I have dedicated my life and career to advancing the rights of women and yet quite often I am reminded of how far we still have to go. Nothing reminds me of this more of this in Canada then our missing and murdered Aboriginal women. According to Canadian Police Information Centre there are 1,559 missing [...]
Honourable senators, it has been over 30 years since Canada ratified the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. This convention requires the state not only to condemn, prevent and punish all forms of discrimination against women but also to address the root causes of discrimination. Canada has failed to uphold this commitment, and calls for action by international human rights authorities have not been answered. Today, I wish to add my voice to those calling for a national inquiry on missing and murdered Aboriginal women.
Honourable senators, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, an estimated 6.8 million Syrians, or almost one third of the entire population, require urgent humanitarian assistance. About 3.1 million, or around 50 per cent, of those who currently require assistance are children. Over the past year, humanitarian needs have risen by 5.8 million people, up from 1 million estimated to be in need in March of this year. Almost half of this increase occurred during the first four months of this year.
Earlier this afternoon, the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry, led by former BC Attorney General Wally Oppal, released its report, Forsaken. The report includes four volumes: I. The Women, their Lives and the Framework of Inquiry: Setting the Context for Understanding and Change II. Nobodies: How and Why We Failed the Missing [...]
Yesterday, I asked the Leader of the Government in the Senate a follow up question on missing and murdered aboriginal women and girls: Hon. Mobina S. B. Jaffer: Honourable senators, I have a supplementary question to Senator Dyck’s question. I have asked this question before. I am a senator from British Columbia. In [...]
On Thursday April 5th, after being passed by the Senate, Bill C-19: An Act to Abolish the Long-Gun Registry received royal assent and has now become law. As a member of the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, I found it incredibly unfortunate that the debate surrounding the long-gun registry was framed in [...]
Yesterday evening, Bill C-19: An Act to Abolish the Long-Gun Registry was passed by Senate. Established in 1995, in the wake of the 1989 École Polytechnique Massacre, the long-gun registry was a valuable public safety tool which was utilized roughly 16,000 times each and every single day. As a member of the Standing Senate Committee [...]