Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
As you know, Rights and Democracy has been in existence for 20 years. During that time, my colleagues and I have often come to testify before you and before the subcommittee. We have come to defend against human rights violations around the world and to denounce the repressive abuses of various regimes, and never, really never, would we have thought that one day we would be seated in these same chairs defending our own institution.
In a way, this shows the relevance of our organization because if an organization such as ours has to defend itself in a country like Canada, that shows that rights and democracy are never assured. We must always be on the look-out and fight to protect them. So we thank you for inviting us to testify today.
As the chairman said, I am here as vice-president of the Union of Employees of Rights and Democracy. I am accompanied by Maxime Longangué, president of the union local, and Mr. John Gordon, national president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, PSAC. As the Public Service Alliance attaches a very high degree of importance to our file, Mr. Gordon wanted to accompany us here today. We thank him for that.
As I was saying, we are pleased to be appearing before you, but we must admit that we are also a bit afraid. We are afraid of reprisals. We must be very prudent in our discussions with you. For a few months now, especially since Mr. Beauregard's death, the work atmosphere has been deteriorating at our office and at times has even undermined our ability to do our jobs. We are operating in an extremely tense, threatening and unhealthy environment. As you know, some of our co-workers have been suspended and dismissed. You will be hearing from three of them today; others are suffering from burn-out.
We have been subject to investigations that we consider an abuse. We have been formally prohibited from speaking publicly about the situation we are going through. Out of professionalism, we are obeying that gag order, but we decided to speak to you today because of the respect we have for the institution you represent. Out of a concern for transparency and accountability, we have decided to speak. Today is the first time the employees' union local has spoken publicly.
I have been with Rights and Democracy for 15 years. I have worked with all presidents, starting with Ed Broadbent, and I really believe it is a privilege to work at this institution. Our professional team has managed to establish an internationally-envied reputation, which has helped enhance Canada's international image. In cooperation with our partners in the field—people whom we admire because they are on the front line defending human rights and democracy in their country—we have been leaders on a number of files such as Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burma, to name only a few.
What is also extraordinary and why we are so attached to this institution is that it is the only one of its kind in Canada. It has three characteristics that distinguish it from others. The first is its status, because the institution was created by the Parliament of Canada. There are no other human rights organizations of its kind. The second is its mandate. That mandate stems from the International Bill of Human Rights, not from Canada's foreign policy, which gives us stability, because our mandate stems from the International Bill of Human Rights, regardless of any change in government. The third reason why we are so proud, and why you should also be proud—because it was established for you—is the organization's twofold mission. Very few organizations work in the areas of both human rights and democratic development. I would say it is a gold mine and it must be preserved.
Consequently, all these characteristics—our independence, the unique nature of our mandate and the expertise of Rights and Democracy staff—are characteristics that all former presidents of Rights and Democracy have understood and wanted to protect.
That naturally includes Mr. Beauregard, who truly defended those characteristics body and soul. For every one of us, I swear to you that this really is not easy. Since January, when I was asked how things were going, I have always answered differently. What we are going through is very tough, both personally and professionally, but we are all still working in a professional manner and we have made two commitments.
We have made a commitment to not abandoning our partners in the field because there is a risk that could happen. We have solid programming and our work is important; we don't want to abandon that. The second commitment is to protect the mandate and credibility of this institution. Those are the issues for us.