President's Report 2007

Michael Conner

I am pleased to provide my first annual report as president of MARL after taking over from Ken Mandzuik, who served on the board for six years. I want to take this opportunity to thank Ken on behalf of the board and MARL for his hard work, leadership and dedication to human rights and civil liberties. Ken has certainly left big shoes to fill and we will continue to look to Ken for his support and guidance in the future.

It has been another good year at MARL. The Education Committee is actively working on an exciting new initiative with the generous financial support of the Winnipeg Foundation. This program will focus on educating high school students and fostering leadership in the area of human rights and civil liberties. Following the example of our highly successful partnership with the Asper Human Rights and Holocaust Studies Program, MARL remains dedicated to educating and promoting human rights among young people. Stay tuned for further details about this important pilot project. Special thanks go to Estelle Lamoureux, Robin Dwarka and Valerie Price for spearheading this initiative. MARL also produced a revised "Under 18 Handbook" which provides young people with up to date information on a wide variety of legal rights, in plain language. We hope to produce a French translation of the guide in the very near future.

The Charter Rights and Legislative Review Committee was also active scrutinizing new legislation and monitoring current issues impacting rights and liberties. The recent public debate over the publication of editorial cartoons depicting a religious figure in negative light prompted much debate on the boundaries of freedom of expression and led MARL to adopt a new policy advocating against censorship. The use of security cameras in public places along with the proliferation of websites like YouTube caused us to revisit the right to privacy. And recently, we have hired a summer student to research best practices for civilian oversight of police from which we will craft recommendations.

Along with our successes, MARL has faced some challenges this year. We have had to fill some vacancies on the Board. Bev Froese will be leaving us in the summer to pursue a Master's Degree in Law. On behalf of the Board, I want to thank Bev for her hard work, in particular, as chair of the Charter Rights and Legislative Review Committee. Good luck in your studies. Thanks also go out to Gus Boetzkes and Robin Dwarka of the Board Development Committee for recruiting some terrific candidates as nominees to the Board. I'm confident that they will add tremendously to the work of MARL.

I'd also like to recognize our Executive Director, Valerie Price. Valerie has worked tirelessly to advance the aims of MARL and ensure that the organization runs smoothly. She fosters coalitions between MARL and other organizations within the human rights community and she is our face and voice in the public. Valerie ensures that the board stays on top of important issues and makes our job much easier. We are very fortunate to have Valerie and we can all be proud of the work she does. Thank you.

I'd be remiss if I did not mention the United Way. Not only have they been there to support MARL financially, they have been equally willing to devote their time, energy and advice to help a small community organization like MARL get better. We are grateful for the United Way's continuing support.

Finally, I'd like to thank our valued members for their continued support over the past year. Without your support and interest in human rights and civil liberties, MARL could not carry out its work. MARL always appreciates your input and participation and I encourage you to stay involved. I am always happy to speak with any of you about your thoughts or concerns. It has been an interesting and challenging year and I look forward to working with you again next year.