In Canada, in the 1940s and 1950s, the Jewish Labour Committee played a leading role in opposing racial discrimination legislation and supporting human rights. Executive Director Kalmen Kaplansky believed that it was necessary to extend the JLC's mandate beyond fighting anti-Semitism to combat discrimination against all minorities and involve non-Jews, and the broader labor movement, in the JLC's civil rights work. Under his leadership, the JLC spearheaded the formation of Joint Labour Committees to Combat Racial Discrimination in Toronto, Windsor, Montreal, Vancouver and Winnipeg, which advocated the adoption of human rights codes by provincial governments and which launched challenges against segregation and discriminatory employment and business practices. The JLC also publicly recognized labor leaders and pro-labor politicians who advanced the cause of Civil Rights with testimonial dinners held in their honor. Recipients include AFL President William Green (1951), Illinois AFL-CIO President Reuben Soderstrom (1953), Minnesota Senator (and future Vice President Hubert Humphrey (1954), and AFL-CIO President George Meany (1967).