Broadbent will discuss the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and its implications for social rights since it was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. 

The public lecture, “Barbarism Lite: The Political Attack on Social Rights, 1979-2009”, will discuss recent attempts in Canada and around the world to destroy social rights enshrined in the UDHR, rights that had created a golden age for ordinary people and that had challenged the traditional structures of capitalist democracies after the Second World War.

WHAT: Avie Bennett Historica lecture in Canadian history by Ed Broadbent

WHEN: Thursday, Feb. 19, 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

WHERE: Robert R. McEwen Auditorium, Schulich School of Business, York’s Keele Campus (number 42 on the York U map).

As leader of the New Democratic Party from 1975 to 1989, Broadbent was known for his work in favour of an equitable tax system, equality for women, and for the constitutional entrenchment of Aboriginal rights. To mark his final parliamentary speech in December 1989, he moved a motion, which was adopted unanimously, committing the government of Canada to end poverty for Canada's children by the year 2000.

From 1990 to 1996, Broadbent was the first president of the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development in Montreal (now called Rights and Democracy). During his time at the Centre, he worked with those involved in the struggle for democratic rights in Kenya, Guatemala, and Burma. 

Broadbent is the author of the book Democratic Equality: What Went Wrong? and a number of articles and chapters of books in academic publications in Canada and Britain.  He has been a guest lecturer at several Canadian and international universities, including Oxford, Brown, and Harvard.  He has received honorary degrees from a number of Canadian universities.

In 2005 the Globe and Mail selected him as “Nation Builder of the Year”, in particular citing his emphasis on civility in politics and his work on electoral reform.  A year later, Time magazine named him as one of Canada’s exceptional citizens.

The Avie Bennett Historica Chair was established at York University in 2004 by the Historica Foundation of Canada, endowed by York Chancellor Emeritus Avie Bennett. Its purpose is to promote the study of Canada's heritage and to ensure the academic vitality of the discipline.

York University is the leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university in Canada. York offers a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and graduate level in Toronto, Canada’s most international city. The third largest university in the country, York is host to a dynamic academic community of 50,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as more than 200,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 11 faculties and 26 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries. This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges. York University is an autonomous, not-for-profit corporation.

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Media contact:

Carrie Brodi, Communications, Faculty of Arts, 416 736 2100 x33088 / carrieb@yorku.ca