human rights

Human rights in sport

Before the 2004 Summer Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece, organizers installed an elevator in the Acropolis. (photo from greecehighdefinition.com)

What does sports have to do with human rights? This was the question posed by Vancouver Jewish community leader Zena Simces as she and her spouse Simon Rabkin launched the seventh annual Simces and Rabkin Family Dialogue on Human Rights Oct. 23 in a national online event.

There is evidence of discrimination and exclusion, racism, sexism, ableism, athlete exploitation and maltreatment, labour rights violations, sex eligibility and gender identity issues and safety concerns in sport, Simces said. There are also funding issues, such as the high cost of participation in sport, including at the community level.

Sport is about more than just an active and healthy lifestyle, Simces noted, though it is about that, too.

“It can help to address social isolation and loneliness, which have been identified as major health concerns, not only for older adults, but also for children and youth,” she said. “Sports can be democratic, as it invites everyone to belong and contribute to strengthening and building community, but there is a dark side.”

The dialogue was moderated by Wendy MacGregor, a consultant, educator and lawyer who is the founder and executive director of Athlete Zone, a nonprofit that provides Canadians with support, guidance and education in the pursuit of healthy sports environments.

“Unfortunately, with all those wonderful attributes that sports brings, it is not accessible to everyone worldwide and not even to all Canadians,” said MacGregor. She cited statistics indicating that youth participation numbers “are dropping off a cliff and especially girls are dropping out of sport.”

Some of the reasons for this include increased costs, travel time, difficulty of access to facilities, discrimination, maltreatment or abuse in sport and the increased commercialization of sport.

Panelist Bryan Heal, the social impact research lead at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, spoke about a program his organization is involved with, called Change the Game, which advances youth access, equity and outcomes through sport.

Change the Game has engaged more than 25,000 young people around Ontario, he said, addressing factors of race, gender, ability, household income, geography and other factors around access and barriers.

More than 80% of young people who have participated in the program, he said, have experienced themselves or are aware of a problem in these areas but do not feel like they have anyone that they can talk to about it.

“There’s a culture and strategy of silence that is employed by default,” said Heal. “In a team environment, it can be incredibly isolating and deflating when you’re harbouring something like that. It draws people away to other sports, sometimes to leaving sports entirely.”

Jeff Adams, a lawyer specializing in labour, employment and human rights issues, is a decorated Paralympian, having won three gold medals in wheelchair races.

Accommodating different needs is fundamental and, too often, he said, excuses are made, such as the argument that sports facilities are often in buildings that are too old to be made fully accessible.

Before the 2004 Summer Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece, organizers installed an elevator in the Acropolis. “You want to talk about the most historically relevant building in the world,” he said. “It’s the cradle of civilization, and they put an elevator in it.”

An attitude exists that basic Canadian laws, embodied in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, do not apply to the playing field, he argued.

“We are not applying the fundamental supreme law of Canada to athletes who are bleeding for their country in competition,” Adams said. “We have laws that work. We have anti-violence and harassment legislation baked into labour and employment laws.”

Amreen Kadwa, founder and executive director of Hijabi Ballers, a Toronto nonprofit creating positive experiences in sport for Muslim girls and women, said her group’s programs provide more than just access to sport.

“They create safe, culturally affirming spaces where women can play without judgment,” she said. “They can learn new skills, they can grow in their confidence and, beyond sport, we nurture leadership. It really is human rights in action.”

Female athletes face far more violence and discrimination in sport than their male counterparts, Kadwa said.

“But this number is even higher for racialized women,” she said. “Muslim women, a lot of them who are hijab-wearing Muslim women, are often seen as outsiders, whether through their outfits, their clothing, the stereotype, a lack of cultural understanding.”

The annual dialogue event is a partnership with the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and Equitas, an international centre for human rights education.

Human rights in sports

The seventh annual Simces & Rabkin Family Dialogue on Human Rights, organized by the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, Vancouverites Zena Simces and Dr. Simon Rabkin, and Equitas-International Centre for Human Rights Education, takes place Oct. 23, at noon, via Zoom. It tackles the topic of The Match-up Between Human Rights and Sports: How Both Can Win Well in Today’s Landscape.

According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, “sport is anchored in human rights values. It promotes fairness, non-discrimination, respect and equal opportunities for all. As it reaches billions, including young people, it is a conduit for societal change through empowerment and inclusion.” Despite being anchored in human rights values, sport also faces human rights-related challenges through various forms of discrimination be it sexism, racism, ableism, classism or others. The Oct. 23 dialogue will explore the benefits of sport as a force for good in upholding human rights, the challenges currently faced by the Canadian sport system, and pathways to strengthen the balance between sports and human rights so that both win by promoting well-being for all.

The expert panelists featured will be Bryan Heal, Jeff Adams and Armeen Kadwa. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and share comments.

Heal is social impact research lead with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), heading such initiatives as the MLSE Foundation’s Change the Game research program for youth in Ontario.

Adams, a labour, employment and human rights lawyer, is a Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame inductee. He won three gold medals in the Paralympics: twice in the 800-metre (1996 and 2000) and once in the 1,500-metre (2000) wheelchair racing events.

Kadwa is founder and executive director of the nonprofit Hijabi Ballers, which is dedicated to creating positive sport experiences for Muslim girls and women.

The panel will be moderated by Wendy MacGregor, a consultant, educator and lawyer, and founder and executive director of Athlete Zone. She has a master’s in law on abuse and maltreatment of athletes. Her published work focuses on the root causes of sport violence, maltreatment prevention, power imbalance and wellness in sport.

To register for the free public event, go to humanrights.ca/event/matchup-between-human-rights-and-sports.

– Courtesy Simces & Rabkin Family Dialogue on Human Rights

Webinar on Syria and Iran

On Aug. 5, B’nai Brith Canada hosted an online discussion on the crises affecting Druze communities in Syria and the Iranian people, with a focus on the impact on these diasporas in Canada and potential actions by the Canadian government.

The speakers were Kiumars Rezvanifar, president of the Canadian Ethnic Media Association and founder of the Iranian Canadian Cultural Fellowship, and Jamal Sehnawi, an advisor to the Supreme Druze Council and a member of the Canadian Druze Society.

Rezvanifar said the recent violence in Syria’s Suwayda (Sweida) governorate could have resulted in “hundreds of thousands” of Druze deaths if the Israel Defence Forces had not intervened. He said the attacks included the killing of civilians and kidnappings, highlighting the case of a 5-year-old girl who was kidnapped, assaulted, and her family killed, allegedly by members of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). He lamented that major Arab media outlets like Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya have downplayed the crisis, a silence he called “a moral issue.”

Independent casualty figures vary. The Washington Institute reported more than 800 dead and 900 injured. Reuters-verified footage and the Syrian Network for Human Rights cited more than 1,000 deaths, mostly Druze, including women and children. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented 182 executions by government-affiliated forces as of July 19. Le Monde reported 1,311 deaths, while Anadolu Agency cited at least 321 killed, including six children and nine women.

These attacks have deeply shaken Canada’s Druze community, said Rezvanifar, who estimated the Druze population in Canada at about 50,000, mainly in Montreal, Toronto and Edmonton.

Sehnawi described the violence in Suwayda as “ethnic cleansing,” attributing it to the Syrian Ministry of Defence and Interior and to foreign fighters. He said the Druze community’s requests were for peace and recognition similar to that afforded to other communities worldwide.

Throughout the discussion, Sehnawi spoke about historical and cultural ties between Jewish and Druze communities, referring to Druze as “direct descendants to the sons of Jacob (Israel)” and noting traditions of service and community support.

The online conversation also addressed the situation in Iran. Rezvanifar spoke about decades of repression by the Iranian government, citing executions, censorship and the suppression of protests. He criticized European countries for “prioritizing economic interests over human rights,” noting that international attention often came “too late to effectively help the Iranian people facing brutal repression.”

In the face of internet blackouts and censorship, Rezvanifar praised citizen journalists, saying, “The Iranian population is tech-savvy and educated, constantly finding ways to circumvent restrictions.”

Rezvanifar alleged that Iranian regime operatives live openly in Canadian cities such as Vancouver and Richmond Hill (part of the Greater Toronto Area), claiming “thousands of visas may have been issued to regime members” and “fewer than 10 deportations have occurred in the past five to eight years.” These figures have not been independently confirmed.

He commented on the fact that it took repeated calls before Canada designated the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization in 2024. The measure had been sought by various groups since the January 2020 downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752, which killed 176 people, most of them Canadian citizens or residents. Both speakers called for Canada and the international community to take action in support of affected communities.

“In real estate, it’s all about location, location, location,” Sehnawi concluded. “In this situation, it’s all about information, information, information.”

Uriel Presman Chikiar is a student at Queen’s University and serves as executive vice-president of external relations at Hillel Queen’s.

When crisis hits, we show up

As a member of the Jewish community, I’ve come to recognize a powerful truth: when crisis strikes, we show up. That’s who we are.

It’s not performative. It’s not for headlines. It’s rooted in Jewish values that demand action – to heal the world (tikkun olam), to care for the stranger (ve’ahavta et hager) and to take responsibility for one another (arevut hadadit).

So, when tragedy struck our Filipino neighbours at the Lapu Lapu festival in Vancouver, the Jewish community responded – as we always strive to do, with compassion. Our community mobilized within hours. Not just with condolences, but with coordinated, tangible action. A dedicated fund was quickly established for affected families. We partnered with Filipino BC, the United Way, the Archdiocese of Vancouver, the City of Vancouver and other local organizations to ensure a compassionate, coordinated response.

These aren’t symbolic gestures – they are meaningful efforts to help a community recover, rebuild and feel supported in its darkest moment. And it’s not the first time our community has responded like this – not even close.

We’ve shown solidarity with Indigenous communities through Truth and Reconciliation events, advocating for justice, supporting families of missing and murdered women, and bringing in speakers.

