Protest planned at Canada Investment Summit that could advance major projects opposed by Indigenous land and environmental defenders - Peace Brigades International-Canada

October 13, 2026Health workers with mothers during an immunization campaign at a primary health center [Image source: HarunaSylvester/Wikimedia Commons]Introduction: Why should we regard health workers as human rights defenders? Health workers—meaning all those who “primarily work with the intent to advance health” such as doctors, nurses and midwives—act as human rights defenders when they ensure that all people, no matter their backgrounds, can benefit from the basic right to appropriate healthcare. They also serve in wider roles as rights defenders, such as in protecting people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights or in supporting those who are experiencing conflict or displacement. Although health workers have long been considered a specially protected group, they continue to be common targets of rights violations. In her April 2025 report to the General Assembly, Tlaleng Mofokeng, the United Nations' Special Rapporteur on the right to health, argued that health workers are important actors promoting human rights and that they should therefore receive improved protection and support.

On Monday, Albertans vote on whether to stay in Canada or hold another binding referendum on quitting Canada. If the vote goes as polls suggest, a majority of Albertans will mark an X to stay in Confederation, and Premier Danielle Smith has said if that’s so, she expects everyone to accept it and move on. Leaders of the independence movement contest that. And political watchers are divided about whether separation — previously a fringe sentiment — will now be a prominent, permanent feature of Alberta’s political landscape, as in Quebec. Julian Castro-Rea, a political-science professor at the University of Alberta who studies the separation debates in Quebec and Alberta, believes as long as Alberta feels alienated from the Canadian capital — feeling that Ottawa benefits from Alberta’s resource economy without giving back — the movement will have fuel. “Even if the referendum is lost, the westernization will still be around, because it’s kind of a way which, traditionally, Albertans have related to the rest of Canada,” says Castro-Rea, who believes western alienation may remain indefinitely. Story continues below advertisement

It’s no secret the long-held Canadian consensus on immigration has fractured — pulled apart by a rapid increase in new arrivals post-pandemic and growing affordability challenges. Now, that fracture is starting to show up at the ballot box. The Parti Québécois won a minority mandate in Quebec on a platform that included promises of tighter immigration controls, which the party linked to protecting French culture and easing pressure on public services and housing. And when Albertans head to the polls Monday to vote on whether to hold a future referendum on separation from Canada, they’ll also be answering five separate questions on immigration being pushed by the government of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. Those questions include:— Should the province should have more say over economic immigration?— Should provincially funded services should be restricted to citizens, permanent residents and those with “Alberta-approved” immigration status? Story continues below advertisement