By Rae Aquino
Halifax is a small place.
Granted, it is the largest city in Atlantic Canada. But having grown up in the Greater Toronto Area, and after living in Montreal for the past few years, it was a bit of a culture shock moving out east and adjusting to the smaller scale of everything. I quickly got over it, though, when I realized that Halifax still had everything I could ask for, and more than I could have ever expected.
A beautiful public garden with free admission and free concerts? Only a short walk to a green oasis in the middle of downtown. Oceanside views? Walking down to the harbourfront’s a bit further, but well worth getting to breathe in the fresh sea air. And a trip to the beach, which back home would mean driving for hours just to get to the nearest one, could happen on a whim in Halifax, no advance planning needed. (On a particularly hot day after work, I did just that; impulsively renting a Communauto to drive to the nearest beach. I stayed just long enough to see the sun start to sink below the waves, the sky’s blush pink deepening into a deep orange until it finally faded to black as I drove home.)
Similarly, while the Centre for Law and Democracy may seem modest in size, it punches far above its weight when it comes to supporting the right to information, both closer to home as well as all around the world. Working in collaboration with other civil society organizations and independently, the CLD has produced reports and set standards on how the right to information should be implemented by states, while also maintaining the leading global tool for evaluating how well governments have actually done so. As an intern with the CLD, I completed a variety of different research projects, from analyzing proposed federal legislation for potential threats to privacy and freedom of expression, to reviewing every existing right to information law in the world to compare their requirements for filing requests. Through it all, it was fascinating to learn about the kinds of concrete steps taken to support ideals like government transparency, preserving rights and freedoms, and building stronger democracies. Before this internship, I had very little exposure to human rights work in the legal field. While I strongly believed in those ideals I mentioned, they always seemed too abstract in my mind. I didn’t understand or know enough about how those aspirations were actually being accomplished.
My internship with the CLD showed me the different kinds of steps that can be taken to promote progress, one step at a time: Raising awareness about issues by creating educational guides and modules tailored to international audiences or local interest groups. Penning letters to governments, often in solidarity with other CSOs and individuals to amplify their message. Monitoring legislative amendments and holding states accountable when they attempt to roll back rights protections, or when they don’t go far enough in creating new safeguards. These are only a few examples out of many others. To learn about the CLD and their work was not only eye-opening, but also reassuring, in that it showed me how concentrated dedication in one area of human rights, in one corner of the world, can create the momentum needed to strengthen efforts elsewhere. For instance, the CLD’s RTI Rating is regularly relied upon by jurists around the world when evaluating the accessibility of the right to information in a given area, which in turn promotes the value of government transparency and democratic service to a state’s people. Understanding the relationship between different human rights and a state’s overall democratic health has reinforced my belief that every effort counts in this field, which is deeply encouraging in the face of a time of increased fear, division, and democratic backsliding.
“Big things come in small packages.” It’s so cliché, but so true. Just looking at the numbers in terms of Halifax’s size, it doesn’t seem like much compared to the big cities I’m used to, and yet it captured my heart so easily, I found it hard to leave after my three months were over. And from just looking at the CLD’s office, tucked away on an unassuming street near the downtown core amongst other local businesses, you would never guess the scope and magnitude of the work that they do. I definitely learned a lot this summer, including to always keep an open mind.