Reports

The Voices-Voix Coalition is compiling reports that provide information about the state of democratic rights in Canada, especially the rights to free speech, transparent government, and equality. If your organization has a report which you believe would be of interest to Canadians, send us an email at communications[at]voices-voix.ca.

Voices-Voix Submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review

The Voices-Voix Coalition submitted a report to the 16th session of the UPR Working Group of the Human Rights Council (22 April - 3 May 2013). To read the report in full, you may download the pdf attached.

To coincide with World Press Freedom Day on May 3, CJFE is launching its annual Review of Free Expression in Canada.

The only publication of its kind, the Review looks at the most pressing issues of free expression in the past year, analyzes the results of major court cases and examines trends, breakthroughs and obstacles. Image courtesy of Toronto Charities

^{Image courtesty of Toronto Charities}

To access the review, please click on the link below.

State of Civil Society 2013: Creating an Enabling Environment. With a case study "Silencing Voices and Dissent in Canada" p.128 by Pearl Eliadis (Voices-Voix), Nikki Skuce (Forest Ethics Advocacy), and Fraser Reilly-King (CCIC):

" In the past six years, civil society in Canada has witnessed a broad and deep decline in the space afforded to organisations working on the progressive side of the policy agenda. Since 2010, Voices-Voix, a Canadian civil society organisation (CSO) coalition has been documenting this phenomenon, and has published one hundred case studies, about half of which are about civil society organisations, activists and human rights defenders.2 (...) "

Keynote remarks from Pearl Eliadis at Lawyers' Rights Watch Canada "Day of Dissent" in Vancouver, 7 December 2012

(...) Voices-Voix has identified 114 cases of organizations, academics and individuals who have been targeted, vilified or selectively defunded since 2010. Civil society organizations are overwhelmingly the focus, but public servants and public service, as well as academics, have been caught up.

Four additional fronts have opened up in our mapping of the assault on diverse voices, on advocacy, on democratic dissent and on the fabric of progressive civil society, bringing the total to five (...)

Thirty years ago today, on 28 June 1982, Canada adopted the Access to Information Act, recognising the right of citizens to access information held by government. This progressive and hugely important step placed Canada among a small vanguard of nations that have recognised the right to information, a right that fundamentally underpins a healthy democratic system.

“Canada was a leader on this core democratic issue thirty years ago,” said Toby Mendel, Executive Director of the Centre for Law and Democracy. “But we have failed to keep pace with international developments, so that Canada has fallen to 51st place globally, behind many developing countries, as well as the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.”

The Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) released on May 2, 2012 the 2011-2012 Review of Free Expression in Canada. The review concludes that "once a leader in access to information, human rights and more, Canada's global stock has plummeted in recent years." The report examines "one topic that is both urgent and has an impact in your daily life: the Internet," but also includes an analysis of the "delays, refusals and redactions [that] continue to block access to information at the federal government level," the fact that "federally funded scientists continue to be muzzled by the Canadian government," how the "funding cuts for non-governmental organizations [...] created a chill on free expression throughout civil society," and a "spotlight on whistleblowers."

Remarks by Pearl Eliadis at the CCIC Annual Forum: Changing realities, changing roles and the future of Canadian CSOs, Concluding Plenary, Ottawa, May 25, 2012

I have been asked to talk about the Voices Coalition, its work and its relevance to the international development community in Canada. Canadians think of themselves as champions of human rights, leading the way in the international community, forging a strong consensus for human rights and tolerance at home. There are serious doubts today about whether this description is still accurate (...)