CPJ in Oakville and Ancaster

Friday and Saturday, I was in Oakville and Ancaster, Ontario speaking at a number of events. My first stop was at John Knox Christian School in Oakville. The Grade 6 students there have been studying non-governmental organizations, so I shared with them about what it’s like to work for an NGO. We also talked about justice and charity, and why both are important.

The students had a lot of questions for me – especially about meeting the Prime Minister and other Members of Parliament! Thanks to Miss Pasma and the Grade 6 class for a very fun visit!

Friday afternoon I was at another school, Redeemer University College in Ancaster. I attended the Social Policy class in the Social Work Department, which has been studying affordable housing. As part of their class project, the class is participating in the Ontario Long-Term Affordable Housing Strategy consultation and encouraging their fellow students to get involved. I spoke to the class about federal housing policy and jurisdictional issues around housing and poverty elimination. I explained how the public justice framework provides a way of understanding the government’s role that calls for moral leadership on issues like poverty and housing insecurity.

The students are embarking on a postcard campaign all this week at Redeemer. If you are in the area, check it out.

On Saturday, I was at the Day of Encouragement, hosted by Diaconal Ministries Canada. The Day of Encouragement is intended to encourage and equip church leaders for service. I led a workshop on Dignity for All: Towards a Poverty-free Canada. I had a good mix of participants, some long-time CPJ members and some people completely new to the topic of poverty, but interested in finding out more.

We began with a conversation about dignity and its relationship to poverty and well-being. Then we explored the reality of poverty in Canada today by talking about symptoms and causes. I explained how a poverty elimination strategy could tackle the complexity of poverty in Canada, and we discussed the level of involvement by different governments and policy options for ending poverty. We ended with some ideas about how to help church members understand and get involved in the issue of poverty.

One of the best suggestions came from CPJ member Art Tiesma, who recommended the creation of a public justice committee. Art and several other CPJ members are part of a public justice committee at Good News Christian Reformed Church in London, Ontario. They host events for the church and surrounding community that highlight justice issues and offer the opportunity to do something about it, like writing letters for Amnesty International. They meet regularly with their Member of Parliament and Member of Provincial Parliament to dialogue about ongoing issues and to promote their public justice perspective. As a result, they have a good relationship with their politicians, who see them as a respected source of information.

This winter, the committee will be sponsoring a Justice Film Festival at the London Public Library. Something to keep an eye on if you’re in the London area!

Here are some of my participants, hard at work in their small groups: