Human Rights A Day

Winnipeg general strike begins 40 days of social unrest.Canadian soldiers returned from World War I to find war factories shutting down and bankruptcies triggering massive unemployment and rapid inflation. Knowing that many had profiteered from the war industry, the veterans resented their futile search for decent jobs, pay and working conditions. On May 1, 1919, the Building and Metal Workers Union of Winnipeg went on strike for better wages, prompting the Winnipeg Trades and Labour Council to expand matters into a general strike. On May 15, 1919, the city’s telephone operators, known as the “hello girls,” became the first of 30,000 union and non-union workers to take to the streets. It had been only two years since similar worker frustration had led to the Russian Revolution – a fact that so scared the Canadian government, officials quickly amended the Immigration Act and the criminal code to threaten strikers with deportation and imprisonment.Winnipeg’s mayor went even further, firing most of the city’s po

Fahima Osman becomes first Somali doctor trained in Canada.Fahima Osman was born in 1978, one of nine children born to Somalians Adam and Zahra Osman. She was 11 when her family, like thousands of other Somalis who fled their country at the time, claimed refugee status in Canada. Even before she’d arrived, Osman had decided she wanted to become a doctor. She shrugged off the fact that there were no Somali doctors in Toronto, and that the city offered no support to, and had very low expectations of, African students. Osman studied tirelessly, her motivation increasing after she spent a summer volunteering for aid agencies in Somalia, where she witnessed the impoverishment she’d escaped. In 2000, her hard work paid off; she was accepted to McMaster’s medical school in Hamilton. She graduated on May 15, 2004, becoming the first Somalia doctor trained in Canada as she took her Hippocratic Oath. Osman then turned her attention to Toronto’s Somali community, which by then numbered in the tens of thousands. Her unde

“Coloured” Albertan is refused hotel room.On May 13, 1959, a young man trying to reach a friend phoned Barclay’s Motel in Calgary, only to be told, “We don’t allow coloured people here.” What the hotel didn’t know was that this Mr. King was president and chairman of the grievance committee of the Alberta Association for the Advancement of Coloured People in Calgary. When King and a friend dropped into the motel an hour later, he was refused a room for the same reason. Later, the hotel owner would claim it was because staff had noted King’s Calgary license plate and concluded he wasn’t really a traveler. King went to court for being “deprived of his lawful right to accommodation.” He claimed damages of $500 for “humiliation, indignity and insult.” But on May 4, 1960, the judge found that Barclay’s Motel was not an inn because it did not sell food – and therefore didn’t fall under rules dictated by the Innkeepers Act of Alberta. He also ruled that because King was not a traveler – he was there merely to investi

Florence Nightingale, nurse and mathematician, is born in Florence, Italy.Her British parents were touring Europe when Florence Nightingale was born in Florence, Italy on May 12, 1820. Early on, the girl showed her father’s bent for mathematics, to the dismay of her mother, who considered it unladylike. Fortunately, Mrs. Nightingale relented enough to allow her daughter a math tutor. As a young woman, Nightingale also took an interest in social issues and believed she had a calling from God. Against the family’s strong objections, she took up nursing, a career regarded then as drawing uneducated, course, promiscuous and even drunken women. After studying nursing in hospitals around Europe, she arrived in1854 in what is now Istanbul during the Crimean war. There, she took on the task of improving conditions so horrible that more soldiers were dying in the hospitals than on the battlefield. As a woman, she had to fight for her goals, and did so with her math skills, charting statistics that proved better sanita

Canada’s first woman federal cabinet minister completes her first portfolio.Ellen Fairclough was born in Hamilton, Ontario on January 28, 1905. As an adult she ran her own accountancy business for 22 years, held prominent positions on charitable boards and sat as a city councillor. In 1950, she ventured into federal politics by winning a by-election for the federal seat of Hamilton West. As a Progressive Conservative, she sat on the Opposition benches until John Diefenbaker became prime minister in 1957. Diefenbaker had pledged to put a woman into cabinet, but he considered Fairclough an “enemy” as she had supported another candidate for the leadership of the party years earlier. Still, in keeping with his promise, he offered Fairclough the junior cabinet post of secretary of state. She almost turned him down. However, at the insistence of a friend, she took the post on June 21, 1957, becoming the first woman in federal politics to sit at the cabinet table. Being the hard worker with political smarts she was,

