21 days of the occupation of downtown Ottawa; and now police, long past time, marshal to respond. How could it have come to this? On so many levels it defies belief or understanding.

What is abundantly clear is that the combination of emotions in the air in Ottawa is thick with apprehension, frustration, disappointment, disillusionment, exhaustion, fear and a looming sense of dread.

There are growing signs that a major police operation to dismantle the occupation will soon be underway in the city. Meanwhile, rain pours down, turning streets and sidewalks treacherously slick and a major snowfall is expected later today. That does nothing to smooth the way for an easy end to this (unless bad weather accomplishes what police could not or would not for these past 20 days).

Like many friends and colleagues active in human rights advocacy, I have engaged in the up and down legal and political debates about protest, human rights, public safety and emergencies for three weeks. Debates that we will need to take forward once this crisis phase “ends”, whatever that may entail.

On my mind at this point?

Face à ces graves questions qui ont été mises en lumière par cette occupation et ces manifestations, tous les paliers du gouvernement doivent agir rapidement pour convoquer un Sommet national sur le droit de manifester et sur les droits de la personne.

Nous étalons ci-dessous cinq points essentiels qui devront être explorés

Faced with critical concerns that have been spotlighted by the occupation and protests, governments should move quickly to convene a National Summit on Protest and Human Rights. Here are five core questions that need to be explored.

Let us hold strong and close to each other friends. Let us lift up a Canada in which freedom is grounded in true community, liberates & empowers everyone, acknowledges & strives to reconcile with the shameful chapters of our history, and believes ultimately in human rights for all.

Let that be the Maple Leaf Forever.

I cannot in any conscience tune into the footage from the sealed off Olympic bubble knowing that in other corners of that same country, genocide proceeds against the Uyghurs, repression deepens in Hong Kong, human rights violations against Tibetans and Falun Gong practitioners do not relent, the space for human rights defenders, lawyers, independent journalists and democracy campaigners becomes more perilous, more people are executed yearly than in the rest of the world combined, a Canadian citizen, Huseyin Celil, approaches 16 years of unlawful detention and separation from his family in Burlington, Ontario, the IOC continues its dance of pretending all is fine for Peng Shuai, and so much more.

This is not a matter of giving up on human rights by shutting down a protest. This is a matter of upholding human rights by ending an occupation that is a source of fear, menace, hardship and harm. The protest can and must go forward in ways that respect rather than denigrate human rights.

It is time for that to guide the police response.

Guantánamo has achieved absolutely nothing and has added to our world only greater resentment and insecurity, trapped in vicious circles of violence and retribution, on top of mountains of injustice and suffering.

If Guantánamo shows us anything it is quite simply that human rights must never be abandoned.

The year ends. A year begins.

As they mark the fifth anniversary of his death, Soleiman’s family remains trapped in an agonizing limbo of no answers and no accountability. No family should have to endure that. Nothing less than Canada’s international human rights obligations requires full justice.

These five years of justice delayed are a glaring instance of justice denied. It must end now. That is owed to Soleiman and his family, and to all of us.

Impunity undermines all of our rights.  Justice is in our collective interest.

Like many Canadians outside of Quebec I have watched with considerable alarm and outrage over the past several years during the lead up, debate, adoption, legal challenges and continuing aftermath of the pernicious, racist, toxic and rights-violating Bill 21.

2022 is a notable year for human rights in Canada as we mark the 40th anniversary of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. What better time for Ottawa to start to forge a bold human rights path?

A Human Rights Charter for the city would be a tremendous beginning.

A recent European Court of Justice ruling dealing with Hungary has shone the spotlight on the insidious array of legal measures that a growing number of governments have resorted to in recent years, criminalizing the efforts of individuals and organizations to defend the human rights of refugees and migrants. It is a reminder that more needs to be done to push back against that criminalization, including through legal challenges and public awareness campaigns.

And there it sits. An expert UN Committee, acting under an Early Warning and Urgent Action Procedure, engages Canada (and, indirectly, British Columbia) 23 months ago, with respect to three pressing concerns involving violations of the rights of Indigenous peoples. And the response from Canada might best be described as a yawn.

If only I was confident this will appear in some Minister’s upcoming Mandate Letter. It should. More than anyone, the Secwepemc and Wet’suwet’en people, and the West Moberly and Prophet River First Nations, deserve nothing less.

No lack of pressing cases, concerns, issues and opportunities face PM Trudeau’s new Cabinet of remaining, shuffled and new Ministers. And so much of it is all about human rights. With advice pouring in from all corners, how could I refrain from offering some of my own…

While not much changed in the election, there must now be real change for Hassan Diab. The next Minister of Justice must be mandated to unflinchingly defend his rights and to fix Canada’s flawed Extradition Act.

Today…

According to the prevailing wisdom, foreign policy does not generally feature prominently during Canadian elections. Unfortunately, the 2021 federal campaign bore that out. The crisis in Afghanistan came up, though far less than it merited; there were also passing references to China, including the cases of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, whose return to Canada we now celebrate, as well as the issue of the Chinese government’s genocide against the Uyghur people.

But that’s about it. And there was nothing about the situation in Iran – a major foreign policy issue that is also a significant concern for Canadians, particularly with respect to the continuing fallout from the shooting down of Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752 by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards at Tehran’s airport on Jan. 8, 2020.

Now that the election is over, however, it is vital that this incident becomes a top priority for the new government.

The election that we are repeatedly reminded no one really wanted, and the election that never really seemed to be about what it needed to be about, is over. And rarely has the result of an election seemingly changed things as little as this one has. All the parties remain in the same order: Liberal, Conservative, Bloc Quebecois, NDP and Green; and their seat counts (not yet finalized) have shifted only very slightly.

But “nothing much changed” cannot be where the story of this election ends.

Quite the contrary, there must now be significant change. And human rights must drive that change like never before.

The rapid spiral of political collapse, military capitulation, insecurity, terrorist attacks, international exodus and chaos in Afghanistan have been staggering. Unsurprisingly, it comes up daily on the election trail, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his ministers fend off criticism about Canada’s response, particularly regarding the many Canadians and those with close Canadian connections still trapped in the country.

What we need to hear now – from all parties – is what action they will take going forward, nationally and internationally, to mount an effective response to a precipitously deteriorating human rights and humanitarian catastrophe. To most Canadians, that is not yet clear.

With a federal election underway, pundits seek to ascertain what the parties will prioritize in their campaigning.

There is no shortage of pressing contenders, including the health and economic dimensions of COVID-19, the climate crisis, reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, systemic racism, gender inequality, the digital world, refugee protection, and humanitarian hotspots around the world.

Beyond pledges about such concerns, however, what we need to hear from leaders is full-fledged readiness to uphold human rights. That is the key to meaningful progress with respect to all challenges we face, nationally and globally.