Canadians Rally to Age With Rights
BC Community Response Network and Age Knowble organized a virtual rally for the human right of older Canadians in February 2023. This rally was part of the 2023 Global Rally campaign. More than 150 people registered for the session. Of those who attended, a good majority were older people.
Stories of Inequities
The panelists shared stories of age discrimination, ageism, and human rights violations. These stories highlighted systematic human rights violations in the areas of health and access to health services (i.e., long-term care, dental care), an adequate standard of living (i.e., housing, financial security), and the multiple forms of discrimination faced by older people because of their intersecting identities (i.e., age and disability). Panelists also told stories on the importance of the enjoyment of human rights in empowering self-determined lives in older age.
Action for Change
A member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly, Michael Lee, also joined part of the session. He recognized the session topic’s importance and asked the audience to contact local, provincial, and federal governments.
The final session segment was a presentation on human rights, the past and ongoing work on the human rights of older people, and the impetus toward a UN convention on the rights of older people. There were four calls to action:
- Incorporate a human rights lens in advocacy, policy, and program work.
- Reach out to human rights institutions.
- Advocate with the Canadian government to actively participate in work underway at the United Nations and support a UN Convention.
- Participate in local and global campaigns.
When polled, session participants identified the following activities as most helpful in empowering their advocacy efforts:
- Sharing of practices
- A network of advocates
- Human rights knowledge
Here is the Rally session recording. Please get in touch with me if you are interested to know more!