Three years ago, an anonymous donor approached Tides Canada program lead Wendy Cooper with some money and an open-ended request: find an innovative way to use the funds to support Indigenous youth. Cooper reached out to The Circle on Philanthropy and Aboriginal Peoples in Canada (“The Circle”), and a small steering committee of youth advisors…
As we mark the 150th anniversary of confederation, The Philanthropist is profiling Canadians from across the non-profit sector and putting a face to 150 individuals who work or volunteer in Canada’s social sector. Name: Manvir Bhangu Current role in the sector: Founder of Laadliyan, Celebrating Daughters and Newcomer Youth Settlement Worker at Malton Neighbourhood Services Years working…
Maytree and The Philanthropist started our series on Poverty and Human Rights in Canada a little more than a year ago. For us, it was an opportunity to explore ideas about solving poverty using a human rights approach, and to share them with other organizations working in this field. Human rights include civil, political, economic,…
This article is the sixth in a series on Poverty and Human Rights in Canada. SUMMARY: This article explores benefits screening, a system of auditing patients to identify those living in poverty and the benefits they may be eligible for, as an innovative step towards realizing the right to health in Canada by advancing health equity.[1]…
This article is the fifth in a series on Poverty and Human Rights in Canada. SUMMARY: This article addresses the regulatory challenges posed by human rights approaches to charity, focusing specifically on the charity/politics distinction. It develops a simple point, which is that Canadian charity law is currently ill equipped to apply the charity/politics distinction…
This article is the fourth in a series on Poverty and Human Rights in Canada. SUMMARY: This article traces Canada’s legislative progress following the federal government’s ratification of the two Covenants that codified the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 40 years ago – the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant…
This article is the first in a series on Poverty and Human Rights in Canada. SUMMARY: This introductory article by guest editor, Elizabeth McIsaac of Maytree, provides an overview of the strategies and policies for rights-based poverty reduction in Canada beginning with the need for common language and goals. Referring to the International Covenant on…
This article is the second in a series on Poverty and Human Rights in Canada. SUMMARY: In this article, Mark Holmgren interviews Mayor Don Iveson and Anglican Bishop Jane Alexander about the Mayor’s Task Force “EndPoverty Edmonton” which sees poverty as an issue of human rights and social justice. Poverty is also a condition to be…
Summary This article summarizes some findings about how civil society in Canada has been involved in working to improve the rights of children within the framework of an international human rights convention. The article demonstrates how the focus on an international framework like the CRC and its implementation can be an instrument for policy progress…
Although politicians and powerful players pay lip service to civil society, the reality on the ground is different. Ask the human rights defender sentenced to ten years in jail in Uzbekistan or the Bosnian anti-corruption group forced to suspend its activities. It is doubtful these individuals would think their work was being properly valued or…