After the Quebec mosque shooting, we stood with our Muslim neighbours, condemning Islamophobia, and supported Syrian and Afghan refugees with sponsorship, fundraising, housing, and provided immigration help.

In response to George Floyd’s murder and rising anti-Asian hate, we participated in rallies, spoke out and called for systemic change in policing.

We’ve actively supported LGBTQ+ rights by participating in Vancouver’s Pride Parade and advocating for policies against discrimination.

In the wake of floods and wildfires, we provided aid, opened our homes and joined environmental campaigns for climate justice.

From Haiti to Ukraine, and East Africa to Nepal, our community has raised money and supported global aid efforts to provide humanitarian relief to those affected.

We don’t burn flags, we build bridges. We don’t chant hateful slogans, we extend hands in solidarity. We don’t destabilize, we stabilize, support and stand together. That is the spirit that lives within the Jewish community here in Vancouver. In moments of crisis, we don’t disappear – we show up.

That is the spirit embedded in Jewish life. These values are part of who we are. They guide us – especially in moments of pain and need. We act when it matters most.

That’s why I’m proud to be Jewish. Proud to be part of a people whose instinct is to act with compassion – no matter who is in need. Tzedakah, tikkun olam and arevut hadadit are not just words we recite. They are the path we walk. That’s who we are.

Lana Marks Pulver is board chair, Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver.

Sachs heads new office

Michael Sachs is the first director of Western Canada for the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre. (photo from FSWC)

The role is new, but the face is familiar. On Sept. 15 last year, Michael Sachs took the helm as the first director of Western Canada for the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre. No stranger to Vancouver’s Jews, Sachs has been at the forefront of community engagement for a long time – first as a volunteer and, more recently, as a communal professional.

Jews are in a changed world since Oct. 7, 2023, Sachs contended in a recent interview with the Independent. He had already made a major career change years ago, moving from diamond wholesaling to Jewish community service. When the Hamas terror attacks happened and antisemitism skyrocketed, he found himself just where he felt he could have the greatest impact.

For more than three years, Sachs was executive director of Jewish National Fund of Canada’s Vancouver branch.

“I felt blessed and privileged to be in a role at JNF at a time when Israel faced some of its darkest times, to be able to support Israel and to be able to support the people,” he said. “Over that year, we saw and felt a change, or a progression, in what it feels like to be a Jew outside of Israel.”

The world situation hastened the opening of FSWC’s Vancouver office.

“There always was a plan to open in Vancouver,” said Sachs, “but because of the speed at which the hate rose to such a level, the need caught up to that.”

Sachs had already accepted his new role by the time JNF lost its charitable status in a conflict with Canada Revenue Agency, a legal and administrative battle that is ongoing. Sachs said JNF was “blindsided” by the federal agency’s rescinding of the crucial charity imprimatur but that it was announced after his acceptance of the FSWC job and had no impact on his decision.

Among the highlights of his time with JNF was going into the schools and sharing stories of Israeli resilience and marking holidays like Yom Ha’atzmaut and Tu b’Shevat.

“We had a lot of great events,” Sachs said, despite the limitations of the pandemic. “We did really creative and out-of-the-box thinking on how we approached fundraising.”

For example, JNF transformed the Negev Dinner, which had been a relatively exclusive annual gala, into a “Negev Event,” with far more accessible ticket prices that allowed larger audiences to see and hear Israeli actor, author and activist Noa Tishby in 2023.

Strengthening partnerships with other organizations was also central to his mission at JNF, he said. That cooperation will continue, he promises, as FSWC takes its place amid the constellation of community organizations on the West Coast.

Sachs’s priority for his new office is to maximize FSWC’s antisemitism training and workshops, which they have been delivering to businesses, law enforcement, educational institutions and others.

“Our training is the gold standard for antisemitism training in Canada,” said Sachs.

Also top of his mission is continuing to build connections with existing agencies.

“We’ve worked closely with CIJA [the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs], we work closely with Federation, we work closely with Hillel, to assist and provide that support,” he said.

His office may be in Vancouver, but Sachs is responsible for the organization’s programs across the four Western provinces, and he foresees much more work with non-Jewish organizations across the West, as well as supporting isolated Jewish individuals and groups.

Michael Levitt, national president and chief executive officer of FSWC, heralded the opening of the branch office and Sachs’s hiring as a sign of positive things in difficult times.

“The focus of our work in terms of building a more inclusive and respectful society by educating Canadians about the lessons of the Holocaust and advocating for human rights, standing up against antisemitism and racism in all of its forms, could not be more pertinent and critical in today’s society,” Levitt told the Independent. “One of the things that makes us unique is we have a focus and a presence both in education spaces, which is certainly a core pillar of what we’re doing, but also in advocacy spaces.”

Strengthening, rather than competing with other organizations, is the goal, Levitt said.

“To be inclusive, to not have our elbows up, to look for opportunities to add expertise, but do it in a way that is collaborative and cooperative and empowers any of the partners that we work with – that’s very much what we’ve been doing in Toronto and across the east and central Canada,” said Levitt. “We want to be working hand-in-hand with as many of these organizations as possible.”