Ontario Court allows gay couple to adopt non-biological child.André Cyr and his same-sex partner Todd Armstrong wanted to be legal parents of children, but Ontario’s Child and Family Services Act (like its equivalents in most provinces) prevented them from doing so. As single individuals, gay men and lesbians could adopt, but not as a couple. The result was that some gay and lesbian parents were being denied legal protections for co-raising the biological child of a partner. This meant they could not give medical instructions or even register the child in school. On May 10, 1995, an Ontario court ruled that the act infringed on these non-biological parents’ equality rights as per Section 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Ontario was the first province to allow such adoptions; other provinces soon followed. The case highlighted the contrast between Canadian courts’ willingness to protect gays and lesbians at the time, and politicians’ continuing reluctance to legislate in favour of equality for all Can

Toronto cinemas ordered to become wheelchair accessible.When Toronto’s major cinema chain, Famous Players, decided not to make all its facilities wheelchair accessible, it excluded Barbara Turnbull and four other individuals, who decided to complain. In response, on September 10, 2001, the Ontario Human Rights Board of Inquiry ordered Famous Players to make three of their cinemas accessible within two years, pay the complainants tens of thousands of dollars in damages, and review its training program for providing services to persons with disabilities. The board also stated, “Any film being shown exclusively at those three inaccessible theatres shall be made available to a patron using a wheelchair, upon that person’s request of Famous Players, at an accessible theatre to be agreed to by that person and Famous Players.” In the end, Famous Players decided to close the cinemas in question, but the firm made the mistake of leaving one of them open four months past the deadline – which landed it back in front of

Victory in Europe Day (VE-Day) commemorates World War II’s end in Europe.Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933, and with his band of Nazi thugs and murderers, gradually turned the country into a dictatorship of hatred and bloodshed. After his invasion of Poland in September 1939, the United Kingdom and other countries declared war on Germany to stop Hitler’s quest for world domination. While the war raged in Europe, Hitler and his collaborators carried out acts of murder, torture and human experimentation to eliminate individuals they felt did not fit into the “master race.” Jews were singled out for extermination, and other “enemies of the German State” were targeted for execution, including Gypsies, homosexuals, criminals, the insane, Jehovah’s Witnesses, communists and socialists. The war in Europe lasted almost six years. Western and Soviet Allies anxiously awaited its end as they began to score victories. On April 30, 1945, as the Allies were closing in, Hitler and his key players

Todd Ducharme becomes Canada’s first Métis judge.Todd Ducharme was a lawyer with an impressive record when he was appointed to the Superior Court of Justice in Ontario. Educationally, he held a BA from McGill University, an MA and master of laws from Yale University and a law degree from the University of Toronto. As a practicing lawyer, he gained notoriety for his work in criminal and aboriginal law. He was popular with his peers, elected as a bencher with the Law Society of Upper Canada (Ontario’s law society), then re-elected in 2003 with the most votes of any Toronto candidate, and the second most of any in Ontario. On May 7, 2004, when Canada’s minister of justice appointed Ducharme a judge, Ducharme also made history as the first Métis to hold such a post. Many Canadians applauded his appointment and expressed surprise that it had taken so long for a Métis to fill the position. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Quebec government introduces bill that would ease up on French-language-only stance.The use of English in Quebec has been a contentious issue for decades. Governments of all stripes have worked to preserve the French language, to make French Quebec a sustainable island in a North American sea of English. To this end, they’d legislated French as the province’s official language, and restricted the use of English on everything from packages to outdoor business signs. They’d also restricted access to English public schools to ensure that French continued to be most children’s language of learning. In 1988, when the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that restricting commercial signs exclusively to French infringed on equality rights, Quebec used the Canadian Charter of Rights override provision to continue its long-time restrictions. Over time, however, businesses, English-language politicians and even the UN Human Rights Commission applied increasing pressure on the Quebec government to relax its rules. In response,

