A series of steps, calling for Fair Employment Practices Acts, other anti-discrimination measures and the adoption or tightening of human rights codes in several of Canada’s most populous provinces has been taken by Jewish organizations, the Canadian Jewish Congress reported today. The activities, according to the CJC, have been initiated in the provinces of Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia and Manitoba by the joint advisory committee on labor relations of the Congress and the Jewish Labor Committee.
In Toronto, a memorandum calling for changes in the Ontario Human Rights Code was submitted to the provincial government by the Toronto Labor Committee for Human Rights.
In Quebec, a delegation called on Provincial Prime Minister Jean Lesage, requesting the adoption of a Fair Employment Practices Act, another measure assuring fair accommodations, and a human rights code. The FEPC act was introduced in the Quebec Legislative Assembly today by Carrier Fortin, Minister of Labor. The bill would ban all employment discrimination on grounds of race, color, sex, religion, national extraction or social origin.
In Montreal, the United Council for Human Rights is preparing to request municipal authorities to outlaw discrimination in areas under the city’s jurisdiction. In British Columbia, a survey has been begun to examine employment application forms, to ascertain the effectiveness of the FEPC legislation in the province.
Meanwhile, today, the Quebec Chamber of Commerce of Notaries adopted a resolution calling for a revision of the Civil Code in such a way as to outlaw all forms of racial or religious discrimination. The Canadian Jewish Congress had helped draft the resolution.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