Sachs is the ideal person for the new role, according to Levitt.

“His door is always open,” Levitt said. “From the moment I met Mike Sachs, I just knew that he was a future face for our organization on the West Coast. His experience, his commitment, his passion for the Jewish community, particularly out in Western Canada, the important work he had done with another organization we worked closely with over the years, JNF. He had the relationships, he had the drive and he had the attitude that just fit so well into our core beliefs as a team.

“I can’t think of a better individual than Mike Sachs to fly the Wiesenthal flag out in Vancouver,” Levitt said.

Flying the flag on the West Coast is also due to the support of Gordon and Leslie Diamond, and Jill Diamond and the Diamond Foundation, Levitt added.

“Gordon is a long-time board member of FSWC and the family have been very active,” said Levitt.

Ezra Shanken, chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, has worked with Sachs in many capacities over the years and welcomed him to the newish role.

“Mike’s energy and passion for our community and for Israel are truly inspiring, and he is a dedicated partner in combating antisemitism,” Shanken told the Independent. “He is the definition of a community leader – always going above and beyond for the benefit of others. Beyond being a trusted partner in so many initiatives, he’s also a great friend. I know he’ll continue to have an incredible impact in this new role.”

While in the private sector, Sachs was also engaged in the community, variously as president of the Bayit synagogue, in Richmond, as a board member at Jewish Family Services and Vancouver Hebrew Academy. In 2017, he received Federation’s Young Leadership Award and was one of the Jewish Independent’s 18 Under 36. Sachs is married to Shira and they are raising Izzy, 11, and Desi, 9.

Born in Stamford, Conn., Sachs moved to Vancouver with his mom Sally and stepfather Marshall Cramer in 1993, when the late business leader and philanthropist Joe Segal hired Sachs’s stepfather to run the clothing retailer Mr. Jax.

“It was only supposed to be for a couple of years, but we fell in love with the city and the community,” said Sachs.

The family purchased and ran Kaplan’s Deli. Vancouver Jews might hang out among their own shul crowd, attend different summer camps or go to different schools, but smoked meat is the ultimate equalizer.

“A lot of people know me from being behind the counter at Kaplan’s,” said Sachs. “That’s where I got my real dive into the diversity of our community.”

It was during COVID that Sachs decided to make a major life change.

“Like everybody else, we furloughed for a period of time. I said to my wife, I want to go back and do something I love,” he said.

He loved the people he worked with in the diamond sector, he stressed, but his launch of a challah delivery service during the early weeks of the pandemic reminded him of the joy of engaging with people for a good cause.

“There were times that we delivered hundreds of challahs every week. It kind of opened my eyes that this is what I want to do,” Sachs said, defying the assumption that people don’t enter the nonprofit sector for the bread.

Human rights, democracy

Left to right: Haleema Sadia, Emily Schrader, Christine Douglass-Williams and Goldie Ghamari formed the panel of the Dec. 4 event in Toronto called The Head of the Snake, the Islamic Republic of Iran. (photo by Dave Gordon)

American-Israeli journalist Emily Schrader believes it took years for Canada to designate the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps a terror group, as it did in June, because of “moral cowardice.”

She said other Western countries have “refuse[d] to stand up for moral values and their countries and civilizations” and that is “all the reason to vote for those who will protect democracies and freedoms in Canada.”

Schrader spoke in Toronto at the Lodzer Centre on Dec. 4. She was part of a panel with cofounder of TAG TV Haleema Sadia, Iranian-born Ottawa-area Member of Provincial Parliament Goldie Ghamari, and journalist Christine Douglass-Williams, in a talk called The Head of the Snake, the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Schrader is an anchor on ILTV in Israel, co-hosts a panel show on Jewish News Syndicate, and is a contributor to ynetnews.com. In her opening remarks, she spoke of growing up “nominally pro-Israel” until her time at the University of Southern California as an undergrad student. “I didn’t realize how much people passionately hate Israel and Jews until I went to university,” she said.

Her first time “really seeing this visceral, irrational obsession with the Jewish state, which really is an obsession with Jews,” was during an Israel Apartheid Week, held by Students for Justice in Palestine. She said she was “irritated” by the “lies they spread across campus.” She joined Students for Israel in response to “this obsessive hatred towards Israel.”

“I always joke that Students for Justice in Palestine – the best thing they ever did was make me the biggest Zionist in the world,” said Schrader. “I would not be Israeli today if it was not for Students for Justice in Palestine. So, I guess I have them to thank for that.”

It was only after making aliyah that Schrader became aware of the historical connection between Iranians and Jews, going back to Cyrus the Great (circa 590 – 529 BCE), who allowed the Jewish exiles to return to the Holy Land. Iranians and Israelis are “really fighting the same evil,” she said.

photo - American-Israeli journalist Emily Schrader spoke in Toronto on Dec. 4 — American-Israeli journalist Emily Schrader spoke in Toronto on Dec. 4. *(photo by Dave Gordon)*

In 2024, Schrader founded the Israeli Iranian Women’s Alliance (IIWA) to promote women’s advancement and democratic values.

