No, not the organization but for the man that this organization is named after. Winnipeg is home to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and evidently, the City of Winnipeg is floating the idea around that the street in front of it should be named for Mohandas Gandhi. This column from the Winnipeg Sun argues strongly that the street should not be named for Gandhi; rather, it should be named for John Peters Humphrey.
Leaving aside that the columnist’s reasons for not wanting to name it after Gandhi (which are his own opinions, not ours; we neither agree nor disagree), why not name it after a Canadian human rights champion? John Peters Humphrey is arguably one of the greatest Canadian heroes of the 20th century for his role in establishing human rights as a normative framework in the post-war era.
For those who don’t know, John Peters Humphrey was the Canadian lawyer and academic who wrote the 400 page blueprint that served as the guide and inspiration for the newly created  UN Commission on Human Rights, led by Mrs Eleanor Roosevelt. The new Commission was supposed to create a new International Bill of Rights to protect and safeguard humanity’s rights after the atrocities that took place during the Second World War. He led a long and distinguished career in human rights advocacy for most of his professional life, overseeing over 67 international conventions and dozens of constitutions of countries. The UDHR remains one of the most important and influential documents of the 20th century, cited frequently and often for those in pursuit of social, economic, civil and political justice.
The fact that most people don’t know who this Canadian hero is sad but the City of Winnipeg would do well do name the street in front of the Canadian Human Rights Museum for a Canadian rather than Gandhi. Not that Gandhi wasn’t a great human rights hero in his own right–he just wasn’t Canadian. And let’s face it…John Peters Humphrey was pretty much the quintessential Canadian–he wasn’t the flashiest player in the room but he certainly was the most efficient.
In light that tomorrow will be Canada Day, let’s celebrate the achievements and contributions of Canadians!
Happy Canada Day!
