Centre Publications
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| Charter, economic rights, women's povertyBritish Columbia human rights law welfare United Nations social rights economic rights women's poverty Canadian government social program cuts homelessness social assistance domestic human rights law Gosselin v. A.G. Québec advocacy Q & As Human Rights Commission human rights housing Charter BC CEDAW poverty human rights treaties Social Union Framework Agreement Woodward's squat tent city BC Housing Corporation single mothers women's inequality
Category: Publications
Moving Forward on Women’s Equality, Brief to the Standing Committee on Finance Pre-Budget Consultation (September 2003)
The B.C. CEDAW Group submits that the federal government, when considering
spending priorities, must take into account 1) the negative impact on women of recent
cuts and changes to social programs and services made in the Province of British
The B.C. CEDAW Group’s submission to the Standing Committee on Finance, outlining that the federal government, when considering spending priorities, [...]
Also posted in Submissions to Government Tagged British Columbia, domestic human rights law, human rights law, women's poverty
UN singles out BC government on women’s rights (March 2003)
B.C. is not meeting its obligations to women under international human rights law. That
was the clear message of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women in comments issued recently in New York City.
The U.N. Committee singled out the province of British Columbia for criticism in its
review of Canada’s compliance with the United [...]
Also posted in Commentary Tagged British Columbia, social program cuts, United Nations, welfare, women's poverty
B.C. CEDAW Report: British Columbia Moves Backwards on Women’s Equality
B.C. CEDAW Report: British Columbia Moves Backwards on Women’s Equality, prepared by the Poverty and Human Rights Project for 12 women’s and anti-poverty organizations in British Columbia, submitted to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on the occasion of the review of Canada’s 5th report on its compliance with the [...]
Also posted in Submissions to UN Tagged British Columbia, economic rights, social rights, United Nations, women's poverty
Majority embraces stereotype of the poor (December 2002)
Majority Embraces Stereotype of Poor
by Shelagh Day
The majority decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in last week’s welfare rights case,
Gosselin v Quebec, is a disturbing one. Five judges endorsed a Quebec scheme that
consigned thousands of 18 to 30 year old welfare recipients to extreme poverty, and
found that it did not harm the human dignity [...]
Also posted in Commentary Tagged Gosselin v. A.G. Québec, human rights law, poverty, social rights, welfare
Who’s in contempt over the Woodward’s squat? (November 2002)
the BC Housing Corporation dropped proceedings against
the 54 Woodwards squatters charged in October with contempt of court for occupying a
publicly-owned and vacant building. The Corporation seems to have realized that
continuing the contempt proceedings against the “Woodwards 54” would have increased
the public’s sympathy for the protesters, and further underlined the contempt that the
provincial government is guilty [...]
Also posted in Commentary Tagged BC Housing Corporation, British Columbia, homelessness, housing, Woodward's squat
An Assessment of the Implementation of the Social Union Framework Agreement (SUFA) from a B.C. Perspective (October 2002)
concerns that SUFA has not, to date, been implemented in a way
that improves social conditions and social protections for Canadians, or provides
meaningful dialogue between citizens1 and governments about the social union. The current
situation of the poorest and most vulnerable people in B.C. reveals the harm of this failure.
The purpose of this submission is to examine [...]
Also posted in Submissions to Government Tagged Social Union Framework Agreement
The Right to Housing under International Human Rights Law (October 2002)
Not everyone may realize that governments in Canada are obligated to ensure that everyone has adequate housing. However, Canada is a signatory to international human rights treaties that oblige governments to address conditions of poverty, and to ensure that everyone has an adequate standard of living, including adequate housing. The central human rights treaty concerning the right to housing [...]
Also posted in Law Sheets Tagged Canadian government, housing, human rights law, human rights treaties, Q & As
Proposed human rights legislation gets failing grade (September 2002)
For the second time in twenty years, the Government of British Columbia has decided to
abolish its Human Rights Commission. If the draft legislation set out in Bill 53 passes,
the Commission will be erased again, this time in the name of providing British
Columbians with a new, more efficient “direct access” model of human rights
enforcement.
For the second [...]
Also posted in Commentary Tagged British Columbia, Human Rights Commission, human rights law
Beyond the Social and Economic Rights Debate: Substantive Equality Speaks to Poverty (2002)
An emerging issue in Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms1 jurisprudence is the defeat of poverty-related challenges based on their characterization as ‘social and economic’ rights claims. In a variety of cases, governments have argued, with some success in lower courts, that the Charter is a negative rights instrument—a document of civil and political rights rather than of social [...]
Also posted in Articles & Reports Tagged Charter, economic rights, women's poverty
The Right to Social Assistance: 14 Questions and Answers (October 2003)