Speaking Notes for the CNERJ Panel by Renée Vaugeois
Speaking Notes for the CNERJ Panel by Renée Vaugeois
October 30, 2024
Key Challenges Facing Edmonton
Edmonton is grappling with rising social tensions, particularly among those experiencing chronic poverty and trauma. The Edmonton Social Planning Council recently reported that our city has the highest rate of child poverty in Alberta. Homelessness and food bank usage are also climbing.
Many people in our community turn to addiction as a coping mechanism for deep-seated trauma, often rooted in childhood. Hate crimes and gender-based violence against unhoused individuals are alarmingly prevalent yet remain largely invisible.
I was reminded of this reality during a recent drive in Toronto with four women from Righting Relations Canada. All of us had experienced sexual violence at a young age. This tragic pattern profoundly shapes lives and relationships, particularly for women. Trauma and violence are pervasive, underscoring the urgent need for healing in our communities.
Unfortunately, Edmonton’s current systems often fail to meet these needs. Our shelter system, for example, lacks dignity and healing-centered approaches, worsening the very issues it aims to resolve. Similarly, the relationship between law enforcement and individuals experiencing poverty is fraught with tension. Many bylaws stem from colonial narratives of exclusion, perpetuating cycles of harm for both community members and police officers.
Recent incidents of police-related violence, such as those involving Mathios Arkangelo and Hoff Lightning, highlight the lack of accountability within our policing systems. Jurisdictional complexities often prevent meaningful action, leaving vulnerable populations exposed to harm.
This absence of accountability reflects a broader issue within Canada’s legal system. Rather than prioritizing human rights, our system focuses on criminalization and erasure. To address poverty, trauma, and oppression meaningfully, we need systemic transformation across legal and political frameworks.
Law schools also have a role to play. Despite Canada’s international human rights commitments, legal education largely ignores these obligations. Teaching law students how to leverage international treaties is crucial to building a justice-centered system.
Challenges in My Work
Human rights advocacy can be deeply uncomfortable, particularly for those with privilege or decision-making power. Within Edmonton’s City Administration, for example, there is often a disconnect between leadership and frontline employees working directly with the community. While many public sector workers are committed to change, institutional structures and outdated leadership models hinder their ability to make meaningful progress.
Proposed Solutions
Transforming Legal Education
Law schools must embed international human rights in their curricula. This foundation will equip future lawyers to address systemic issues such as trauma, poverty, and oppression.Empowering Community Voices
Edmonton’s bureaucracy needs a cultural shift to allow citizens—especially those with lived experiences—to guide change. Offices like Indigenous Services offer a promising model, but broader inclusion of local knowledge in decision-making is critical.Reforming Policing Systems
We need an honest conversation about policing structure, funding, and leadership. Alternative accountability mechanisms and clearer jurisdictional roles can reduce harm and trauma in communities.Creating Dignified Spaces for the Unhoused
Programs like Toronto’s Sacred Fires demonstrate the importance of alternative safe, healing-centered spaces for individuals in recovery. Edmonton can draw on these models to support its unhoused population.
Experience in Building Solutions
At the John Humphrey Centre we are undertaking work in some key areas:
In food security, we are collaborating with 14 stakeholders in Edmonton’s food ecosystem to create a vision of justice and accessibility.
In housing, we support unhoused individuals in documenting human rights violations and advocating for shelter reform. Recently, we partnered with a legal team to challenge Charter rights violations faced by unhoused Edmontonians.
In education, we work with Indigenous educators to foster land-based learning spaces for youth, promoting healing and spiritual connection. With 74% of children in care being Indigenous, addressing systemic displacement is critical.
In the prison system, we’ve collaborated with the Elizabeth Fry Society to spotlight injustices, including a Charter case that addressed conditions at the Edmonton Institution for Women.
In policing, we’ve facilitated community dialogues and produced documentaries capturing lived experiences with law enforcement. While Alberta has taken initial steps toward reform, more can be achieved by engaging frontline community members.
Through Righting Relations, we build networks of adult educators and organizers across Canada to drive radical social change.
Role of the Canadian Network for Equity and Racial Justice (CNERJ)
CNERJ plays a vital role in holding Canada accountable to its national and international treaty commitments, such as the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). Strengthening civil society’s capacity to use international law for system reform is essential.
While infrastructure investments in housing are critical, they must be paired with spaces for healing and community connection. Otherwise, cycles of trauma and poverty will persist. Addressing these issues requires not only reallocating resources but also reframing the narrative—creating environments where curiosity, understanding, and growth can flourish.
Canada must embrace the discomfort of systemic change. Networks like CNERJ can facilitate this transformation by fostering connections across local, provincial, and national jurisdictions. Sharing successful models, can inspire communities to build inclusive, supportive spaces for marginalized individuals.
Together, we can shift narratives, strengthen communities, and create systems that prioritize dignity, healing, and justice.