Union Update

Special PSAC Spotlight on PSAC and Human Rights
December 2008

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In this issue:


Spotlight on PSAC and Human Rights

December is a month to celebrate, commemorate and commit to the fight for human rights in Canada and around the world. At PSAC, we marked four significant days in December – World AIDS Day, the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women, Human Rights Day and the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. We hope you took some time in your workplaces, homes and communities to join us in marking these important days and standing up for human rights both at home and internationally.


December 1:
World AIDS Day

War on Drugs will not stop HIV/AIDS

PSAC urges federal government to invest in prevention and support harm reduction

December 1, 2008 marked the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day. Over 33 million people are living with HIV/AIDS around the world, including more than 58,000 people in Canada. Every two hours, someone in Canada becomes infected with HIV and 27 per cent of infected people don't know they have the disease.

Women now account for one­fifth of people with HIV/AIDS, up from one­tenth in 1995. The greatest proportion of new infections continues to be among men who have sex with men at 45 per cent. But the rate of infection among Aboriginal people is growing faster at a rate three times higher than among non­Abo­riginals.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada joins with the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and the Canadian AIDS Society to demand that the federal government provide sustainable federal funding for AIDS programs and include harm reduction as a part of the national drug strategy.

In 2003, all of the federal political parties agreed that federal funding for a Canada's AIDS strategy should be increased over a five­year period. Last year, the Harper government turned its back on this commitment and cut funding for AIDS programs – by almost 15 per cent in 2007 and the same amount in 2008. This includes funding for research, community services for people living with HIV/AIDS, and pro­grams geared to prevention.

PSAC is committed to the fight to protect public services in Canada and around the world. This includes supporting public funding for HIV/AIDS support and prevention programs.

We also firmly support harm reduction policies in regard to drug use. Numerous studies have proven that programs like Insite, Vancouver's safe injection site, help stop the spread of HIV/AIDS and connect marginalized people with health programs and social services.

“The Harper government's ‘War on Drugs' approach will do nothing to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS in Canada,” says John Gordon, PSAC National President. “We demand that the federal government invest in harm reduction and community­based HIV prevention programs, while also participating in international strategies to stop the spread of the disease worldwide. This is a human rights issue and the time to act is now!


December 3:
International Day of Persons with Disabilities

Promoting dignity and justice for people with disabilities

Union encourages change in workplaces and communities

The 2008 theme of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities is “Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Dignity and justice for all of us.”

This has been a significant year for people with disabilities all around the world. In 2008, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities into force, after being ratified by 20 countries. This year also marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

According to the United Nation's Secretariat for the Con­vention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, approximately 10 per cent of the world's population, or 650 million people, live with disabilities. Eighty per cent – more than 400 million people – live in poor countries. There is a strong link between disability and poverty. In the Global South, 80 to 90 per cent of working­age people with disabilities of are unemployed and in the West, it is estimated to be between 50 and 70 per cent. Ninety per cent of children with disabilities in the Global South do not attend school.

In Canada, the Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS) is a national survey de­signed to collect information on people with disabilities. According to the 2006 PALS survey,
14.3 per cent of the Canadian population self­identifies as having a disability. Canadians with disabilities and their families are twice as likely to live in poverty as other Canadians and the incidence of poverty among First Nations and Aboriginal Peoples with disabilities is even higher.

What can we do?

We must continue to exert pres­sure on the Canadian government to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
– it still hasn't done so.

  • We must demand that govern­ments eliminate barriers for people with disabilities to fully participate in society.

  • We can organize forums, public discussions and information campaigns to support the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

We can support international norms and standards that promote equality and justice for people with disabilities, both in Canada and around the world.


December 6:
National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women

Mourning and fighting for change PSAC is dedicated to ending violence against women

Each year the Public Service Alliance of Canada remembers and mourns the 14 young women who were killed on December 6, 1989 at the École Polytechnique in Montreal. We rededicate ourselves every year to end violence against women.

It is estimated that at least one in every four women will expe­rience domestic violence during her lifetime and that in the last five years alone, more than half a million women in Quebec and the rest of Canada (approximately 654,000 women) will have been abused by their common law partner or their husband.

Sexual assault remains a crime that is committed with impunity, since less than 10 per cent of all cases are reported to the police. First Nations, Inuit and Métis women experience exceptionally high levels of violence. Crushing poverty, a lack of affordable hous­ing, and the legacy of colonialism makes them even more vulnerable to abuse and sexual exploitation.

According to the Sisters in Spirit campaign, more than 500 Aboriginal women are currently missing or have been murdered. Despite sustained mobilization and public pressure, law enforce­ment agencies still seem to place a low priority on finding missing Aboriginal women. Indeed, charges have been laid in only 42 per cent of the cases, and 56 per cent remain unsolved.

