| Evidence For Democracy

| Evidence For Democracy
A good cause!  See their current campaign pages.

Evidence for Democracy (E4D) is the leading fact-driven, non-partisan, not-for-profit organization promoting the transparent use of evidence in government decision-making in Canada.

Through research, education and issue campaigns, we engage and empower the science community while cultivating public and political demand for evidence-based decision-making.

Our Work

Our issue-based campaigns tackle emerging issues affecting science and evidence-based public policy in Canada. We work with national and local partners to organize events, raise awareness, and engage the public directly with policy-makers.

Our education program puts knowledge and skills into the hands of Canada’s scientific community and the wider public. We facilitate expert panels, lectures, and documentary screenings to educate Canadians on issues concerning evidence-based decision-making. We also design and deliver original hands-on workshops providing training for communication and action to support science in Canada.

Our original research program addresses knowledge gaps at the interface of policy and evidence. We identify what works, what hasn’t, and what opportunities exist for improvement. Our critical analyses are intended for use by government, industry, NGOs and the public to strengthen the inclusion evidence-based decision-making in policy.

Human Rights Day 10 December

Human Rights Day 10 December

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights turns 70

Let’s stand up for equality, justice and human dignity

Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December – the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This year, Human Rights Day kicks off a year-long campaign to mark the upcoming 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a milestone document that proclaimed the inalienable rights which everyone is inherently entitled to as a human being -- regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. It is the most translated document in the world, available in more than 500 languages.

Drafted by representatives of diverse legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, the Declaration sets out universal values and a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations. It establishes the equal dignity and worth of every person. Thanks to the Declaration, and States’ commitments to its principles, the dignity of millions has been uplifted and the foundation for a more just world has been laid. While its promise is yet to be fully realized, the very fact that it has stood the test of time is testament to the enduring universality of its perennial values of equality, justice and human dignity.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights empowers us all. The principles enshrined in the Declaration are as relevant today as they were in 1948. We need to stand up for our own rights and those of others. We can take action in our own daily lives, to uphold the rights that protect us all and thereby promote the kinship of all human beings.   

#StandUp4HumanRights

• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights empowers us all.
• Human rights are relevant to all of us, every day.
• Our shared humanity is rooted in these universal values.
• Equality, justice and freedom prevent violence and sustain peace.
• Whenever and wherever humanity's values are abandoned, we all are at greater risk.
• We need to stand up for our rights and those of others.

Our new Online Edition launched at European Parliament - Freedom of Thought Report

Our new Online Edition launched at European Parliament - Freedom of Thought Report

Today in Brussels we launched the fifth edition of the Freedom of Thought Report. And in a huge change this year the report is no longer primarily a downloadable PDF.

We have been busy building an online system so that each country in the world now has its own individual page on this website. See the Country Index for the full list. The ratings system is database-driven so that each individual country’s rating table is interactive and links back to the full Ratings System page – where you can learn more about our innovative assessment methodology. World maps of the report’s summary findings and an open data platform are also available.

In the foreword to the 2016 edition, the newly appointed UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Dr Ahmed Shaheed, said that “narrowly defined views on religious freedom” were letting the non-religious down. He describes several of the cases covered in the report and says: “The IHEU report is an important reminder that the right to freedom from religion or belief is as fundamental as the right to freedom of religion, and that the same human right protects freedom of non-religious thought and non-religious belief as well; and that for some humanists, atheists, free-thinkers and the unconcerned the protection of this right can mean the difference between life and death.”

At the launch event today, the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) was hosted by the European Parliamentary Intergroup on Freedom of Religion or Belief at the European Parliament in Brussels. Dennis de Jong MEP, chair of the Intergroup, welcomed the report saying “It is because of reports like this that we are able to do our jobs [as MEPs]” and “to be more vigilant”. Agreeing with the foreword by Dr Shaheed, he said that the Intergroup itslef “learned a lot from the Report” and would be raising the Report with the European Union’s External Action Service. Miltiadis Kyrkos MEP praised the IHEU’s work and the innovative methodology and development of the Report into its new online format.

Freedom of Thought Report 2017

Home - Freedom of Thought Report

About this website: The Freedom of Thought Report is a unique worldwide survey of discrimination and persecution against humanists, atheists and the non-religious published by the International Humanist and Ethical Union ⬤ The Report contains an entry for every country in the world ⬤ We apply a specially-developed rating system to every country ⬤ You can download the latest “Key Countries” edition as a PDF ⬤ 

Write for Rights | Amnesty International Canada

Write for Rights events across the country | Amnesty International Canada



Find a location to write letters for Amnesty on Human Rights Day.

CSI: Centre for Social Innovation, Annex, Toronto, open 1-7 for writing drop-in!