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HumanRightsinOntarioOverviewl amdelighted tojoinyoutodayattheCanadianClub.Delightedtojoinyou
in Ontario,the bestplacetoliveintheWorld.Weareveryfortunateinmany ways.Ontariois averyspecialplace.Wearethemostdiverseplacetobefoundanywhere.PeoplefromallovertheWorldlivehere.Every country,everylanguage,everyfaithandethnicgrouphavejoinedourFoundingPeoplesinOntario.Over200countries,withasmanyormoreethnicorigins,andover 150languages.ThemagicthatisOntarioisthatpeoplefromallovertheWorldlive,workandplaytogether,peacefully.Thisdoesnothappeneverywhere
rn
theWorld.Youwouldbehardpressedtofind anyothersimilarplace.Noneisasdiverseasweare.Wefind strengthin ourdiversity.Wecelebrateourdifferences.Weworkhardto makeourSocietyinclusive.WhatwehaveinOntarioisnotinevitable.lt didntjusthappen.ltwas notan accident.Weareaplaceunlikeanywhereelse. YoucanfindpeoplewhohaveleftconflictinonepartoftheWorld, andyet
in Ontarioareable
tolive,work andplayside-by-sidewith theveryrelativesofpeopletheywere
in conflictwith. Wearea unique,specialcombination.Somecantracetheirancestrybackcenturies.Others,justminutes.Infact,everyyear,over100,000newpeoplearrive.YoumightaskwhyOntariohassuch asuccessfullydiversesociety?Youmightaskhow?Thereareundoubtedlymanyreasons.lsuggestthatOntari0’sapproachtoprotectionsforhumanrights, therights
of
thosearound
us,is oneofthem.Itwouldbeeasytotakewhereweareforgranted.ltwouldbe easytobelievethatthingswillalwaysbeasthey are.ln fact, theexperiencefromelsewhereintheWorldsuggeststhatwe areunique.Every daywe arechallengedbysomethingnew.Wemustworkhard ataddressingthechallenge,ornotonlywillwenotimprove,butwerisklosinggroundand joiningsomanyotherplacesintheWorld in theirstruggles.WhensuchdiversepeoplecometogetherfromallovertheWorld,questionswillundoubtedlyarise.Somewill befoundedincuriosity,otherswill belessbenign.Changecansometimesbedifficult.ltoftenrequiresefforttoleam,understand,andadapt tochange.Grievancesandcomplaintswillinevitablyarise.Page1of 7
Whetheryouaddressthequestions,andhowyou
do,willoftenbeasimportantastheanswers.Theapproachiscritical.Thatwe arewilling tohearpeopleoutisanimportantstart.Ourwillingnesstoaskquestions,tochallengeourselvesandtoaddressthequestions,sometimesinformally,sometimesformally,strengthensandhelpslegitimizetheanswerswereach.Of course,humanrightsissuesdo notonlyinvolvethoserecentlyarrived.Someof themostimportantchangesinvolvethosewhohavelongbeenhere.Societysdevelopment,ourrefusaltoacceptwhathasalwaysbeensimplybecauseitis,hasgivenrisetosubstantialandsignificantchanges.The rights ofwomenare oneexample.Ontario’sapproachtohumanrightshasdevelopedover theyearsthroughsocial,politicalandjudicialengagementandactivism.PartofthatdevelopmentisaspecializedHumanRightsCommissionandaTribunaltoconsider,examineandhearhumanrightsissues.ThisyeartheCommissioncelebratedits50thanniversary.IwouldliketorecognizeitsChair,BarbaraHall.Theissueswefaceareincreasinglycomplex,and ourapproach mustkeepupwith thatcomplexity.Whatis mostimportantisthatitworks. Oh,Iagree:therearesomeissues thatstillneedtobeaddressed,oraddressedbetter.Somearerecent,otherslongstanding.Dontlet mycommentstodaysuggestanythingbutacontinueddeterminationtomovefonrvard.Theconstantdesiretodo bettermust betheguidingprinciple.No,whatI amspeakingabouttodayispartofthefoundationforOntario,partofwhyitworks.Ourcollectiveapproachtohumanrightsispartof thatfoundation.Manypeopleandmanydifferentorganizationsrightly seethemselvesandtheirworkinthestrengthandthemagicthatis Ontariotoday.Theyrightlyseetheircontribution,whetherthroughasingulareventorongoingwork,fortheimportantpartitplayedin whoweare. Iacknowledgeandthankthem allfortheirwork.Iwanttorefer toone.HughBumettHis nameis HughBurnett,andall hewantedto dowas togetcoffee.HughBurnettwasa SecondWorld WarVeteran.He wantedcoffee.Hewantedto beservedataplacecalledMckay’srestaurantinDresden.DresdenistheterminusoftheUnderground Railroad,thatgreattransportationcorridorwhichin the1800ssawsomanyliftedfromthe bondsofslaverytofreedom.Page 2of7
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