Manitoba Association for Rights and Liberties
580 Main St R3B 1C7 Winnipeg, MB, Canada

This #mentalhealthweek do not forget to take a break and breathe! At MARL, we recognize the importance of mental health and understand the mental health challenges posed by the current COVID-19 pandemic. This past year, what have you done to practice self-care? Comment below!

Our work at the Manitoba Association for Rights & Liberties is centred around education as a tool for long-term equality. But this is more than just teaching the ideas of #humanrights. In this latest blog post, our Executive Director, Michelle Falk writes about how MARL's approach to education reflects principles of inclusion and critical dialogue in process and as well as substance.

"Putting the names of people on these lands to try to commemorate the work that people have done our people have been doing this work for centuries, protecting the land and the water. It's just a bit upsetting to know that there's a bunch of men that are going to be place names of our traditional territories."

"While COVID and its effects have taken centre stage in the lives of all Manitobans, The Emergency Measures Act has been the ubiquitous force in the background. Given the rather inconspicuous nature of this legislation, it is important to look into the implications that The Emergency Measures Act can have on the rights and liberties of Manitobans."

We are proud to partner with Immigration Partnership Winnipeg on the Anti-Racism in Sport campaign! Please join us for the virtual Campaign Launch on April 21! See the link below to register.

The right to safe and affordable housing is fundamental. Make Poverty History is hosting a virtual Webinar for more information on the issues.

"In addressing acts and attitudes of racism and discrimination, it is crucial to look beyond the individual, and engage in uncomfortable self-reflection on the unearned benefits of privilege. In this way, diversity and anti-racism training is not a box to check, but an ongoing practice in systemic change."

"I don’t want these conversations to fade and I don’t want them to be trends. I want them to be real, authentic conversations, that we let ourselves get uncomfortable in having," she said.

Language evolves over time, said Carr, who stressed she could only speak for Inclusion Canada. She fully appreciates and respects how the term disabled person is being more frequently used in some circles, with Fletcher similarly acknowledging that other disability organizations may have their own preferences.

In our latest blog post, PBSC volunteer, Patrick Gutowski, explains Bill 26 and its impact on the Manitoba Human Rights Commission. http://www.marl.mb.ca//202-what-is-the-manitoba-human-righ

"I think that having a First Nations person play that role would help expedite those things and encourage the conversation and acknowledgement of how it's actually the First Nations, along with the French and English, that built this country."

"We need to change the way that we educate our children. Indigenous and non-Indigenous, they all need to grow up and be educated in a Canada with a fuller and more proper sense of the history of this country. Indigenous youth especially need to understand the validity of their own existence as Indigenous people. Part of that responsibility falls on our school systems to understand and promote that we are a valid people."

https://www.theglobeandmail.com//article-how-covid-19-ha/

"What is needed is widespread acknowledgment of the systemic inequities that persist, and for those in the dominant group to recognize their significant power and privilege, which put them in a position to effect organizational change. The path toward systemic change begins with taking responsibility, acknowledging the inequities, becoming an ally and expanding one’s awareness and understanding of racial and gender equity."

"Today, Mi’kmaw fishers continue to face barriers to actualizing their treaty right to fish and sell their catch without threats of harassment, prosecution by the Canadian state, and equipment and catch seizures. There remains an immense lack of awareness and education on the Peace and Friendship Treaties and, as a result, Mi’kmaw people's treaty and thereby constitutional rights." http://www.marl.mb.ca//163-mi-kmaq-fishing-rights-are-huma

https://www.instagram.com/p/CGaYfwPgaSC/

"This is an important step forward in ensuring that all Manitobans have a choice in whether to display gender information on their IDs, and when they do, to ensure that the information displayed is accurate," said Allison Fenske of the law centre.