Conference objectives

The aims of the 2009 Conference of the Canadian Association of Statutory Human Rights Agencies are to

• report on the current state of statutory human rights agencies in Canada;
• reflect on the key issues they face;
• address the role that they should play in the current social and economic climate;
• discuss lessons learned and possible avenues for the future.

In recent years, statutory human rights agencies in Canada have undergone a series of major changes, which have directly and indirectly modified existing systems to protect human rights.

Direct changes have been made to the jurisdiction, mandate, structure and procedure of several commissions and agencies. Indirectly, new stakeholders have begun to play an active role, including unions, employment arbitrators and other governmental and non-governmental organizations.

The 2009 annual Conference of the Association offers an ideal forum to examine and analyze the significance, extent, limits and implications of the main changes made to the systems to uphold and protect human rights.

What is the current state of governmental human rights agencies in Canada? This is the question that the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse wishes to ask on the first day of the Conference.

The question cannot be answered without considering the context. New human rights issues have emerged and some older concerns have returned with a new edge. What are these issues? What impact do they have on the systems established to uphold and protect human rights? This will be the main focus of debate on the second day of the Conference.

A broad consensus appears to exist around the idea that certain factors, such as poverty, unemployment and homelessness, make the exercise of rights and freedoms more difficult. Some groups are especially “at risk”: Aboriginals, women, immigrants, people with disabilities, young people and the elderly, who constitute the most vulnerable segments of the population in socio-economic terms.

Second, a range of challenges are connected with the demographic changes affecting Canadian society across the country: an increase in the number of elderly people, along with poverty among the elderly; an increase in intolerance towards religious and ethnic diversity; increased reliance on migrant workers with precarious status; and so on.

Last, it is essential to address the legal issues raised by environmental questions. Although the right to a healthy environment is included in only a few of the legislative instruments that govern Canada’s commissions and agencies, some questions must still be asked. For example, does the deterioration of the environment affect groups of people differently, depending on their socio-economic level? How are Aboriginal people specifically affected by certain environmental problems?

Behind these questions lies the essential issue that links the two days of debate: are Canada’s statutory human rights agencies adequately prepared to uphold and protect human rights in the current climate?