Advocacy

Consultation on Sharia Law in Ontario
In response to the Marion Boyd report (December 2004) commissioned by the Liberal government recommending continuation of faith-based arbitration in family law disputes, OASW has been involved in extensive consultations and has voiced grave concerns. The Association strenuously objects to implementation of this recommendation, as there is a very real possibility of eroding women's equality rights and giving primacy to group rights over individual rights and thereby creating a power imbalance contrary to the intent of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. On August 31, 2005, we wrote a letter to the editor of The Globe and Mail in regard to its editorial that trivialized women's rights and disparaged those who raised concerns about the implications of bringing Sharia law to Ontario as "anti-Sharia crusaders". While OASW vigorously upholds the rights of Ontarians with respect to religious expression and recognizes that minority groups require protection from discrimination, we underscored government's unequivocal duty to protect the civil rights and liberties of all citizens living in Canada. When Premier McGuinty announced on September 11th that he would ban all religious arbitration in the province, we wrote a letter to the editor of newspapers across Ontario applauding the government's decision. Shortly, OASW will be issuing a position paper on this important issue, a copy of which will be available upon request.

Ontario Human Rights Commission's Consultation on Family Rights
In September 2005, OASW submitted a response to the Ontario Human Rights Commission's (OHRC) Discussion Paper on Human Rights and Family Status. We commended the government for having the vision to identify and conceptualize significant systemic issues affecting individuals because of their family status - issues that may be having a pervasive, often negative, impact regarding access to employment, housing and services. Examples of groups marginalized by family status include non-traditional families, employees with care-giving responsibilities and social assistance recipients. OASW pointed out that a critical component of the focus of the Discussion Paper is its connectedness with the "social determinants of health", which provides a framework as well as a rationale for reviewing and proactively addressing the issues related to human rights and family status. We also affirmed that the key concepts and principles underpinning OHRC's document are in keeping with CASW's Code of Ethics (revised, 2005) in relation to respect for the inherent dignity and individual worth of all persons as well as pursuit of social justice.

Review of Child and Family Services Act: To read a copy of OASW's response to the review of the Child and Family Services Act submitted to the Ministry of Children and Youth Services in February 2005, please click here.

Responses to Legislation

Response to Child and Family Services Act
Response to Social Work and Social Service Work Act