Mandatory retirement reasonable, says Supreme Court of Canada.As a professor at the University of Alberta, Dr. Olive Patricia Dickason had signed a contract agreeing to the university’s employment terms. One of those terms dictated mandatory retirement at the age of 65. When she was showed the door at 65, however, Dickason didn’t want to go, so she took her case to the province’s human rights body. She won both there and on the case’s first appeal, but the Alberta Court of Appeal sided with the university. The Supreme Court of Canada heard Dickason’s case on May 5, 1992; five months later the majority of judges stated that while her equality rights had been violated, the mandatory retirement policy had been a reasonable limitation of those rights under the circumstances. Although professors are forced to retire, the court noted, they have tenure to ensure academic freedom, and to prevent them being fired for anything but just cause; that makes for a fair trade-off. Further, the court pointed out, universities

Supreme Court of Canada declares sexual harassment a form of sex discrimination.When Dianna Janzen and Tracy Govereau worked at Pharos restaurant in Winnipeg the fall of 1982, they endured outrageous physical and verbal sexual harassment from the cook, Tommy Grammas. Each of the women spoke at different times to the owner operator, Phillip Anastasiadis, about Tommy’s behaviour, but to no avail. Janzen left the restaurant after only two months; Govereau was fired. When both women complained to the Manitoba Human Rights Commission, an adjudicator found the women had been sexually harassed, and awarded them money for lost wages and exemplary damages. The case’s first appeal reduced the financial award. At its next appearance at the Manitoba Court of Appeal, the judges threw it out altogether, saying sexual harassment is not sexual discrimination. However, on May 4, 1989, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the adjudicator’s initial decision in favour of Janzen and Govereau, ruling in strong language that sexual h

Supreme Court of Canada allows battered-woman syndrome as a murder defence.In the early hours of August 31, 1986, Winnipeg citizen Angelique Lyn Lavallee shot and killed her common-law partner, Kevin Rust, in the back of the head. Lavallee, age 22, had been in an abusive relationship with Rust for years. During fights that lasted for days, he would beat her severely, necessitating numerous visits to the hospital for treatment. A jury acquitted her of murder, but the Manitoba Court of Appeal requested a new trial, saying that the defence’s “battered woman syndrome” testimony should not have been allowed. The phrase refers to a condition of “learned helplessness,” in which a woman has lost control of her environment and is unable to defend herself. On May 3, 1990, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld Lavallee’s acquittal, formally allowing the controversial syndrome as a defence for the first time. Although Lavallee shot Rust as he was leaving the room, the court and jury accepted the argument that she thought he

Former Winnipeg Mayor Stephen Juba dies.Stephen Juba was born in Winnipeg on July 1, 1914 to immigrants from the Ukraine. When his father’s business fell on hard times in 1929, Juba was forced to quit school at age 15. He started a number of business ventures, growing wealthy around 1945. Always a great self-promoter, Juba decided to try his hand in politics. Early attempts at getting into office were unsuccessful, but gained him some name recognition. Finally, in 1953, he was elected to Manitoba’s legislature as an Independent. His success in reforming the province’s outdated liquor laws eventually took him to Winnipeg’s city hall. On October 24, 1956, he became the first Canadian of Eastern European ancestry to be elected mayor of a large Canadian city. There, he continued sitting in the legislature and was re-elected MLA one more time before he decided to work full time as mayor. As skilled at promoting his city as he was at promoting himself, Juba arranged for Winnipeg to host the Pan-American Games in 19

Supreme Court of Canada weighs case to support employees with mental disabilities.Betty-Lu Clara Gibbs was working for Battlefords and District Co-operative Ltd in Saskatchewan in 1987, when she became disabled due to a mental disorder. After her three months of sick leave ran out, a long-term disability plan kicked in. Two years later, however, the benefits portion of that coverage was cut off, thanks to an insurance policy clause that dictated it had to end then if she had no physical disability and was not confined to a mental institution.Gibbs went to the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission, which ruled that her rights had been violated and ordered her employer to remedy the situation. The company appealed to the courts and lost at both the Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench and Saskatchewan Court of Appeal. On May 1, 1996, the Supreme Court of Canada heard her appeal. Six months later, judges there agreed with the previous rulings that persons with mental disabilities must be given the same rights as t

Future Canadian human rights champion John Humphrey is born.John Humphrey was born in Hampton, New Brunswick on April 30, 1905. He became a lawyer and taught law at McGill University before being tapped for the United Nations’ first human rights division directorship. After meeting with the president’s wife, Eleanor Roosevelt (who served as chair of the Human Rights Commission) in 1947, Humphrey and two colleagues took on the task of writing the first draft of a bill of rights. It would eventually become the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Humphrey wrote 48 articles and after 1,400 resolutions during the course of 187 meetings, most of his ideas were accepted in the form of 30 articles on December 10, 1948. His greatest achievement may have been enshrining economic and social rights, until then regarded as practically socialism. During his 20 years with the UN, Humphrey implemented conventions that gave the declaration binding legal status. After leaving the UN to teach in Montreal, Humphrey helped lau

Acquittal of L.A. police in Rodney King beating case prompts murderous riots.When Los Angeles police tried to stop Rodney King for speeding on March 3, 1991, he kept driving. When they finally caught up with him, enraged police officers Laurence Powell, Stacey Koon, Timothy Wind and Theodore Briseno beat, kicked and clubbed him for 81 seconds as other officers stood by, all unaware they were being taped. International broadcasts of the live footage was followed by a sensational two-month televised trial. When the all-white jury acquitted the officers of assault on April 29, 1992 – accepting their argument of self-defense – riots broke out in the black neighbourhoods of south-central L.A. Businesses and cars were broken into, burned and looted, and white people dragged from their cars and beaten. During the four days that some African Americans took out their aggression, 55 people were killed, 2,000 injured and 8,000 arrested. Property damage ran $1 billion.In the end, federal court found Officers Koon and Pow

Vienna apologizes for World War II deaths of disabled children.Between 1940 and 1945, children with mental and physical disabilities were sent to the Am Spiegelgrund children's clinic in Vienna, Austria. There, the Nazi program known as "Lebensunwertes Leben," or life unworthy of life, experimented on them before killing them with overdoses of barbiturates. More horrifying, the clinic kept the brains of at least 789 of the children to continue research on them until 1998. The director of the clinic, Dr. Ernst Illing, was hanged as a war criminal in 1946, but Dr. Heinrich Gross managed to return to the clinic in 1948 after being merely detained by the Russians. He built up his practice and reputation as a renowned neurologist and received the state medal for services to Austria. In 1979, a doctor named Werner Vogt accused Gross of involvement in the hideous experiments, but instead of believing Vogt, officials convicted Vogt of slander. Gross’ complicity was eventually revealed and Vogt was freed, but it took

Sex Slaves denied compensation by Japan’s Supreme Court.During World War II, the Japanese Imperial Army held approximately 200,000 women as sex slaves to service Japanese soldiers. Most of the women, aged 12 to 21, were Chinese and Korean, although many women came from Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia and Japan. The military set up “comfort stations” throughout Japanese war territories and researchers estimate there were 160 in Shanghai alone. These girls and women were forced into sex with up to 50 men per day and those that survived were badly beaten and unable to have children. They lived silently with the horrible shame until in the early 1990s, the South Korean government urged them to come forward. In 1993, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary acknowledged that the military had been involved in forcing some women into prostitution. The government considered this an apology, but the victims and their families did not. Some of the women became more strident in wanting an official apology from Japan’s Parliam

Chernobyl nuclear power plant explodes.The Chernobyl nuclear power plant, located 80 miles north of Kiev in the Ukraine, was the site of the world’s worst nuclear power disaster. On April 26, 1986 at 1:21 a.m., workers at the power plant were conducting a routine test of reactor No. 4 when suddenly a chain reaction caused explosions and a huge fireball blew the steel and concrete lid right off. The radioactive particles released were equivalent to 30 or 40 times the radioactivity of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. While 400,000 people had to be evacuated and resettled, the known fatalities are 59 – 50 of which were rescue workers from exposure to radiation and nine children who developed thyroid cancer. Meanwhile, the radioactive particles drifted over many parts of the world, badly contaminating parts of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. Despite the magnitude of the catastrophe, the Soviet Union released no information about the explosion for three days.Early reports from the United Nations st