Every child and youth in Manitoba has inherent rights. These rights are enshrined in the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). In Manitoba in 1985, Judge Kimelman released the Kimelman report based on the “Sixties Scoop”. In 1993 the Office of the Child Advocate opens in Manitoba. In this Humans on Rights podcast, we talk with the Manitoba Advocate, Sherry Gott, about how important it is to have the role of an Advocate for children to track issues identified in the...

In the English language, our most commonly used pronouns (he/she) specifically refer to person’s gender. For queer, gender non-conforming, non-binary, ad transgender people, these pronouns may not fit, can create discomfort, and cause stress and anxiety. Bre Calma (they/them) is a non-binary queer. They have an extensive education background, and they were most insightful when they thoughtfully captured why pronouns matter in a gender debate. Bre lays out how pronouns play a crucial role in...

Fact: A study done in 2022 concluded that 1 in 4 Canadian women are forced to choose between buying meals and period products. On this episode of Humans, on Rights, the Executive Director of the Women’s Health Clinic, Kemlin Nembhard (she, her) shares her views on the challenges women face when it comes to purchasing period products. Kemlin’s experience growing up in Winnipeg as a child of Jamaican immigrants in a predominately white school system shaped her identity as an activist and a...

Claire Sparling has always felt a need to learn how things are put together. Throughout her life, she has followed this instinct by developing skills in everything relating to textiles. From a very young age, Claire has been sewing, knitting, spinning and weaving, never missing a chance to add new skills to her repertoire.But it’s not just the sewing, knitting, spinning and weaving that keeps Claire busy. In addition to designing and creating costumes for professional actors, both in the...

It has taken Lorraine Daniels, a second generation Indigenous Residential School survivor, over 60 years to accept her Ojibway culture. As a student at the Indigenous Residential School, we were taught that God was a punishing God, and she and other children were forever being punished and not loved. She recounts that Indigenous children were not allowed to converse with other family members, such as a brother or sister, or talk during meals and that pulling their hair and getting the strap...

Human trafficking is a grave violation of human rights and one of the most heinous crimes committed against individuals, particularly women and children. It is a modern form of slavery, involving the recruitment, transportation, harboring, or receipt of people through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of sexual exploitation.In this episode of Humans, on Rights our guest, Hennes Doltze talks about the work that he and his team are doing to engage man and boys to prevent sexual...

Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair is an Anishinaabe writer, editor, and activist based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. And his credentials are very, very impressive when you consider Sinclair is also a public speaker and media commentator who was recently named to the “Power List” by Maclean’s magazine as one of the most influential individuals in Canada. He has helped organized Idle No More Winnipeg events and he frequently speaks on Indigenous issues on CTV, CBC and APTN. In 2018, he won Canadian...

Simple and to the point. It was the statement put out by the University of Brandon when Brandon School Division trustees heard from a local delegation’s call to remove 2SLGBTQ+ and sexual education resources from the school libraries. Our Humans, on Rights podcast guest, Ellen Bees is a middle school teacher and is a member of People for Public Education who believe that public education should be universally accessible, be publicly funded and free for families, provide equal opportunities...

Sally is a proud member of the 2SLGBTQ+ community and so eloquently reminds us that “we all have a voice, find your voice, and use it. Your silence won’t protect you.‘’ And Jordan, who is a trans woman clearly articulates that “a lot of people don’t like people who are different from themselves. We need to have honest communication, there needs to be honest communication between both sides to understand each other” The Rainbow Resource Centre in partnership has launched an exhibit called “If...

Melissa Stone woks at Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata and is the coordinator for Astum Api Niikinaak and Amoo wig amig. Astum Api Niikinaak means “come sit at our home”. This project which offers affordable housing for people facing key barriers such as being unsheltered and addictions, alongside a communal lodge with culturally sensitive support services is the result of organizations End Homelessness Winnipeg, the Aboriginal Health and Wellness Centre, Eagle Urban Transition Centre and Thunderbird...

Millions of people are forced to leave their home country to find work. Each individual journey is filled with hope to rebuild and have a better life, but once they settle in their new home, the hardship doesn’t always stop there. Migrant workers face a much higher risk of vulnerability to exploitation in the workplace in large part because of their limited access to information and support networks, networks not just in social networks within governance framework, but networks that we take...

“The way to preserve a language is to start the lessons at home. And listen to your elders.” Elder Mary Houle When it comes to giving voice to language, Rebecca Chartrand, the President & CEO of Indigenous Strategies has a voice. A very strong voice. Rebecca whose leadership style is based on Indigenous ways of teaching and learning, which orient towards holistic perspectives and contributions strives to ensure” we are all paddling the same canoe towards a common goal.” Rebecca shares...

Devon Clunis solidified his place in history in 2012 when he became the first Black chief of police in Canadian history. Clunis immigrated from Jamaica with his family in 1975 at age 11 and he began his career in law enforcement with the Winnipeg Police Service in 1987. Clunis occupied several roles and moved up in ranks from patrol to community relations and then chaplain to the superintendent. He served as chief of the Winnipeg Police from 2012 to 2016. Before 2012, Winnipeg was well known...

"Where are you from?” I would be asked. “Oh, I’m from here” would be my response. Simple enough, right? Nope. During Black History Month, Winnipeg’s Rhonda Thompson-Wilson says cultural organizations play an important role in helping preserve connections and the uniqueness of cultures. Manitobans celebrate the diversity and commonalities of the community during Black History Month in February. On this episode of Humans, on Rights Rhonda Thompson-Wilson talks about the importance of Gospel...

As the Founder and CEO of Make Music Matter, Darcy Ataman, M.S.C., O.M. has dedicated his life’s work to bringing an alternate form of music therapy to survivors of sexual violence, conflict and trauma. Working in partnership with Nobel Laureate, Dr. Denis Mukwege, Darcy developed the Healing in Harmony program where patients become artists to begin the healing process by writing, recording and professionally producing songs about their emotions and experiences simultaneously engaging in...

February is when the proud Black History Manitoba organization invites the whole community to come together to Remember, Recognize and Educate. To quote the BHM President Nadia Thompson, “February is the month in which we bear witness to the progress, richness, and diversity of the achievements and contributions of Black people in Canada and around the world.” And with that in mind, the Humans, on Rights podcast went to the Manitoba Museum to capture the Black innovators, entrepreneurs,...

Learning. Teaching. Education is a human right. When exploring education as a human right in this episode of Humans on Rights, Mitchell DeFehr, education coordinator for MARL, discusses the importance of human rights learning when we reference the “other”. He shares his views about how systems developed by those of privilege are systems that oppress the “other”. And he explains how to use education as a human right from an “inside out” approach as well as an “outside in” approach to change...

"I wanted to be more than just a screamer!" - Yvonne Peters. To acknowledge World Braille Day, Humans, on Rights spoke with Yvonne Peters. Yvonne practiced as a human rights lawyer in Winnipeg for over 30 years. During this time she served as legal counsel and advisor on a number of equality test cases involving disability rights and women’s rights. Her work also included serving as a legislative consultant on the implementation of regulated midwifery in Manitoba and acting as project...

Advocate. Community Engagement. Community Organizer. Judith Oviosun came from Nigeria to study medicine at the University of Manitoba. Along the educational pathway which Judith found herself recognized by being placed on the prestigious Dean’s list, she saw areas where International Students’ voices were not being heard. She quickly discovered that to create change, you had to more than just talk about it. You needed to find a seat at the policy decision making table.During her time...

NOTE: During my conversation with Alex Lytwyn, I mentioned that he had one brother. In fact Alex has two brothers. Alex Lytwyn is an astonishing person. Alex has Cerebral Palsy and is in a power chair. Listening to Alex is not easy. First it is not easy because Cerebral Palsy, the most common lifelong physical disability, has affected Alex’s speech. He works work really hard to get his words out. You have to listen. And secondly, it is not easy to listen to Alex because when he shares his...

World Children’s Day is celebrated on the 20th November to commemorate the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. To acknowledge World Children’s Day, Dorota Blumczynska shares her personal story as witnessed through the eyes of a refugee child. Since secretly fleeing Poland as a child, Dorota’s life has centered on survival. Surviving displacement, migration, poverty, the loss of a parent, becoming an orphan, a ward of the child welfare system, and violence. Because Dorota wears her heart...

“I would rather be a little nobody than an evil somebody” – Abraham Lincoln School violence and bullying including cyberbullying is widespread and affects a significant number of children and adolescents. On this episode of Humans, on Rights Clifford Weekes, anti-racism team lead for the Seven Oakes school Division shares his personal experiences on how, at a young age, he was bullied at school. He explains that when he was called the “whitest black guy we know” everyone laughed, and he...

Brent Bellamy is a Winnipeg architect and public advocate who shares his vision on how to create a sustainable city based on building and human focussed design. He writes passionately about this subject, challenging the conventional perception of architectural and urban form. His thoughtful and provoking columns, always anticipated, have appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press since 2010. He explores the connection between design and economic growth, environmental sustainability, civic...

Al Wiebe went from earning $120k a year and driving a new Mercedes to living for 26 months in a 40-year-old wrecked Mercedes in the back lane behind an auto wrecker. After losing his $120k a year job, Al Wiebe was rocked by the trauma of job loss and suffered from unchecked clinical depression. Al attempted suicide numerous times. On one of his suicide attempts, Al plunged into the Assiniboine River, only to be rescued and finding help from a Doctor at St. Boniface Hospital. Today Al has a...

The Chair of the Peace Alliance Winnipeg, Glenn Michalchuk is convinced that the War in Ukraine could have been averted but was not. In this episode Glenn explains his strong belief that this war in not based on anything of substance but more on political fanaticism. And that Canada has played a roll, wrongly in his view, of advancing that political fanaticism. Active in the peace and anti-war movement since 1980, Glenn has used his involvement with the union movement as a natural connection...