principle has been interpreted and applied in Canadian jurisprudence. The duty… Read More ›
Reading Time: < 1 minute Disponible en français. Refugees are people who flee their country because it is unsafe. Most refugees seek protection in a country neighbouring their own. Others make their way to countries like Canada and seek protection once they have arrived. This paper describes the steps to obtain protection when a person is already in Canada. International law and Canadian… Read More ›
Reading Time: 2 minutes Disponible en français. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that more than 1.44 million refugees are currently in need of resettlement to a third country. These are refugees who, according to the UNHCR, can neither return to… Read More ›