U of Manitoba Press announces new book series on human rights

University of Manitoba Press announced in May 2013 the formation of a new Human Rights and Social Justice series.

Headed by series co-editors Karen Busby and Rhonda Hinther, the Human Rights and Social Justice series will publish work that explores the quest for social justice and the basic rights and freedoms to which all human beings are entitled, including civil, political, economic, social, collective and cultural rights.

Particular emphasis is placed on works considering the denial or the realization of human rights and social justice. The series will publish books that are both academically rigorous and accessible to the public.

Karen Busby is a professor of law at the University of Manitoba and is director of the university’s Centre for Human Rights Research.

Rhonda Hinther is director of research and curation at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

The editors are actively acquiring new titles for inclusion in the series and welcome all enquiries and proposals. Please feel free to contact them directly at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . 

Please follow the U of M Press proposal guidelines.

UBC Press publishes book by Prof. Milward on Aboriginal justice

Aboriginal Justice and the Charter: Realizing a Culturally Sensitive Interpretation of Legal Rights explores the tension between Aboriginal justice methods and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, while searching for practical ways to implement Aboriginal justice. David Milward is an assistant professor of law at the University of Manitoba.

Is palliative care an enforceable human right in Canada?

Three Manitoba lawyers have published a paper examining whether palliative care is an enforceable Canadian human right.

The article by Yude Henteleff, senior counsel at Pitblado and chair of the content advisory committee of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, and U of Manitoba law professors Mary Shariff and Darcy MacPherson was published in the September issue of the McGill Journal of Law and Health.

It’s available online through Shariff’s webpage.

Law professor writes UN Indigenous rights handbook

Robson Hall law professor Brenda Gunn and the Indigenous Bar Association have produced a new handbook, Understanding and Implementing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Sociologist to compare American and Canadian residential schools

Andrew Woolford, an associate professor with the University of Manitoba’s department of sociology, has been granted a Fulbright Scholar Award to the University of New Mexico. Dr. Woolford will spend four months, starting in January 2012, researching for a project entitled A Tonic for the Boarding School Blues? Genocide and Historical Redress in Canada and the U.S.

As a Fulbright Scholar with the University of New Mexico’s department of sociology, Woolford’s project will compare American Indian boarding schools and Canadian residential schools, and he hopes to address questions of genocide and learn about the movement for boarding school reparations.

“It is with a great deal of pleasure that I welcome Dr. Andrew Woolford to the distinguished group of Canada-U.S. Fulbright Scholars,” says Dr. Michael Hawes, executive director of Fulbright Canada. “Dr. Woolford is extremely deserving of this award, and I have no doubt his research will produce unique and critical insights into the impact of indigenous people’s experience with boarding school practices in North America, which will have tremendous impact on both sides of the border.”

Woolford holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of British Columbia. He earned his master's in sociology from the University of Western Ontario, and a BA in sociology from the University of Victoria. He has been with the University of Manitoba since 2002, and has held a number of teaching positions within the department of sociology, where he has received several teaching and research prizes for his work. Woolford has been widely published in peer reviewed and academic journals, and he is the author of several books on restorative justice and conflict resolution.

By engaging our brightest minds in academic exchanges, Fulbright Canada seeks to enhance mutual understanding between the people of Canada and the people of the United States. Through its bilateral academic exchanges, outstanding students, scholars and professionals strengthen Canada-U.S. relations by examining a wide range of subjects which are critical to the relationship between the two countries.

Operating in over 150 countries worldwide, the Fulbright program has long been regarded as the world’s premiere academic exchange. With the support of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada and the United States Department of State, Fulbright Canada is the gold standard for academic exchanges and intellectual opportunity. For more information please visit www.fulbright.ca.

What do Prof. Busby and k.d. lang have in common?

They're both being inducted into the Q Hall of Fame at a gala in Vancouver July 30, 2011. That's Q as in queer.

Canada’s lesbian/gay/bisexual/trans human rights hall of fame has selected 12 leaders to be recognized for their contributions to human rights and equality in Canada. Past recipients include former prime minister Pierre Trudeau and Olympian Mark Tewksbury.

Karen Busby is a law professor and academic director of University of Manitoba's Centre for Human Rights Research initiative. She is being recognized for her advocacy over many years for the LGBT community.

Prof. Busby researches laws related to sex, sexuality and violence, including human rights laws affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-identified (LGBT) people. She was an active participant in law reform efforts directed at recognition of same-sex relationships and has worked on challenges to laws on bawdy houses/indecency, age of consent and gender identity. Prof. Busby appeared as counsel in the Supreme Court of Canada in the Little Sisters case about the discriminatory treatment of LGBT bookstores by Canada Customs.

Prof. Busby was a member the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) national legal committee from 1992 to 1997. She also served on the board of Egale Canada (2003-08), a national organization representing LGBT folks.

“The LGBT communities in Manitoba work well together,” she told Outwords magazine. “It has been an honour to be one of the public figureheads.”

Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore is slated to open the Q Ball July 30 and provide official recognition for Q Hall of Fame as Canada's national LGBTQ human rights hall of fame.

The Q Hall of Fame Canada is a national resource headquartered in Vancouver to house and commemorate the diverse history of the LGBT community. Inductees are selected by an independent committee from nominations received from the community.

The black tie Q Ball is the induction ceremony for the Q Hall of Fame. Proceeds go to a national Q Scholarship program, which provides financial assistance to youth who have demonstrated their commitment to equality in education, sport and life.

This year's ball is at the end of the 2011 Outgames and Human Rights Conference and the day before Vancouver’s Pride parade.

Mentors sought for Aboriginal health students

The university’s Centre for Aboriginal Health Education is recruiting mentors in health professions and the Aboriginal community to walk with students as they embark on their career paths.

Mentors might go for coffee with students, pick berries, conduct mock interviews or introduce students to colleagues in the professional community.

Elder-in-Residence Margaret Lavallee named the mentorship program Kaaweechimoseaywat, Ojibway for “walking with one another.” Mentors should expect to learn from the students as they pass on their own wisdom.

HOW TO BECOME A MENTOR: The Centre for Aboriginal Health Education is looking for health professionals with established careers – both faculty members and practitioners; as well as members of the Aboriginal community. You don’t need to be Aboriginal to be a mentor.

Visit the centre at A101 Chown Building, 753 McDermot Ave., phone 789-3511 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . More details are available at www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/medicine/units/community_health_sciences/departmental_units/cahe/index.html

Anti-homophobia researchers get multi-year grant

Four Winnipeg researchers are on the team awarded a multi-year Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council grant to support a national survey of Canadian teachers’ perspectives on homophobia and transphobia in grades 7 through 12.

University of Winnipeg education professor Dr. Catherine Taylor, University of Manitoba professors Dr. Donn Short (law), Dr. Tracey Peter (sociology), and associate vice-president Dr. Janice Ristock (women's studies), and Concordia education professor Dr. Elizabeth Meyer were awarded $138,000. It is widely recognized by researchers and educators that bullying and discrimination on the basis of sexual minority and transgender identity are major barriers to the achievement of safe and respectful school cultures. The researchers hope the findings of the study will contribute to the literature on safe schools and help to inform efforts to develop more intersectional and effective approaches to diversity and anti-oppressive education at the levels of pedagogy, curriculum, institutional supports, and regulation. The objective of the study is to develop a set of evidence-based best-practices recommendations.

CHRR manager honoured by Amnesty International and Hillman Foundation

Helen Fallding, manager of the Centre for Human Rights Research, and her investigative team received an award from the Hillman Foundation March 22, 2011, for the No Running Water series that ran in the Winnipeg Free Press last fall. The award “honours journalists who seek out stories that change lives and whose work identifies important social and economic issues and helps bring about change for the better.” For more information, check out the Free Press story on the award.

The team also received Amnesty International Canada's 2011 online media award.

The series, partially funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, placed second for the Hollobon Award presented annually by the Health Care Public Relations Association of Canada. It was short-listed for an investigative journalism award from the Canadian Association of Journalists and won a multimedia award from the News Photographers Association of Canada.