TORONTO – The Ontario Public Service Employees Union
will present its highest honour to Justice Louise Arbour, United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The union presents the Stanley Knowles Humanitarian
Award each year to the individual who best exemplifies the spirit,
dedication, and ideals of the late parliamentarian and social democrat
Stanley Knowles. Past recipients of the award have included such
luminaries as Nelson Mandela, Stephen Lewis, and David Suzuki.
“This award recognizes the courage, dedication, and
fierce determination of Justice Arbour in her lifelong fight for human
rights and social justice for people and peoples all over the world,”
said Leah Casselman, president of OPSEU. “These are exactly the values
our union strives to uphold in everything it does.”
Casselman will officially announce the award today at
the union’s annual Convention in Toronto. Ms. Arbour is unable to attend
the Convention, but accepted the award in March in Geneva.
A seven-minute interview with Ms. Arbour is
available on the web at:
