On this day in 1948, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted in Paris by the United Nations General Assembly, making December 10 the official Human Rights Day for countries around the world.
Premised on the equal worth of “all members of the human family,” the UDHR was an important first step towards a more humane world, but working people across the globe are still fighting for a fair and equitable world.
In this spirit, the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) Human Rights Committee is using this year’s Human Rights Day to call on the government to reverse their 4.5-billion dollar tax cut for big corporations.
The UCP’s gift to big bosses hasn’t come for free. Working Albertans are paying for it in crucial public-service jobs. Low-income earners are paying for it in housing. The ill are paying for it in timely, quality medical services. The disabled are paying for it in AISH benefits. Everybody who can't afford it, is paying for it in crucial services, undermining Article 21 of the UDHR, which establishes our “right of equal access to public service.”
As some of the caretakers of this province who make public services accessible to Alberta’s communities everyday, our members on the Human Rights Committee couldn’t think of a better day to call for the reversal of the UCP’s harmful tax-break legislation, which will only make the rich richer and the workers struggle harder.
The UDHR outlines our rights in theory, but it’s through the care and compassion of everyday people standing with the most overlooked and underserved in our communities that we make them a reality. Today, we take another step towards that reality.