An international law is only as effective as the strength of its signatories’ resolve. Almost all international law operates successfully on this principle: good faith. When it comes to international law that guarantees human rights, however, citizens must continue to advocate for one another to ensure that states meet the [...]

During the London 2012 Paralympic Games, between August 29 and September 9, Canadian newspapers published 22 front-page stories about the Paralympics. CBC’s The National, CTV News and Canada AM, and SRC Télévision’s Le Téléjournal and Le Point broadcasted 35 stories on the Paralympics during the same period. Contrast those numbers [...]

Last month I wrote about measuring excellence, ‘the glory of achievement,’ and our collective fixation on medal standings: “Excellence may be immeasurable, but we know it when we see it.” Case in point: the Canadian men and women’s wheelchair basketball teams. What stands out about the Canadian men and women’s [...]

The London 2012 Paralympic Games officially opened yesterday evening in a brilliant ceremony that the Daily Telegraph called, “a stirring journey to enlightenment ... featuring everything from athletes ‘flying’ on golden wheelchairs to amputees performing gravity-defying acrobatics.” Wrote the same newspaper’s Anita Singh: “this was a celebration of what it [...]