Statements

We are now in the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, its impact is hitting post-secondary students hard. Some have never stepped foot on a college or university campus. Across the country, students have lost jobs or future opportunities and are experiencing financial uncertainty. The majority are feeling isolated and anxious about their future and their health.

Rising tuition costs, debt, food insecurity, houselessness, and increasing mental health needs have created the current post-secondary landscape. There is a clear need for more government support—now more than ever.

The Council of Canadians condemns the invasion of Ukraine by Russian Federation armed forces. We stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and global citizen movements working for peace in Ukraine, especially within Russia itself where thousands have called on President Putin to put an end to the fighting.  

The Council of Canadians was formed in 1985 to fight for Canadian democracy and the rights of all Canadians. Canadians from every background understand that public health is a crucial part of our social cohesion and that collective rights are an essential component in upholding the public good.

The Council of Canadians

Like you, we have been waking up to more news confirming the horrors of the Indian Residential School system.

We at the Council have been asked by our allies and supporters to consider how we approach July 1st, a day set aside to celebrate our country and its accomplishments.

Over the past month, the remains of more than 1,300 Indigenous children have been found in unmarked graves surrounding institutions they were forced into by churches and governments.

The Council of Canadians is mourning with the London community and Muslims from across the country and around the world after the targeted murder of four family members out for a walk this past Sunday. We also want to recognize our London Chapter who are closely affected by this act of hate and violence. They are reaching out to neighbours with opportunities to show solidarity with the local Muslim community, and continue to work to end racism and hate where they see it.

The federal government recently announced conditions regulating the Mi’kmaq livelihood fishery. These conditions propose to limit the livelihood fishery to the commercial season already set out by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and propose to give Indigenous fishers access to commercial fisheries through voluntary buyouts of existing licences.

The Council of Canadians’ statement on nominating Cuban international health teams for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize. 

At the June 2020 Annual Meeting, Council of Canadians' members voted to endorse and promote a Canadian nominating process for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize to go the Henry Reeve medical teams from Cuba for their international work in the context of COVID-19. 

The Council of Canadians supports the Mi'kmaq treaty right to fish for a moderate livelihood, protected by the Peace and Friendship Treaties of 1760/61, reaffirmed by the Supreme Court of Canada with the Marshall decisions of 1999.

The Council of Canadians are in solidarity with our Black members and supporters, and all Black leaders and individuals working for an end to police brutality and killings in their communities. We recognize the existence of systemic racism in our society and we are committed to eradicating it. We believe in the power of protest, and condemn the use of force against protests across the U.S. and Canada.

Canada needs universal, public pharmacare now more than ever. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, 20% of Canadian households were struggling to pay for their medication. The mass layoffs triggered by the pandemic have now left millions more people without work-based drug plans.