Humans, On Rights

Stuart Murray

Humans, On Rights is an intellectual and stimulating conversation with human rights grassroots influencers, community leaders, policymakers, advocates and educators about their passion to become human rights champions. Humans, On Rights host Stuart Murray, the Inaugural President & CEO of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights will explore with his guest the power of a positive outcome when you connect the three human rights dots - Education. Mobilization. Take Action.

  1. Aug 20 ·  Video

    Johise Namwira: Bringing the National Black Canadian Summit to the Prairies

    Johise Namwira joins Stuart to talk about what it means to bring the National Black Canadian Summit to Winnipeg, and why she sees it as a movement rather than a moment. Namwira came to Winnipeg as a child after her family fled the Congo War, and later studied African studies at Oxford, a path that shapes how she talks about displacement, memory, and who gets left out of Canadian history. This is the furthest west the summit has ever travelled, and Namwira is direct about why: Winnipeg has a rich, historically underrepresented Black community, one with its own layered history most residents don't know. She points to a Manitoba mayor who once told Black migrants moving west that they had to leave, part of a longer story that includes the Underground Railroad and Africville, and one she says has to be reckoned with before "solutions" mean anything. That history runs alongside a present she's proud of: organizations like Black History Manitoba and the Congress of Black Women of Manitoba, which was founded in Winnipeg and went on to spark a national movement. The third summit, held in Halifax, produced a founding document for this whole movement: over 100 calls to action for governments, institutions, and communities, built on three pillars: recognition, justice, and development. It opens with the Sankofa bird from Ghana, a symbol for looking back while still moving forward. Namira calls it required reading before this summit, and this year's panel lineup is built directly on those pillars: Systemic justice and community-based reformHousing barriers facing Black communitiesAI and technology, and the push for anti-bias systemsA session pairing Indigenous and Black leaders in direct conversation Namwira closes with a message aimed squarely at young people: they're not the leaders of tomorrow, they're the leaders of today, and Winnipeg is already proving it, from the African Cup of Nations to local choirs, artist collectives, and creative networks she names one after another. Tickets are free for anyone under 30. There are 150 volunteer spots open across the weekend, and table sponsorships available for the opening ceremony. Whatever your age, check out the summit September 18-20, 2026, at the RBC Convention Centre. Register for the summit here.

    Johise Namwira: Bringing the National Black Canadian Summit to the Prairies
  2. Jul 9 ·  Video

    David Kron: "We're Not Going Away" - Rebuilding Manitoba's Broken Disability Support System

    What does it mean to "age out" of a support system? For Manitobans with disabilities, it means renegotiating your entire life at 18, at 21, at 65 - arbitrary ages set by government departments that don't talk to each other. David Kron, executive director of the Cerebral Palsy Association of Manitoba, joins Stuart Murray to talk about “Equality, Dignity, and Belonging: Building a Better System for People with Disabilities in Manitoba” - the landmark report he helped steer through a five-year pilot project born from a human rights complaint that started a decade ago. The report's conclusion is blunt: Manitoba's disability support system is failing many of the people it was designed to serve. David, who has cerebral palsy himself, doesn't frame this as a funding fight. It's an access fight - and a human rights problem. In this episode, David shares: • How an IQ score of 70 became the gatekeeper for support in Manitoba, and why David argues you shouldn't test for services based on IQ, period. • The difference between a resource problem and an access problem - and why David refuses to have the funding conversation until people can even get on the list. • Charity versus rights: what changes when disability supports stop being something you have to prove you deserve. • What happens after December 16, 2026: the deadline that decides whether this report becomes generational change or a human rights hearing. Nearly 29% of Manitobans identify as having a disability. As David puts it, if we all live long enough, we're all going to join the club - and services shouldn't depend on how well you or your parents can advocate. Read the report Learn more about the Cerebral Palsy Association of Manitoba

    David Kron: "We're Not Going Away" - Rebuilding Manitoba's Broken Disability Support System
  3. Jun 11 ·  Video

    Dayna Steinfeld: The Notwithstanding Clause and the Silencing of Minority Rights

    When governments can override the Charter before a court even looks at it, who's left to protect the people who can't protect themselves at the ballot box? Winnipeg labour and human rights lawyer Dayna Steinfeld joins Stuart to break down one of the most consequential constitutional debates in Canada right now: the expanding use of the notwithstanding clause, and what Manitoba's Bill 4 is trying to do about it. Provinces like Alberta and Saskatchewan are invoking Section 33 to push through so-called "parental rights" legislation: restricting access to gender-affirming care, controlling names and pronouns at school, limiting sports participation. Legislation that physicians say causes measurable harm. And some governments aren't waiting for courts to weigh in. They're invoking the clause preemptively, with the argument that courts aren't even allowed to look at it afterward. Manitoba's Bill 4 is a direct response to that. It would make court review mandatory any time the province invokes the override, keeping the judiciary in the conversation even when government has the last word. We're talking: What the notwithstanding clause is and how its use has shifted dramatically since 2018Why Alberta's "parental rights" legislation almost certainly violates the Charter — and why the government invoked the clause anywayWhy this isn't only a trans rights issueWhy "just vote them out" fails when the people most affected are children, or minorities without electoral powerWhat Bill 4 does, and why it matters that a future government could repeal it Dayna also shares how growing up in Winnipeg and studying the General Strike — particularly the role of immigrant and Jewish communities, and the women who helped sustain it — set her on the path to labour and human rights law.

    Dayna Steinfeld: The Notwithstanding Clause and the Silencing of Minority Rights
  4. May 28 ·  Video

    Ralph Bryant: State of the Queer — Manitoba's first-of-its-kind 2SLGBTQ+ Survey

    As we move into Pride month, Ralph Bryant returns to Humans, On Rights. This time, the Rainbow Resource Center's Manager of Stewardship sits down with Stuart to dig into The State of 2SLGBTQ+ Communities in Manitoba 2026 — the first report of its kind in Manitoba. This report surveyed 623 queer Manitobans alongside 1,000 members of the general public. It provides, for the first time, a true snapshot of the experiences, needs and priorities of queer Manitobans, as well as the state of allyship among straight Manitobans. The findings paint a picture of a community that is resilient and connected — but still navigating serious gaps in mental health, safety, and acceptance. We're talking: Why mental health ranked as the number one issue facing 2SLGBTQ+ communities in Manitoba by a wide margin, and what's driving itWhat it means that 54% of Manitobans believe gender ideology has "gone too far"The striking gap between soft and strong support for 2SLGBTQ+ legal protectionsThe candid "In Their Own Words" section of the report, where queer Manitobans name systemic exclusion within queer spaces themselvesThe single data point Ralph most wants to see change when the survey is done again The full report — including key findings and complete data — is available at rainbowresourcecentre.org/reports Get Involved: Download and share the State of the Queer reportConnect with Rainbow Resource Centre's Learning and Change department if your organization wants to work toward a more authentic and inclusive cultureVolunteer with Camp Aurora (sleepaway camp) or Spirit Day CampAttend or support Rainbow Resource Centre's community programs and social groups

    Ralph Bryant: State of the Queer — Manitoba's first-of-its-kind 2SLGBTQ+ Survey

About

Humans, On Rights is an intellectual and stimulating conversation with human rights grassroots influencers, community leaders, policymakers, advocates and educators about their passion to become human rights champions. Humans, On Rights host Stuart Murray, the Inaugural President & CEO of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights will explore with his guest the power of a positive outcome when you connect the three human rights dots - Education. Mobilization. Take Action.

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