Canadians have lost an important champion of human rights in the passing of Rémy Beauregard, the President of Rights and Democracy.

Both here in Canada and abroad, Mr. Beauregard’s passionate promotion and protection of human rights have touched many lives. Prior to his position at Rights and Democracy, Mr. Beauregard served as the Executive Director of the Ontario Human Rights Commission. He was a driving force in the establishment of the Canadian Association of Statutory Human Rights Agencies, and served as its first Executive Secretary.

Mr. Beauregard’s human rights contributions extended beyond Canada’s borders. He dedicated much of his career to the development and strengthening of legal institutions in Africa to protect civilians from violence. His contributions included advice on Rwanda’s post-genocide constitution, development of national human rights legislation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the implementation of War Child Canada’s Northern Uganda Legal Defence Project for children affected by conflict. He also developed the Policies and Procedures Manual for Trinidad and Tobago’s Integrity Commission and provided public ethics training to officials of the Chinese provinces of Beijing and Hebei.

On behalf of all New Democrats, I wish to extend my condolences with Mr. Beauregard’s family, friends and the staff at Rights and Democracy. We will miss him, and his tireless advocacy and invaluable advice on promoting human rights.