Human Rights platforms
Here's what the candidates in Kelowna—Lake Country, and their parties, are promising.Accessibility
Liberal
To help more people with disabilities go to school,enter the workforce, and join the middle class, we will move forward with a new $40 million per year national workplace accessibility fund, with a special focus on making small and medium-sized businesses more accessible. This fund will match costs with employers and schools, providing up to a combined $10,000 to cover the cost of an accommodation.
Employers and schools will continue to be required to meet their accessibility obligations under provincial and federal law.
From Forward, retrieved 2019-10-01.
Ban on blood donation
Green
Liberal
NDP
Conversion therapy & intersex surgery
Green
Liberal
NDP
Cooperation with torture
Green
Detainment for anti-terrorism
Green
Gender-affirmation
Green
- Ensure access to sexual health care and gender affirming health care, including hormone treatments and blockers, and gender confirmation surgeries.
- Ensure that trans, non-binary, and Two Spirit people, without undertaking surgeries, are able to alter their sex designation.
Ensure that trans*, non-binary, and Two Spirit people, without undertaking surgeries, are able to alter their sex designation on all federally-issued official documents, consistent with their gender identity.
Require accessible facilities in all federal buildings, including gender-neutral washrooms, changing facilities, etc. while also re-affirming trans, non-binary and Two Spirit people’s right to use whichever facilities with which they identify.
From Election Platform 2019, retrieved 2019-09-22.
NDP
Gender-based violence
Green
- Develop a Canada-wide action plan with a timetable and dedicated funding to eliminate violence against women, girls, and gender-diverse people.
- Implement the recommendations of the IMMIWG.
- Invest $40m over four years in the Shelter Enhancement Programme.
In collaboration with women’s and Indigenous organizations, develop a comprehensive Canada-wide plan of action – with a timetable and dedicated funding – to eliminate violence against women, girls and gender-diverse people.
Implement all the recommendations of the Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
Increase access to shelters by investing $40 million over four years in the Shelter Enhancement Program, providing more than 2,100 new and renovated spaces in first-stage shelters and hundreds of spaces in transition houses.
From Election Platform 2019, retrieved 2019-09-22.
Liberal
NDP
- Develop a National Action Plan to end gender-based violence, backed by funding to ensure shelter services and other programmes are available in all regions.
- Promote domestic violence leave policies in workplaces.
- Address violence against Indigenous women, LGBTQI2s+ people.
We’ll develop a National Action Plan to end gender-based violence, backed by funding to ensure that shelter services and other programs are available in all regions of the country, especially areas that have traditionally been underserved. New Democrats will promote domestic violence leave policies in workplaces, improve police training on sexual assault, and require universities to develop plans to end sexual violence on campus. And we’ll address violence against Indigenous women, girls, and LGBTQI2S+ people by working with Indigenous peoples to implement the Calls for Justice of the National Inquiry.
From A New Deal for People, retrieved 2019-09-22.
Gender-based work discrimination & pay inequity
Green
Liberal
- Invest $9 million over three years in helping visible minority newcomer women find and keep a good job.
- Work with economic development, agricultural, and trade organizations to ensure that underrepresented communities are better served and able to find and keep middle class jobs.
To help more visible minority newcomer women find and keep a good job, we will build on the research, support and employment projects announced earlier this year, and move forward with an additional $9 million investment over three years.
We will also work with economic development, agricultural and trade organizations to ensure that underrepresented communities are better served and more informed about the programs and services that can help them find and keep good, middle class jobs.
And we will provide funding to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research so that they can create academic research grants for studies on race, diversity and gender in Canada.
From Forward, retrieved 2019-09-30.
NDP
Hate crimes
Liberal
- Strengthen the Anti-Racism Strategy and double its funding.
- Boost funding for community-led initiatives to promote inclusion and combat racism.
- Improve the quality and amount of data StatsCan does regarding hate crimes.
NDP
LGBTQI2+ awareness
Green
Ensure that the national census is designed to reflect the diversity of sex and gender and ask appropriate questions to ensure adequate, safe and effective data collection.
From Election Platform 2019, retrieved 2019-09-22.
Liberal
LGBTQI2S+ work discrimination
NDP
Online hate
Liberal
NDP
- Convene a national working group to counter online hate and protect public safety.
- Make social media platforms responsible for removing hateful and extremist content.
Race-based work discrimination
Green
- Fully implement federal pay equity rules.
- Enhance use of Community Benefits Agreements to increase economic inclusion and opportunity for marginalized communities of colour.
Liberal
NDP
- Conduct a comprehensive review of the existing employment equity regime and help close the racialized wage gap.
- Strengthen labour laws and ensure diverse and equitable hiring within the federal public service and federally regulated industries.
A New Democrat government will conduct a comprehensive review of the existing employment equity regime to help close the racialized wage gap. New Democrats will strengthen labour laws and ensure diverse and equitable hiring within the federal public service, and in federally regulated industries. Jobs and training for underrepresented groups will be a core part of federal infrastructure plans.
Lastly, we will work with the provinces and territories to develop and enforce effective employment equity legislation, and to collect and analyze data on the racialization of poverty – because everyone should be able to build a good life with equal opportunity.
From A New Deal for People, retrieved 2019-09-22.
Racism and bias in justice
Liberal
NDP
- Form a national task force to end over-representation of Indigenous peoples and Black Canadians in the federal prison system.
- Develop culturally appropriate bail programmes.
- Increase restorative justice, judicial discretion in sentencing.
- Further integrate the Gladue principles.
To address the chronic overrepresentation of Indigenous peoples and Black Canadians in the federal prison population, we will put in place a national task force to develop a roadmap to end this systemic injustice. Working alongside Indigenous communities, this approach will include addressing the need for greater judicial discretion in sentencing, developing culturally appropriate bail programs, increasing restorative and community justice programs, and better integrating Gladue principles in court proceedings. We will also develop and implement an African Canadian Justice Strategy, working with Black Canadians with experience and expertise on criminal justice issues.
From A New Deal for People, retrieved 2019-09-22.
Racism in law enforcement
NDP
Sex work
Green
- Reform sex work laws in Canada with a clear focus on harm reduction.
- Make the industry legal.
- Increase funding to bolster investigations and convictions in human trafficking cases.
- Increase funding of organizations helping those driven to sex work by economic deprivation.
Reform sex work laws in Canada with a clear focus on harm reduction, given the dangers that sex trade workers face. By making the industry legal and public, it will make it easier for those who are being trafficked to be found and saved.
Increase funding to bolster investigations and convictions in human trafficking cases.
Increase funding of community organizations providing services to those driven to sex work by economic deprivation.
From Election Platform 2019, retrieved 2019-09-22.