Rights and Liberties, Fall 2005, Volume 10, No. 2

At a luncheon on December 9, 2005, the inaugural Dr. Sybil Shack Memorial Human Rights Youth Award was presented to the Maples Collegiate Unity Group.

In 2004, we were saddened by the passing of Dr. Sybil Shack, a woman who won national recognition as an educator, writer, and broadcaster and was active in the promotion of human rights all her life.

The holiday season comes around with an almost depressing regularity; each December it feels like I just finished buying presents for Christmas when it is time to do it all over again. Regardless of what holiday you do or do not celebrate, we can all look forward to what may be the greatest regular celebration of living in a free and democratic society: electing those who govern us.

Last year, MARL Board member Michael Conner took over the Chair of the Committee from the capable leadership of our President, Ken Mandzuik. Ken remains active on the Committee which has now expanded to 10 members strong. The Committee continued its vital work scrutinizing proposed legislation, raising public awareness about important civil liberties issues, advocating change and researching problem areas. Recently, the Committee undertook to develop and update MARL's position statements on a variety of key civil liberties topics.

The Education Committee is very excited to be conceptualizing a new education program that will encapsulate the mission of MARL, the need to educate our youth and provide a voice for them to be heard and become leaders within their schools and community. The goal is to link our high school students with our culturally diverse population that we are so fortunate to have in our wonderful city and province.

This is a time of change and transition at MARL. In the spring, we reported on the completion of five successful years of the Asper Foundation Human Rights and Holocaust Studies Program. Our funding for the program has not been renewed and we will not be continuing with the program this year. While this means that we must say goodbye to a wonderful program and its even more wonderful coordinator, Dorota Praski, we do have the opportunity to develop a new program that will bring human rights education to a broader audience of high school students and educators.

Like Nature in spring, MARL is turning a new leaf. The President's vision and persistence is paying off, finally. The enthusiasm and dedication of the enlarged and rejuvenated Board is evident in the reports of the Education Committee and the Charter Rights and Legislative Review Committee. These reports are a delight to read. They testify to the vigour and the intensity of the new life bubbling within MARL. Similarly, both President's and the Executive Director's reports provide a deeper insight into MARL's expanding horizons, her accomplishments and challenges.