She said Iran’s human rights violations have gotten worse. “There are more restrictions and gender apartheid than we have ever seen before.” She added: “The world is not paying attention because of everything else that’s been going on.”

Ghamari said Canada has been “courting the Hamas votes,” meaning immigrants from countries with “fundamentally different values than Canada.”

Schrader added that “the left overestimates the values of these voters” and “they are against the West – whether it’s a right or left government – so courting them is a fundamental mistake.”

“One of the best ways to support Iranians is to support our king,” Ghamari said of exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi – son of the late, deposed shah – who visited Israel in April 2023. “He is the one true voice of the Iranian people. He has 90% support,” she said.

A way to battle the anti-Israel forces is to build connections with like-minded allies, said Douglass-Williams. “They want the outreach just as much as the Jewish community.”

Ghamari seconded that: “All your support gave me the motivation to speak out and speak up.”

Sadia’s advice to win hearts and minds was to “multiply the voices” on social media.

Douglass-Williams alerted the audience that Venezuela has now sold a million hectares of land to the Iranian regime. “The IDF says they are developing weapons there that could reach America and Israel,” she said.

The Dec. 4 talk was organized by the Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation, OneGlobalVoice, Allied Voices for Israel, Tafsik, and Canadians for Israel.

In an exclusive interview with the Jewish Independent, Schrader said the new Trump administration will be “excellent” on cracking down on Iran. She believes that moral-minded countries need to “de-recognize” the Islamic regime and ramp up sanctions. “It’s going to be a tall order,” she said of countries who have economic ties.

As for the wave of anti-Israel protests, they are primarily concerned with “support for terrorist organizations and an attempt to infiltrate and undermine Western values and the West,” Schrader told the JI.

If they cared about Palestinians, she said, they would protest the estimated 4,000 Palestinians killed in Syria by the Assad regime during that country’s civil war, she said. The Islamic regime’s “vast majority of the victims” are Arab and Muslim, but again, these protesters are silent.

Law enforcement, she believes, is to blame for allowing “multiple antisemitic assaults and attacks,” because “there’s zero accountability for these crimes that are being committed with a racist, hateful, pro-terror agenda.”

“You have to deter it, or it will only grow,” said Schrader. “And we see that happening. It’s a year after Oct. 7 and, I would argue, that it’s worse.”

Dave Gordon is a Toronto-based freelance writer whose work has appeared in more than 100 publications around the world. His website is davegordonwrites.com.

Ageism is everywhere

Panelists Margaret Gillis, left, and Dr. Melanie Doucet were the experts featured at this year’s Simces & Rabkin Family Dialogue on Human Rights, which focused on ageism.

“Ageism is anytime we make an assumption, a judgment, a stereotype, or discriminate based on age. And this can go in any direction. You’ve often heard people say, ‘too young to understand,’ ‘too old to understand.’ It can be directed toward oneself. It manifests in our interrelationships with others. And it is evident in our institutions and organizations. In fact, it is everywhere,” said Zena Simces in her remarks at the sixth annual Simces & Rabkin Family Dialogue on Human Rights, which took place over Zoom on Oct. 28.

Ageism impacts many aspects of life, said Dr. Simon Rabkin. “It affects our health, both physical and mental,” he said. “Studies have shown that psychosocial impacts of ageism include low self-esteem, self-exclusion, lack of self-confidence and loss of autonomy, both for older and younger people. The data indicate that workplace ageism is associated with increased depression and long-term illness. Importantly, studies have found that older persons with more negative self-perceptions of aging have significantly reduced longevity.”

Simces and Rabkin set the stage for the dialogue, which was called Too Old, Too Young: A Conversation on Ageism and Human Rights. It featured Margaret Gillis, founding president of the International Longevity Centre Canada (ILCC) and co-president of the International Longevity Centre Global Alliance, and Dr. Melanie Doucet, an associate with the Centre for Research on Children and Families at McGill University, who is a former youth in care. The discussion was moderated by Andrea Reimer, an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia’s School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, who herself survived as a street-involved youth.

Gillis focused on the impact of ageism on older persons. She gave examples of human rights violations taking place in Canada, including that Canada’s long-term care homes have been under strain and in need of reform for at least two decades. She said an estimated one in 10 older Canadians experiences some form of elder abuse, adding that such abuse is underreported. She spoke about ageist employment practices and negative media representations of older persons.

“Ageism is toxic to the global economy and to health,” she said. “For instance, a US study showed a massive $63 billion per year impact on the economy as a result of ageism in health care. Perhaps one of the most distressing aspects of ageism is its prevalence, the World Health Organization finding one in every two persons is ageist.”

Nonetheless, not much is being done about it, said Gillis.

“I should note that there are protections against ageism in the Canadian Human Rights Code and the provincial human rights codes. But, the problem is, this takes time, money and know-how and our legislation and court process are not well-equipped to remedy complex situations like ageism easily and cost-effectively.”

