Human Rights Day 2024: Canada’s unions push back against rising hate

Canada’s unions are marking International Human Rights Day by urging Canadians to come together to challenge the rising tide of hate being spread by an emboldened far-right.

Since the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, Canada has made important human rights gains. Fairer wages, safer workplaces, and freedom from harassment and discrimination are the rights of all individuals, regardless of background, identity, or status. While there is still a long way to go when it comes to ensuring these and other human rights are upheld for all, these rights are meant to ensure that anyone can live a life of safety, respect and dignity in this country.

“On this day, Canada’s unions are reminded of our responsibility to uphold the values on which the Declaration was built—equality, freedom and fairness. These are the very core of what our movement stands for. But it’s not enough to simply support or even promote these values and principles; we must actively combat the growing normalization of hatred, racism and xenophobia, and of human rights being under attack in Canada,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress.

Across the country, we continue to witness a deeply concerning rise in hateful rhetoric and harassment. Reactionary far-right forces, emboldened by a climate of increased polarization and fueled by fear-mongering politicians, are attempting to roll back hard-won human rights. Their tactics are divisive: pitting workers and neighbours against one another, using scapegoating and stereotyping, and stoking the fires of racism, xenophobia and discrimination to steadily chip away at the solidarity that is the very foundation of our collective strength. Labour must continue to hold strong against these forces and remain steadfast in our commitment and action to make our workplaces, unions and communities places of safety and respect.

“Today, we call on all workers—unionized and non-unionized—to come together and take a stand against hate, racism and discrimination. As a movement and as a nation, we fought long and hard for these rights, and we’re not turning back now. Every inch of progress was won through determination, activism and solidarity. We’ve come too far to let the clock be rolled back, and we’re not just holding the line—we’re pushing forward, together, because the fight for human rights is far from over,” said Larry Rousseau, CLC Executive Vice-President.

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