April 25, 2022
BY EMAIL
To the family of the late John Rae
c/o Marcia Yale
President
Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians
PO Box 20262, RPO Town Centre
Kelowna, British Columbia
V1Y 9H2
Dear Ms. Yale:
It is with great sadness that we learned of the passing of John Rae. On our own behalf, and on behalf of the entire team at the Canadian Human Rights Commission, many of whom shared our great pleasure of knowing and working with John, please accept our most sincere condolences, which we hope you can extend to John’s family, friends, colleagues and loved ones.
As we reflect on the many years during which we worked and collaborated with John to advance the rights of people with disabilities, we feel immense gratitude for the opportunity we had to count him as a colleague, an ally and a friend. His engagement over the years with the federal human rights system culminated in significant progress toward the realization of the rights of people with disabilities, and informed numerous changes we made to our processes to advance access to human rights justice for everyone. Indeed, John was a courageous human rights defender and an exceptional advocate for the disability rights movement, and we are confident that his legacy will continue to inspire and touch the lives of many.
We stand in solidarity with you, the Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians and the community of people with disabilities during this difficult time. We hope that you and John’s family, friends, colleagues and loved ones may draw comfort and peace from the many fond memories we all have of him.
Yours sincerely,
Marie-Claude Landry, Ad. E. Ian Fine Chief Commissioner Executive Director