Gillis encouraged people to join the Canadian Coalition Against Ageism, which she established. It comprises organizations and individuals who are working to confront ageism and bring about changes, based on the WHO global report on ageism.

She advocates for the adoption of a United Nations Convention on the Rights of Older Persons.

“In general, a convention is a method to achieve positive change by combating ageism, guiding policy-making and improving the accountability of governments at all levels, which we most certainly need,” said Gillis. “A convention would also educate and empower, and we’d see older people as rights holders with binding protections under international law.”

Doucet spoke about the human rights of younger persons, specifically youth who age out of the care system. She explained that youth age out of care at the age of majority and that, in British Columbia, about 1,000 youth age out annually.

A video Doucet made as part of her doctoral research included data on the difficulties most young people exiting care experience: 200 times the risk of homelessness, post-traumatic stress disorder rates on par with war veterans, and fewer than 50% finish high school.

Statistics Canada Census data from 2016 indicated that nearly 63% of youth ages 20 to 24 were still living with their parents, with almost 50% staying home until the age of 30. “And I’m sure those statistics have even increased since the pandemic,” said Doucet.

“Youth in care don’t have that luxury. They’re legislated to leave the system at age of majority. So, they’re deemed too old to remain in the child-welfare system after they reach age 18 or 19, depending on where they live in Canada, but, yet, too young to be sitting at the table when policy decisions are being made that impact them, sometimes even at their own intervention planning meetings with social workers.”

Additionally, in the last 20 years or so, a new developmental phase – “emerging adulthood,” which occurs between the ages of 19 and 29 – has been acknowledged in the academic literature, said Doucet. “It’s a phase that encompasses young people who are not necessarily children anymore but they’re not quite adults, and it provides room for identity exploration, trial and error, obtaining post-secondary education, and just figuring out one’s own place in the world. Youth in care aren’t able to experience this crucial developmental phase because of the legislated age cutoffs.”

There are studies that measure the benefits to both the youth affected and society at large of extending the age cutoff: “a return of $1.36 for every $1 spent on extending care up to age 25,” Doucet said.

Meanwhile, the cost of not extending care is high. For example, youth in care lose their lives up to five times the rate of their peers in the general population, she said. Poverty is more prevalent, as is homelessness, as previously noted.

“Out of the 36 countries in the global north, Canada is one of the six that does not have federal legislation to protect the rights of youth in care,” said Doucet. “While Canada has ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child [CRC], it only provides human rights protections for children and youth until the age of 18. So, youth in care who are transitioning into adulthood actually don’t fit within the UN CRC because they’re deemed too old, even though they are a vulnerable population that experiences multiple human rights violations. This highlights that age-based discrimination is very much entrenched into the mainstream child welfare system in Canada.”

In the question-and-answer period, Gillis outlined three recommendations in the UN’s report on ageism: education/awareness campaigns; changes to laws, programs and policies, starting with long-term care and other basic human rights; and intergenerational work. We need to look at what other countries are doing, the evidence, best practices, she said, and pensions and other financial programs must keep up with cost-of-living.

Doucet spoke about initiatives she and her colleagues have undertaken.

“We developed what we’re calling the equitable standards for transitions to adulthood for youth in care. We released those in 2021, myself and the National Council of Youth in Care Advocates, which is comprised of people with lived experience from across the country, youth-in-care networks, and a couple of ally organizations, like Away Home Canada and Child Welfare League of Canada. This was our way to provide a step-by-step rights-based approach that centred on lived expertise, research and best practices, to guide how youth in care need to be supported as they transition to adulthood.”

There are eight pillars: financial, educational and professional development, housing, relationships, culture and spirituality, health and well-being, advocacy and rights, emerging adulthood development. And each pillar has an equitable standards evaluation model. For example, about housing: “Every young person should have a place they can call home, without strict rules and conditions to abide by.”

“The ultimate goal [of] this project for us is, eventually, we are living in a society where the term ‘aging out’ no longer exists for youth in care, that they transition to adulthood based on readiness and developmental capacity instead of an arbitrary age,” said Doucet.

The Simces & Rabkin Family Dialogue on Human Rights was introduced by Angeliki Bogiatji of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, which is a partner of the annual event. Juanita Gonzalez of Equitas – International Centre for Human Rights Education, also a program partner, closed out the proceedings.

Teachers file rights complaint

A screenshot of the Anti-Oppression Educators Collective’s resources page. The AOEC is a provincial specialist association of the BC Teachers’ Federation.

A group of BC teachers has filed a complaint against their union with the BC Human Rights Tribunal, alleging a culture of discrimination against Jews.

BC Teachers Against Antisemitism filed a complaint last week, after the BCTF rejected a proposal to create a provincial specialist association devoted to developing resources around antisemitism and Holocaust education.

The provincial government announced last year that Holocaust education would become mandatory in BC public schools for the first time in 2025. Provincial specialist associations within the BCTF develop and disseminate resources on areas of relevance, such as social studies, culinary arts and Aboriginal education. The proposal to create a PSA to develop the materials teachers will need when Holocaust education becomes a mandatory part of the Grade 10 social studies curriculum next year was rejected by the branch of the BCTF that vets the groups.

