LEAF 25th Anniversary Timeline

We've come a long way.

On April 17 2010, Canadians will celebrate 25 years of constitutionally enriched equality rights for women since the enactment of Section 15, the equality section of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

LEAF, founded two days after the enactment of section 15 to steadfastly work on forging substantive equality rights for women, plans to joyously celebrate its 25th anniversary and the many milestones marked in those 25 years.

LEAF, also plans to launch itself into the next 25 years of substantive equality work, recognizing that the landscape has changed since 1985. LEAF needs to respond effectively and appropriately to the issues that prevent the substantive equality of all Canadians through its legal, education and law reform work if we are to build on the ground breaking work for which we are internationally recognized.

Your support will help with new initiatives:

  • advancing the interests of Aboriginal women in Canada by taking the call for a National Action Plan on missing and murdered Aboriginal women to the United Nations in March 2010;
  • making submissions to Parliamentary Standing Committees on pay equity (equal pay for work of equal value) as a fundamental human right and supporting the regulation of hate speech under s.13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act;
  • interventions at the Federal Court of Appeal, Ontario Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of Canada on issues relating to the equality rights of women who suffer multiple oppressions (such as sexual orientation, race, socio-economic status);
  • research and education on harassment and discrimination of youth in the workplace; (LEAF is launching a national youth survey and a national youth education program),
  • the launch of a National Youth Commission.

  • an International Legal Symposium in the fall of 2010.

It is with much gratitude and excitement that we ask you to join us in the celebration. Without you, LEAF’s work would not be possible. In recognition of this, our 25th anniversary year, and to help launch LEAF into the next 25 years, we are inviting our supporters to join our 25th anniversary fundraising campaign: to make a gift to LEAF in multiples of 25 - $250, $150, $50 or more.