Weekly Email Digest for Information Sharing Purposes March 11 - March 22, 2024

Contents
CCD in the News 
Air Canada CEO, advocates clash at meeting on accessible travel 
‘Better national standards’: Bachrach questions Air Canada CEO 
Advocates, airline clash on accessible travel at House committee 
‘Passed like a baton’: Advocates, Air Canada CEO clash on accessible travel 
Inconsistency cited as Air Canada’s chief accessibility issue 
Call for feds to fully fund disability benefit 
Access 
Section 508 Best Practices Webinar: Demystifying the Procurement Process (March 26)
Hate
OSCE-ODIHR Hate Crime Report: Disability hate crime data 
Human Rights 
Everyone has a responsibility to end racism 
Newsletters 
Cooperation Canada Newsletter 
EASPD Newsletter 
Euthanasia Prevention Coalition 
Seniors for Social Action 
SFU Public Square Newsletter 
United Nations 
Make Your Voice - Canada and Racial Justice Change-Making at the United Nations ! 
Opportunities 
Selection process for the Chief Statistician of Canada 

CCD in the News

Air Canada CEO, advocates clash at meeting on accessible travel

Click on the following link to access the information online: Air Canada CEO, advocates clash at meeting on accessible travel - National | Globalnews.ca

‘Better national standards’: Bachrach questions Air Canada CEO

Click on the following link to access the information online: ‘Better national standards’: Bachrach questions Air Canada CEO | CKPGToday.ca

Advocates, airline clash on accessible travel at House committee

Click on the following link to access the information online: Advocates, airline clash on accessible travel at House committee | CBC News

‘Passed like a baton’: Advocates, Air Canada CEO clash on accessible travel

Click on the following link to access the information online: ‘Passed like a baton’: Advocates, Air Canada CEO clash on accessible travel (yahoo.com)

Inconsistency cited as Air Canada’s chief accessibility issue

Click on the following link to access the information online: Inconsistency cited as Air Canada’s chief accessiblity issue - The Chilliwack Progress (theprogress.com)
Call for feds to fully fund disability benefit

Call for feds to fully fund disability benefit

Click on the following link to access the information online: Call for feds to fully fund disability benefit – Brandon Sun

Access

Section 508 Best Practices Webinar: Demystifying the Procurement Process (March 26)

Click on the following link to access the information online: Demystifying the Procurement Process (accessibilityonline.org)

Hate

OSCE-ODIHR Hate Crime Report: Disability hate crime data

Good afternoon,

I am writing on behalf of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) regarding our work monitoring and reporting data on hate crime.

The ODIHR publishes an annual Hate Crime Report consisting of incidents from across the OSCE region. Hate crimes against persons with disabilities remain vastly underreported, as such we are conducting outreach to improve our data collection in this area and in relation to hate crime in general.

Do you know of organizations who collect data on hate crimes against persons with disabilities? Please share this request through your network contacts.

Our Factsheet on CSO Contributions to the ODIHR’s Annual Hate Crime Report outlines the key information on how the reporting process works as well as how we use the data we receive from CSOs. We are currently receiving reports for hate incidents that occurred in 2023 – if you have reports detailing incidents in this period you can send any such information to tndinfo@odihr.pl by 30 April 2023.

If you have any questions, we would be happy to connect to discuss further.

Thank you in advance and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Kind regards,

Anna Djordjevic
Consultant
OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
ODIHR | Miodowa 10 | 00-251 Warsaw
www.osce.org/odihr | AnnaMarie.Djordjevic@odihr.pl

Human Rights

Everyone has a responsibility to end racism

Click on the following link to access the information online: mailcoach.chrc-ccdp.ca/webview/campaign/9b3a1b6b-642a-4f50-9532-7b0557d5c35e

Newsletters

Cooperation Canada Newsletter

Click on the following link to access the newsletter online: Member Insights | Aperçu des membres (mailchi.mp)

EASPD Newsletter

Click on the following link to access the information online: EASPD Newsletter

Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Click on the following link to access the information online: Euthanasia poisons people and society. (mailchi.mp)

Seniors for Social Action

Click on the following link to access the information online: NURSING HOMES ARE NOT HOMES! -- OPEN LETTER TO MARIT STYLES, LEADER OF THE ONTARIO NDP - OFFICIAL OPPOSITION (mailchi.mp)

Click on the following link to access the information online: Information Bulletin - This Is Why You Can't Get Home Care (mailchi.mp)

SFU Public Square Newsletter

Click on the following link to access the information online: Where we stand + what’s to come in BC’s overdose emergency (campaigner.com)

United Nations

Make Your Voice - Canada and Racial Justice Change-Making at the United Nations !

For Immediate Release -

To honour the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Colour of Poverty-Colour of Change [COP-COC] has released the first ever tool to help Indigenous and community-based groups and individuals in these lands and territories called Canada to bring their equity and racial justice concerns and advocacy efforts more fully into relevant United Nations spaces.

Entitled “Make Your Voice - Canada and Racial Justice Change-Making at the United Nations,” the guide – available in both English and French – has been created by COP-COC to provide an overview of the relevant UN bodies and structures, as well as key UN Committees that are tasked with monitoring the implementation of various racial justice related international covenants by state members, including Canada.

“The UN and the international human rights instruments play a critical role not only in the shaping of domestic human rights laws in Canada, they also help set the standards against which to measure the Canadian government’s efforts to protect and promote human rights,” said Shalini Konanur - Clinic Director of the South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario, and Steering Committee member of COP-COC. “However, community groups concerned with racial inequalities in Canada are not often engaged in the UN process, either due to the lack of familiarity or the lack of resources. In releasing this new tool, we hope to help break down some of the barriers to accessing these critical UN spaces,” added Debbie Douglas – Executive Director of OCASI - Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants, and Steering Committee member COP-COC.

“Taken together these UN mechanisms can be powerful tools to hold our governments to account when it comes to addressing concerns faced by Indigenous Peoples, peoples of colour and other marginalized communities,” said Samya Hasan – Executive Director of the Council of Agencies Serving South Asians, and Steering Committee member of COP-COC. “Indeed, through its UN lobbying efforts, COP-COC has secured recommendations from various of these bodies for the collection of race-based data, interrupting child forced marriage, and putting a stop to the immigration detention of children. In turn, COP-COC relies on these UN recommendations to push both the federal and provincial governments in Canada to resolve these and other long-standing issues of racial injustice,” added michael kerr – Coordinator of Colour of Poverty – Colour of Change.

Apart from describing the various UN monitoring mechanisms through the Human Rights Council and expert committees, the COP-COC tool also provides a step-by-step guide on how to produce shadow reports to air community concerns, and links to other relevant and helpful resources that community groups can rely on, should they choose to access the UN system.

While there are no shortage of UN guides out there, the tool created by COP-COC is the first of its kind that targets the specific challenges and needs of racialized communities in Canada – both Indigenous Peoples and peoples of colour. As Canada grapples with rising hate and racism, this COP-COC tool is sure to become that much more timely, useful and relevant. With the release of our tool, COP-COC wishes to enhance community-based capacity to engage in our shared work of building a Canada that is free of racial inequalities and racial injustice.

For more information, please contact:
Shalini Konanur – 416-487-6371 ext 40
Samya Hasan – 416-932-1359
Amy Casipullai – OCASI – 416-524-4950
COP-COC Steering Committee –
Access Alliance Multicultural Health & Community Services
Black Legal Action Centre
Canadian Arab Federation
Chinese and South East Asian Legal Clinic
Chinese Canadian National Council Toronto Chapter
Council of Agencies Serving South Asians
Hispanic Development Council
Karuna Community Services
La Passerelle – I.D.E.
Mennonite New Life Centre of Toronto
Midaynta Community Services
OCASI - Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants
Punjabi Community Health Services
South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario
The Neighbourhood Organization
Urban Alliance on Race Relations
Academic Partner: Professor Grace Edward Galabuzi, TMU
michael kerr
Coordinator
Colour of Poverty - Colour of Change
# 505 - 123 Edward St.
Toronto, Ontario  M5G 1E2  Canada
Phone - 416-966-3882
Fax - 416-971-6780
E-mail - kerr.michael@gmail.com
Web-site - www.colourofpoverty.ca
Colour of Change Network - https://groups.google.ca/group/ColourofChangeNetwork
YouTube Channel - www.youtube.com/colourofpoverty
Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/colourofpoverty.colourofchange
Twitter - @colourofpoverty    #racesEDJ

Opportunities

Selection process for the Chief Statistician of Canada

I am writing to ask for your assistance in promoting the Government of Canada’s selection process to fill the position of Chief Statistician.

I am reaching out for both your input and suggestions on potential candidates for this position, as well as to encourage you to share this posting widely with strong candidates within your organization and network.
Since 2016, the Government has applied a rigorous approach to Governor in Council (GIC) appointments built on an open, transparent, and merit-based selection process. This approach reflects the fundamental role that Canadians play in our democracy and is aimed at attracting highly qualified and diverse candidates to reflect Canada’s skilled and diverse population.

The Government of Canada’s 50-30 Challenge encourages Canadian organizations to increase the representation and inclusion of diverse groups within their workplace by striving for 50% gender parity and 30% diversity on their boards. It is believed that giving all Canadians a seat at the table benefits organizations. Therefore, we encourage individuals from all regions of the country who reflect the many facets of our population to consider contributing to the work of Statistics Canada as the Chief Statistician. To achieve the 50 – 30 Challenge, preference may be given to highly qualified applicants who are members of one or more of the following groups: women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and members of a visible minority group.

The Chief Statistician is the head of Statistics Canada, a statutory agency responsible for Canada’s national statistical system. Statistics Canada was established to ensure that Canadians and governments have access to a trusted source of statistics to meet their information needs. Its mandate, which derives primarily from the Statistics Act, is to collect, compile, analyze, abstract, and publish statistical information relating to the commercial, industrial, financial, social, economic, and general activities and conditions of the people of Canada. Statistics Canada is also required to conduct a census of population and a census of agriculture every fifth year and to protect the confidentiality of the information with which it is entrusted.

As the head of the Statistics Canada Agency, the Chief Statistician’s main function is to provide leadership to the Agency and to the national statistical system to ensure that high-quality and impartial statistics and analysis are provided to Canadians, governments, the private sector, and civil society and that the confidential information of Canadians is protected. The Chief Statistician is expected to work collaboratively with other federal departments and agencies; provincial, territorial, and municipal governments; the international community; and Canadians to meet the Agency’s mandate and stakeholder needs, as well as to ensure a well-integrated, coherent national statistical system that minimizes duplication and reporting burden on households and businesses. The Chief Statistician is expected to ensure that Statistics Canada’s work is of the highest quality possible and undertaken with high scientific and ethical standards, integrity, and impartiality.

More information on the GIC appointment policy, Statistics Canada, and this selection process can be found on the GIC Appointments opportunities webpage. Interested candidates must apply online by April 24, 2024.
Your help and continued support are greatly