Paul Pulver, the lawyer representing the teachers, said this is only part of the complaint. He did not provide the text of the complaint to media, as he is adhering to the letter of the tribunal’s regulations and waiting for the quasi-judicial body to formally make the documents in the case public.

“There is a whole raft of allegations,” he said. “They involve the fact that pro-Palestinian or anti-Israel groups and members within the BCTF are able to, and encouraged to, state their position and lobby for their position and encourage change in support of their position, and those who do not agree with them are silenced and oppressed and discriminated against.”

The rejection of the PSA focused on antisemitism and Holocaust education is but one example, he said.

One PSA, called the Anti-Oppression Educators Collective (AOEC), with the imprimatur of the BCTF, is publishing and distributing and disseminating materials Pulver calls “quite anti-Israel, anti-Zionist, frankly anti-Jewish.”

“It publishes false accusations about occupation and genocide,” he said.

The TeachBC website, an official BCTF platform advertised as “your go-to site for free downloadable lesson plans, posters and classroom resources,” contains no materials about the Holocaust or about antisemitism, Pulver said, but includes “some really harsh anti-Israel, anti-Zionist, anti-Jewish materials,” including a poster that says “Zionists, f*** off.” After controversy around some of these items, the BCTF appeared to remove some of the AOEC’s materials from the website.

“As a teacher who isn’t interested in putting on a keffiyeh and lobbying for pro-Palestinian goals and objectives, or pro-Hamas goals and objectives as the case may be, you’re persona non grata, you’re a second-class citizen,” Pulver said. “And they are sick of it,” he said of his clients.

Rich Overgaard, director of BCTF’s communications and campaigns division, told the Independent, would not comment on the substance of the complaint.

“The Federation values the critical role of the Human Rights Tribunal in upholding the BC Human Rights Code and, in respect for this process, as well as any members that may be involved, will not comment before the tribunal has reviewed the matter,” he said in an email.

Pulver does not expect a speedy resolution, although the BCTF could resolve the case by entering discussions to find a solution.

“But, if that doesn’t happen, it’s just like any other human rights complaint,” he said. “It goes to the Human Rights Tribunal and information is exchanged and, ultimately, there’s a hearing and they make a decision.”

If the complaint goes to a hearing, the process could stretch late into the year or further.

“Unfortunately, the wheels of justice within a number of administrative bodies in the province grind slowly and the Human Rights Tribunal is no exception,” he said. “We are looking at months, plural.”

The teachers’ complaint is a tip of the iceberg, in one professional area, of what Jews in British Columbia and beyond are experiencing today, said Pulver.

“This is a microcosm of what’s going on in our daily life and in the daily work life of people who are Jewish or have pro-Israel or pro-Zionist views,” said the lawyer, who is a partner with Pulver Crawford Munroe LLP. “They are facing discrimination, they’re facing oppression, intimidation, they are being ostracized. In this case, they are being prevented from exercising democratic rights that, as union members, they ought to have and be able to exercise. They are in fear on a regular basis because they hold views or have origins that are not well-received in the current climate. I think anybody who cares about that sort of thing – which should be everybody – would look at this and say they deserve to be treated fairly, and they are not right now.”

Tour for Humanity bus visits

Left to right: Andrew Abramowich, Larry Goldenberg, Gordon and Leslie Diamond, Jill Diamond, Lauri Glotman and Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre’s Michael Levitt. (photo from FSWC)

The Tour for Humanity, a human rights educational bus organized by Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre (FSWC), made an inaugural visit to British Columbia May 27 to June 7, with stops at several schools across the Lower Mainland, including Vancouver, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Coquitlam, Surrey and Langley Township. In all, the bus visited eight different schools, reaching 1,170 students.

On May 29, in partnership with the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver and the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver, FSWC hosted a special gathering and an exclusive viewing of the Tour for Humanity.

“The reception in Vancouver was very positive, especially considering this visit marked our first-ever journey to the West Coast,” said Michael Levitt, president and chief executive officer of FSWC. “The Tour for Humanity presented a new educational experience for the students in a technologically advanced and inspiring learning environment, with students feeling immediately captivated upon entering the bus.

“Every student walked away from the bus with newfound knowledge, whether of the Holocaust or human rights issues right here in Canada,” he said. “Teachers and administrators shared with us how much they admired the program and would like to have the bus return to their schools.”

The Tour for Humanity bus is a 30-seat, state-of-the-art, wheelchair-accessible education centre that teaches students, educators, community leaders and front-line professionals through workshops about the Holocaust, genocide and Canada’s human rights history. The aim, in the words of FSWC, is “to help inspire and empower people of all ages and backgrounds to raise their voices and take action against hate, intolerance and bullying and to promote justice, human rights and a more inclusive society.”

photo - In the Tour for Humanity bus — Inside the Tour for Humanity bus. (photo from FSWC)

Levitt noted that, since Oct. 7, there has been an increase in requests from schools for the Tour for Humanity workshops, given the rise in antisemitism and the divisions playing out online, on city streets and in schools.

