HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE

Wednesday February 13, 2008

MINUTES

Present: Roger Langen (D12), Javier Davila (Parkdale CI), Omar Ali (OTBU), Rebecca Naylor (Stephen Leacock CI). Regrets: Walter Schweigel (Oakwood CI), Eunice O’Mahony (Central Commerce CI), Tim Heffernan (York Mill CI), Janice Patterson (Albert Campbell CI), Vivian Payne (Western Tech), Lynda Lemberg (OTBU)

1.      MEETING CALLED TO ORDER at 5:20 p.m. NOTE: The meeting began informally at 4:45 p.m. due to small attendance. These minutes are therefore by way of a report of the meeting, rather than formal.

2.      APPROVAL OF AGENDA – Not formally approved but used.

3.      MINUTES FOR DECEMBER 12, 2007 – Deferred. JANUARY 23, 2008 minutes will be available at the next meeting.

4.      REPORT OF THE CHAIR – Roger (acting for Andrew)

STUDENT ACTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD – The new package was distributed, reflecting the changes agreed upon and the schedule of dates. The task of organizing a student-designed flyer remains, as also discussion re: upgrading the monetary value of the award.

5.      EXECUTIVE LIAISON REPORT – Roger

·        Materials were distributed, including a call from Amnesty International to the D12 HRC to speak out against the pending Free Trade Agreement with Colombia.

·        The Amnesty International conference on Business & Human Rights on February 9, 2008 was a success. Roger spoke on OSSTF’s initiative in this year’s Annual Action Plan to form a Work Group on Socially Responsible Investing.

·        On DADT/NOII: Lloyd McKell has not responded to our letter around the TDSB implementation of its DADT policy and appears unlikely to. NOII has provided answers to Provincial OSSTF questions about its videography project.

·        On CLC resolutions: The CLC annual meeting occurs in May. Javier asked about possible resolutions from OSSTF. Roger will speak with Domenic at the province and with Mike Platt, D12’s delegate to Labour Council.

6.      BLACK-FOCUSED SCHOOLS – Discussion points: Such a curriculum should have the potential to become mainstream. Current “inclusive” curriculum is not inclusive, neither in material nor in approach. Pilot programs should be set up to succeed, not fail.

7.      OAXACA FILM SHOWING – The Oaxaca film, A Little Bit of So Much Truth, will be screened and presented at the next meeting of the D12 HRC at 6:00 p.m., April 23, 2008.

Next meeting:  Wednesday, March 19, 2008, 4:30 p.m., Library