The defence of human rights constitutes one of the most important issues of PROMIS’ mission, and is crucial to its realization. People’s integration into a society cannot be attained unless their dignity and rights are respected. This issue is of our great concern, and is experienced in different manners in the organization.

These are, undoubtedly, some sectors which are more committed to the fight for the defence of human rights, as for example, first class services and family support services. The mentors who meet newcomers do their best to ensure the respect of human rights of people asking them for advice, and such, in various areas of activity: rental discrimination, prompt and equitable recognition of equivalent study courses, access to employment equity, stressful transactions undertaken by individuals requesting acceptance of their refugee status, and whose life would be at stake if they were to return to their country, referral to lawyers and other skillful and appropriate resources, and sensitivity to human rights respect and recourses.

Firmly convinced that motivations for injustice are often structural, PROMIS adds its voice to that of groups who commit themselves in claiming modification of laws and regulations that aggravate the rights of the community’s most deprived people. PROMIS undertakes this action by different means: participating in consultative tables, signing requests and petitions, writing reports, participating in parliamentary commissions and in manifestations.

The areas of activity where we are mainly involved this year are as follows:

1. Social Housing
2. Meal Security
3. Adoption by the Provincial Government of a Plan of Action concerning the start up of Law 112 (Fight against poverty)
4. Proposed reform for employment assistance (Law 57)

It is evident that in a society “broken in half”, where the rich become richer and the poor become poorer, where unemployment skyrockets, where women, youth and newcomers are neglected, where unfair situations seem to multiply instead of decreasing, we have to do more, much more. The current fight for justice should circulate in the organization like blood in the veins. Together, we should constantly stress the defence of human rights and the fight against injustice. We shall therefore continue to put greater focus on this feature of our mission, and to take the appropriate means to better tackle this challenge.

Andrée Ménard
General Director