“Teachers and administrators are recognizing the importance of this education to ensure students understand the dangers of hate and the role they play in combatting it,” Levitt said.

The tour’s visit to Vancouver in late May and early June coincided with, among other events, the arson attack against Congregation Schara Tzedeck and the decision by the BC Teachers’ Federation to deny funding to a specialist Holocaust education group.

“What we are seeing is a frightening escalation of antisemitic incidents across BC and the country. Most concerningly, Jewish institutions, including places of worship and schools, are being targeted and violently attacked at an unprecedented rate in Canada,” Levitt said. “Words of condemnation from our public leaders are no longer enough. Concrete measures must be taken to fight this scourge of antisemitism before it escalates even more and someone gets seriously hurt.”

Since it began – with one bus, in 2013 – the Tour for Humanity has visited more than 1,300 schools and reached more than 220,000 people. A second bus was added in September 2022, thanks to support from the Goldenberg family. The two buses have traveled a combined total of more than 200,000 kilometres.

Before coming to British Columbia, the bus visited schools in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and, also for the first time, Alberta. The tour has traveled widely through Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Both buses are currently in Ontario, visiting a few last schools for the academic year. The buses only travel throughout Canada, though the Simon Wiesenthal Centre in the United States has a similar program in several American cities.

According to Levitt, the 2024/25 schedule for the Tour for Humanity is already filling up, as Canadian schools have been reaching out and requesting workshops ahead of the upcoming academic year. There is going to be a third bus ready to hit the road in 2025, offering further opportunities to visit more schools across the country. In the meantime, FSWC educators will continue to offer virtual workshops to schools.

“We’re looking forward to having a more active presence in Vancouver and throughout BC in the near future,” Levitt said, “including a return of the Tour for Humanity at the earliest possible time, as we know it takes an all-hands-on-deck approach from the Jewish community to deal with the current conditions.”

Levitt stressed that FSWC is working to deliver Holocaust education to Metro Vancouver students alongside other Jewish organizations, such as the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, ensuring that young people gain a deeper understanding of the history and horrors of the Holocaust and learn its lessons.

“Students must learn that history can repeat itself, and each of them has a responsibility to stand up against hate in their community and make a positive change,” Levitt said.

“We are thankful for the warm welcome our Tour for Humanity received in BC and grateful to Gordon and Leslie Diamond and the Diamond Foundation for sponsoring the bus’s first-ever journey to the West Coast,” he said. “We are eager to return soon to reach more students.”

For more information, visit fswc.ca/tour-for-humanity.

Sam Margolis has written for the Globe and Mail, the National Post, UPI and MSNBC.

Online dialogue on housing

Alexandra Flynn, left, and Dr. Kaitlin Schwan join Lavern Kelly at this year’s Simces & Rabkin Family Dialogue. (photos from Canadian Museum for Human Rights)

Housing is recognized as a human right in Canada – so why do 25,000+ people sleep on the street, in encampments or in shelters every night? How can we address issues of discrimination, affordability, inadequate housing, insufficient supply and homelessness? Join a Zoom discussion Nov. 29, at noon, with leaders who are breaking new ground to realize the right to housing across Canada.

Housing is a Human Right: New Actions to Solve Canada’s Ongoing Crisis is the topic of this year’s Annual Simces and Rabkin Family Dialogue on Human Rights, which is offered in partnership with the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and Equitas: International Centre for Human Rights Education. It features three panelists.

Alexandra Flynn is an associate professor at Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia. She is currently leading CMHC- and SSHRC-funded projects focused on Canada’s housing and homelessness crisis, including land-use practices and the financialization of housing. She is also working on projects related to human rights and tent encampments.

Dr. Kaitlin Schwan is executive director of the Women’s National Housing and Homelessness Network and a senior researcher at the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness. Her work focuses on homelessness prevention and human rights, particularly for women and youth. Previously, she was a senior researcher for the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing and director of research for the Shift.

Lavern Kelly, who runs the Youth Excelling & Attaining Housing (YEAH!) Parenting Program for Watari Counseling and Support Services, brings lived experience working with young people, especially single women and young mothers, in Vancouver’s East Side to advocate for their right to housing.

The dialogue will be moderated by Michael Redhead Champagne, a community leader from Winnipeg’s North End with family roots in Shamattawa First Nation. An author, on-screen personality and public speaker, Champagne is an activist and advocate working to eliminate poverty, end homelessness and increase supports for children, youth and families in pursuit of a more compassionate world.

Zena Simces and Dr. Simon Rabkin are working to enhance understanding and create ongoing dialogue on human rights issues in the Greater Vancouver community. The Canadian Museum for Human Rights, in Winnipeg, is the first museum in the world solely dedicated to the evolution, celebration and future of human rights. Equitas is an international centre for human rights education.

To register for the Nov. 29 Simces and Rabkin Family Dialogue on Human Rights, go to humanrights.ca/housing-human-right.

– Courtesy Simces & Rabkin Family Dialogue on Human Rights