Nase Novine, May 24, 1978

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OTTAWA — Justice Minister Ron Basford
and Canadian Human Rights Commission
Chairman Gordon Fairweather expressed
optimism that the Canadian. Human Rights
Act which became effective March 1 will pro-vide
Canadians with very effective protection
of their human rights.
Justice Minister Basford added, "Canada
has always been perceived by the world as a
haven for those seeking freedom and equa-lity
of opportunity. It is appropriate that our
new Human Rights Act is a model of Its kind,
offering a package of protections and gua- rantees which no other government In North
America provides for its citizens".
Two provisions are particularly unique:
0 the Act stipulates that citizens have
the right to the fullest possible access
to information about them stored In
government information banks;
в the Act provides for the development
of the concept of equal pay for work
of equal value.
Other provisions include:
a creation of a very wide range of pro-hibited
grounds of discrimination in
federal or federally-regulate- d employ-ment
and services including race,
national or ethnic origin, color, re-ligion,
age, sex, marital status, phy-sical
handicap and conviction for
' weshtiacbhlisahpmaerdnotnofhatshebeCenangardaiannted;Hu-man
Rights Commission to deal with
complaints of discrimination in any
business or industry under federal
jurisdiction or in the federal govern-ment
itself;
prohibition of the transmitting of pre-recorded
telephone hate messages;
prohibition of publishing or display of
hate messages.
Chief Commissioner Gordon Fairweather
noted that the Canadian Human Rights Com-mission
officially opens its doors and
may now begin its work of investigating
complaints of discrimination and taking
OTTAWA — New criteria for activities
funded under the Multicultural Assistance
Programs were announced by the Honou-rable
Norman Cafik, Minister of State for
The Multicultural Program provides as-sistance
for activities which further cultural
pluralism within the framework of Canada's
multicultural policy. The following assis-tance
becomes available 1 April 1978:
The Canadian Ethnic Studies Program,
consisting of the Visiting and
Lectureships Program and the Ethnic Re-search
Program supports scholarly research
and courses of study In the fields of huma-nities,
social sciences, communications and
fine arts relating to important aspects of
cultural pluralism, with particular reference
to Canadian society. Priority is given to
projects which are of an interdisciplinary and
comparative nature; to those which have an
applied research component and address
themselves to topical themes; and to those
which are conducted by Canadjan academics
at .Canadian education Institutions. .
The Intercultural Prog-ram
provides operational assistance for
voluntary coordinating which
promote inter-cultur- al group projects. Prir
brity is given to coordinating .multicultural
councils which ensure active Involvement by
several cultural organizations. Priority is also
given to coordinating bodies which stimulate
;a wide range of creative encounters and
interchange among Canadians.
The Performing and Visual Arts Program
supports ethno-cultur- al participation in he
action In the case of those which are justi-fied.
He pointed put that because the concept
of equal pay for work of equal'value Is a new
initiative and Involves breaking new ground,
it will be necessary for the Commission to
move carefully in establishing guidelines in
this area, as it is required to do under the
Act..
Mr. Basford underlined the Importance to
Canadians of thelr'newly established right of
access to information about them held in
federal information banks. No other govern-ment
in Canada and very few governments in
other countries have established such a right
for their people. The privacy sections of the
Act provide all Canadians with these rights:
othe right to see what personal infor-mation
the government has about
them for purposes;
©the right to know what use Is made of
that information;
flthe right to request corrections if they
feel the information is not accurate;
flthe right to exercise some control over
the use of the information.
To help people exercise these rights, the
federal government has published an Index
of all of its personal information banks (there
are no banks whose existence is being kept
secret). The book describes the various
banks held by departmens. It tells Canadians
how they can obtain information about them-selves
and the procedure to follow If they
disagree with any of their personal infor-mation.
A copy of this Index is available in
post offices and other federal government
buildings.
Individuals who think that they have been
denied their rights in this area can complain
to the Privacy Commissioner of the Human
Rights Commission, who will play an
ombudsman-lik- e role.
Further information about the Act and the
Commission is available from: The Canadian
Human Rights Commission, 300 Slater
Street, 6th Floor, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 1E1.
тв
performing and visual arts. Priority is given
to projects with educational .and multicul-tural
components. Priority Is also given to
those projects designed by amateur and
semi-professio- nal groups or artists able to
meet high standards and seeking, to gain
recognition from professional agencies.
The Writing and Publication Program sup-ports
historical and literary projects which
promote the concept of cultural pluralism in
Canadian society. Priority is given to histo-rical
writing and creative literature which
contributes to written and audiovisual re-source
materials which may be used for
educational purposes.
, The Cultural Enrichment Program sup-ports
voluntary organizations which under-take
activities of cultural enrichment through
the preservation and development of langua-ges
other than English or French. The prog-ram
provides financial assistance towards
the operation of supplementary
courses, for the development and
operation of workshops and seminars related
to the training of instructors for these cour-ses
and for the development and production
of teaching-aid- s.
The Group Development — Cultural Inte-gration
Program supports activities which
promote the cultural and social integration of
immigrants and which contribute to the
development of a society receptive to and
of, the cultural needs of the
Immigrant community. Priority is given to
projects which provide orientation and lear-ning
opportuhitiesfor immigrants in a group
setting to enable them to function effectively
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The ever-smili- ng master violinist Al Cherny, seen
each week on CBC-TV- 's popular Tommy Hunter
Country at 9 p.m. Fiddler extraordinaire, and
winner of the Shelbume Fiddling Contest many
times, Al and regulars Donna and Lee Roy,
Maurice Bolyerand the O.K. Chorale join Tommy
Hunter on Friday nights for one of Canada's favo-rite
television shows. The show consistently
draws close to 2 million viewers weekly and is
always in the top ten. Ai has a new long play
Fiddle album coming out this month.
NewMultUulturalprograms
Multiculturalism.
Professorships
Communications
organizations
decision-makin- g
cultural-linguist- ic
.understanding
in the Canadian environment. Priority is also
given to forums for exchange of ideas
between immigrant groups and members of
the receiving communities, and to leadership
and skill development sessions which enable
Immigrant groups to articulate their con-cerns
and to relate effectively with Canadian
institutions. In addition, old established
communities now seeking to fully participate
in Canadian society will be assisted on a
priority basis.
The Group Development' — Operational
Support Programs supports the growth of
national ethno-cultur- al organizations
through which the concerns and aspirations
of these communities may be articulated.
The Group Development — Projects Prog-ram
supports activities assisting ethno-cultur- al
groups to strengthen their cultural iden-tity.
Priority is given to projects which are of
benefit to ethno-cultur- al communities ex-periencing
lack of acceptance by other Ca-nadians;
projects which result in special
benefits to particular groups of Canadians
who may Jack the basic skills to functions
effectively in Canadian society; and projects
which contribute to the building of inter-grou- p
understanding in the interest of
Canadian unity.
For all of the programs listed above,
applicants must satisfy the general criteria
as established by the Multiculturalism Direc-torate
as well, as the specific criteria pertai-ning
to each of the programs. Application
forms and itemized criteria are available from
the Multicultural Program in Ottawa as well
as from offices across Canada.
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