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Daniel G. Hill Human Rights Awards 2024 Updates

TORONTO - The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2024 Daniel G. Hill Human Rights Awards. 

The Awards recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions to advancing and fostering human rights culture across Ontario. Named after Dr. Daniel G. Hill, the OHRC’s first director and first Black chairperson, the awards commemorate the legacy of OHRC’s trailblazer like Dr. Hill and are bestowed on an individual nominated and supported by the community members.


The recipients of the 2024 Daniel G. Hill Human Rights Awards are:


Young Leader: Stefan Enrique Joseph Kallikaden

Distinguished Service: Lorin MacDonald

Lifetime Achievement: Rosemary Sadlier 

“Now more than ever, Ontario needs people to champion human rights in their work, their school, their play, and their communities,” said Chief Commissioner Patricia DeGuire. “These three recipients have shown purpose, dedication, and passion in cultivating a culture in Ontario, which acknowledges the dignity and worth of every individual, where people can enjoy their equal rights and opportunities without discrimination and harassment. I congratulate the award recipients, other nominees, and their supporter and thank them for their outstanding efforts, and commitment to human rights.”

The honourees will join a host of distinguished guests, including community members stakeholders, and government officials, for an evening of celebration on Thursday, November 21, 2024. 

The event will also mark the 70th anniversary of Ontario’s Fair Accommodations Practices Act, the predecessor of the Ontario Human Rights Code. 

The OHRC congratulates candidates across all categories for their work in support of human rights. The OHRC received dozens of nominations highlighting the many local human rights heroes in communities across the province.

 
Details on the 2024 Daniel G. Hill Human Rights Award Recipients:


Young Leader: Stefan Enrique Joseph Kallikaden 

Stefan Enrique Joseph Kallikaden serves as the Youth and Access to Education Program Coordinator at the FCJ Refugee Centre. Stefan is committed to advocating for the human rights of all. Stefan engages in this advocacy through the lens of recognizing the inequitable barriers experienced by queer and trans communities, racialized youth, and those who hold precarious immigration status.

As the Youth and Access to Education Coordinator at FCJ Refugee Centre, Stefan has made impactful contributions through mentoring, English as a second language (ESL) teaching and advocacy at various levels of government. Stefan’s work has resulted in higher school enrollment rates for precarious youth and children, along with substantial policy initiatives to create a bridging program for them. 

Stefan plans to pursue a career in medicine with a focus on integrating human rights principles and continue supporting Queer youth and newcomers through creative arts.


Distinguished Service: Lorin MacDonald

Lorin MacDonald is a human rights lawyer and a disability/accessibility advocate and educator. Born with profound hearing loss, Lorin has dedicated her life, education and career to advocating for people with disabilities. 

Lorin’s work has resulted in a long list of transformative systemic changes, most notably having a key advocacy role in the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), becoming law in June 2005. 

Lorin is a prominent leader in Canada’s disability community and has been recognized at local, provincial, and national levels for her sustained efforts. In 2022, Lorin received the Order of Ontario and the Law Society Medal from the Law Society of Ontario, both in recognition of her non-stop work to create a more accessible and inclusive province. Lorin is a member of the Canadian Disability Hall of Fame.


Lifetime Achievement: Rosemary Sadlier 

Rosemary Sadlier is an advocate for social justice, diversity, equity and inclusion consultant, historian, author, educator, and an indomitable, empowering changemaker. 

Rosemary Sadlier's greatest accomplishment to date has been working to effect the formal proclamations of August 1st as Emancipation Day and Black History Month in Canada at all three levels of government. This was in keeping with her 22-year voluntary leadership of the Ontario Black Historical Society (OBHS) amplifying the legacy of Dr. Daniel G. Hill by tirelessly promoting the appreciation and recognition of Black history across Canada

Rosemary was appointed to the Order of Ontario, the province’s highest official honour for outstanding qualities of individual excellence and achievement, in 2009.

 

The Selection Committee 

The OHRC thanks this year’s Selection Committee, comprised of distinguished individuals chosen for their expertise in and breadth of understanding of human rights:

Patricia DeGuire (Selection Committee Chair), Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission (non-voting member)

Donette Chin-Loy Chang, LL.D (Honoris Causa), Chancellor of Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), Philanthropist, Journalist, and Trailblazer

Sharon Ffolkes Abrahams, Lawyer, served as legal counsel for the Ontario Human Rights Commission, former member of the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal

Rose Anguiano Hurst, Executive Director of Women’s Enterprise Skills Training of Windsor Inc.

Stephen Mensah, Executive Director of the Toronto Youth Cabinet 

Alicia Smith, Executive Director of Dyslexia Canada

Maurice Switzer, a citizen of the Mississaugas of Alderville First Nation, served as a member of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, and currently a member of the Commission’s Indigenous Reconciliation Advisory Group

Grant Wedge, Lawyer, Mediator, Facilitator, Consultant

 

For more information about the awards and other human rights work in Ontario, please visit www.ohrc.on.ca

Media Contact:

Tiffanie Ing  
Team Lead, Communications and Issues Management 
Ontario Human Rights Commission 
Email: Tiffanie.ing@ohrc.on.ca

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