March 30, 2021
Who cares about laws and rights during a pandemic? We do at CCLA because the law becomes a shield for unintended consequences to the detriment of the marginalized. Plus the law lends legitimacy necessary for a critical ingredient to a successful public health pandemic response: public trust. The law offers a valuable discourse for the public, hungry for information and knowledge about the pandemic, wary of political commentary, but suddenly more reliant on political leaders than ever. Public health leaders and experts deservedly become rock stars, but especially in a crisis, the rule of law puts the civil in civilization. Amid the patchwork of decentralized responses to the pandemic and public dismay, the protection of universal human rights rightly becomes the domain of legal discourse.
Read the entire Canadian Rights During COVID-19: Interim Report on COVID’s Second Wave here.
About the Canadian Civil Liberties Association
The CCLA is an independent, non-profit organization with supporters from across the country. Founded in 1964, the CCLA is a national human rights organization committed to defending the rights, dignity, safety, and freedoms of all people in Canada.
For the Media
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