Founded in 1964, the CCLA is a national, non-profit, non-governmental organization that works to protect and promote rights and freedoms through the courts, in the community, and in schools. We stand for freedom, equity, and a better future for all people in Canada.
CCLA’s education programs for teachers and students receive funding from the Law Foundation of Ontario and other donors and supporters. That’s Not Fair! is a special CCLA education project and is supported in part by a grant from Heritage Canada’s Human Rights Program.
CCLA maintains that anyone who has the capacity to say “that’s not fair,” can engage in thinking critically about rights and responsibilities. CCLA supports the belief that children who understand and think critically about their rights and responsibilities are better prepared to live in a diverse community. Understanding that holding different views is acceptable and that we can disagree with one another respectfully, is an important aspect of democratic and civic engagement. There are even indications that where children are encouraged to express divergent views, bullying may be reduced.
The value-balancing approach used by CCLA in its many educational programs invites children to examine and explore ethical dilemmas from multiple perspectives. Using principles that inform the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, CCLA provides children and educators with a simplified framework for questioning nearly any issue of fairness. In this way, CCLA helps participants to develop the habits of democracy.
CCLA’s resources and programs explore issues of social justice and ask questions that do not have easy answers. Developed by teachers, academics, and lawyers, CCLA’s education programs support and fulfill provincial curriculum expectations in many subject areas including language arts, media literacy, history, and social studies.
Since 1964, the CCLA has been actively standing up to power by fighting against rights violations, abuse of police powers, inequality, and discrimination.
