humanrightsradio

Today, two budding activists, Micheala Balkwill and Kennedy Weinmeister talk with two long-time activists, Florence Stratton and Chris Kortright about their activism, what insipired them to be activists .

Today Jim Hutchings and Gordon Barnes touched on a number of issues around the world in which Human Rights abuses are being identified and Amnesty International is investigating.  South America, Africa and the Middle East are the main areas of concern.  We also mention details of upcoming Amnesty International Provincial Conference to be held on Oct 19th in Moose Jaw Saskatchewan.

This week Gord Barnes and Jim Hutchings spoke with long-time human rights activist, Bill Rafoss.  Bill was the chief investigating officer at the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commisssion for over 25 years.  He retired in 2012 and continues doing freelance workplace investigations.  Active in the Saskatoon Amnesty International chapter and Global Gathering Place, he has worked in Africa, the Caribbean and Mongolia.

On Friday July26, Jim Hutchings and Gordon Barnes spoke with Tracy Knutson.  Tracy works with Saskatchewan Towards Offering Partnership Solutions (STOPS) to Violence--a provincial network dedicated to supporting partnerships with individuals, communities, organizations and government by encouraging the use of ideas, environments, and opportunities to address issues of interpersonal violence.

Today, Jim Hutchings and Mikayla Schultz talk with Susan and Dylan talk about transgender issues in Saskatchewan

A little over a month ago, members of Amnesty International from all across Canada converged on St. Paul University in Ottawa, Ontario to hold their annual AGM.  A select few arrived a little earlier for Field Worker sessions and the Human Rights College.  Jessa, Maria, and Sophia, all students at U of R talk about their experiences at the Human Rights College and the Amnesty International Canadian Section (English Speaking) Annual General Meeting.

On Friday July 5, Human Rights Radio spoke with Mellissa Northe, Inclusion Coordinator with the Prairie Region of Transport Action Canada.  Mellissa is a long-time activist for the rights of persons with disabilities with regard to public transportation in the City of Regina.  We discussed what is available to people with disabilities when they need to be transported from one location to another in the city.  Some of the facts brought up in discussion were the system's requirement to book Paratransit one week in advance with the alternative being low floor/kneeling buses (not always available) or the accessible-for-hire (taxi) which can be double the cost of a regular taxi.  These concerns and needs were the subject of a report from the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission, "Public Transportation in the City of Regina".  We also discussed how the Commission is functioning since the abolishment of the Human Rights Tribunal.

Today Gord Barnes and Jim Hutchings talked about the Human Rights College held before  the Annual General Meeting held by Amnesty International this year in Ottawa.  This event is for students, so Gord and Jim weren't in attendance at the college, but they were both at the AGM which followed and Gord is an Amnesty Field Worker, so attended Field Worker meetings while the Human Rights College was being held.  Between the two of them along with the 3 students from Regina and one from Saskatoon who attended the college, they had a great Amnesty experience, learned a lot and were able to hear how other Amnesty members are increasing  Human Rights Awareness in their communities

On Friday June 21, Human Rights Radio spoke with JoLee Blackbear, member of U of R Faculty of Education, and Nicole Akan, U of R student, about Aboriginal Youth Leadership Camp.  The conversation visited a number of other related topics and concerns.

Next week is Pride Week in Regina and today Gord Barnes and Jim Hutchings spoke with Becca Thomas, who is a member of the Regina Pride Week committee.  We talked about why Pride Week is held in Regina and what events are planned.  For more information go to queencitypride.ca