Equality combats violence

The “law and order” agenda promoted by the Harper govern­ment – with mandatory penalties and longer sentences – is not the solution to violence against women. Yes, we need effective enforcement of criminal laws, and adequate protection of women by the police and the courts. But we also need economic equality and social policies that will achieve women's security and autonomy. We need social housing, pay equity, fair pensions and legal aid for family law. First Nations women need more than apologies: their rights and their Indian status must be respected now!

Women fleeing from violence should receive safe haven in Canada and not be deported to countries that will not protect them from their abusers. Sexual and racial harassment in the workplace and in the community must be stopped, and all women must be free from workplace violence.

Women need real support, not measures that will chip away at rights like reproductive choice. Funding must be restored to organizations that advocate for and defend women's rights. We need our governments to act together to develop, implement and fund a national prevention strategy that will meaningfully address violence against women in this country.

What we can do?

On December 6, PSAC members remembered and mourned the deaths of the 14 young women. Now we must organize and mobilize against all forms of violence against women. There are many things that we can do:

  • We can join the CLC's Violence Against Women is a Workplace Hazard Campaign, and lobby to change occupational health and safety laws and mandate employers to take concrete steps aimed at violence prevention. (www.canadianlabour.ca)

  • We can participate in the YWCA Canada Rose Button Campaign, a national advocacy campaign to end violence against women and girls. (www.ywcacanada.ca)

  • We can renew our support to the Sisters in Spirit campaign (www.nwac­hq.org).

  • We can lobby our MPs for to enact policies that promote women's equality and stop violence against women. Contact your MP today and demand funding for women's shelters, rape crisis centres and feminist advocacy organizations.

  • We can join the thousands of trade unionists participating in Public Services International's Say No to Violence Against
    Women     campaign
    (www.world­psi.org).

It is important to remind Members of Parliament that the time for action against violence against women is now!


December 10:
Human Rights Day

Dignity and justice for all of us!

PSAC urges Harper government to meet human rights obligations and stand up for equality

December 10 is a day to reflect on the status of human rights in Canada and around the world.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations 60 years ago – the first of its kind to recognize civil, social, economic and political rights as universal human rights. The Declaration affirms the inherent dignity and worth of every person in the world, without distinction of any kind. It repre­sents a landmark achievement in world history, incorporating concepts of non­discrimination, equality, fairness and universality that apply to everyone, everywhere. Today, it continues to inspire activism for human rights and social justice all over the world.

To reflect the vision of the Declaration as a commitment to universal dignity and justice, the theme for this year's Human rights Day was, “Dignity and justice for all of us.”

The Declaration is more than just a document. It represents a contract between governments and their peoples, who have a right to demand that this document be respected.

In Canada, Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, including section 15 which guarantees equality for all people in Canada, came into force over 20 years ago. It was inspired by and interpreted in the spirit of the Declaration.

The fight continues

Although it's been 60 years since the Declaration was adopted, the struggle is far from over. In Canada, the Harper government has pushed an anti­equality agenda that has reversed the gains Canadians have made in the area of human rights over the past decades. It has eliminated or weakened programs for the most vulnerable people in Canada, including cutting the Court Challenges program and removing the “equality” mandate from Status of Women Canada. The government has also signaled blatant disregard for Aboriginal Peoples by refusing to implement the Kelowna Accord or sign onto the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People. And the list goes on.

Civil liberties in Canada remain under attack, since the introduction of the Anti­Terrorism Act and other draconian “security” measures that have been designed to appease the U.S. “war on terror.” The federal government continues to attack workers' rights and their basic human rights by expanding the Temporary Foreign Worker Program rather than granting full citizenship rights to immigrant workers.

PSAC has joined local and global movements to protect fundamental rights such as access to employment, housing, educa­tion, health care, clean water and a healthy environment. As trade unionists, we must push to ensure that principles of human rights become a reality for all people.

What can we do?

  • Organize events to commemo­rate Human Rights Day in our communities.

  • Educate ourselves and others on human rights issues.

  • Speak out against racism sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia and other injustices.

  • Support struggles for human rights at home and around the world.


PSAC's Equal Opportunities Committee

One of the ways that PSAC promotes human rights in work­places and within the union is through the Equal Opportunities Committee (EOC). The EOC is composed of 25 representatives – one representative from each of PSAC's 17 component unions and eight representatives of equity groups. The committee brings together members with disabili­ties, as well as racially visible, Aboriginal and LGBT members, to identify emerging equity and human rights issues for PSAC to address. The EOC promotes employment equity in workplaces and within our union. Committee members educate members and employers on human rights issues and advocate for change.


On December 4, thousands of people ­­including many PSAC members ­­gathered on Parliament Hill to support a coalition government, urging politicians to Make Parliament Work and to address the economic crisis.


Date Modified : 2010/10/19

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