Faithfully living God's call: a look back at 2011

“Biblical faith,” wrote CPJ’s co-founder Gerald Vandezande, “requires us to stand for justice, not just us”. “We are called to be public evidence in God’s good creation of an alternative way of life rooted in human dignity, community, legal equality, equity, justice and solidarity".1

For nearly 50 years now, CPJ has been faithfully promoting this alternative value-framework in Canadian public policy. Together, we have diligently worked for justice and the common good.

2011 was no different. Despite being a year of transition and change – including the passing of Gerald in August, several staffing changes (goodbye to Darryl, Chandra and Jenny, and a maternity leave for Karri; hello to Simon, Rene, Melodi and Shana), and a dramatic shift in the political landscape following May’s general election – CPJ was faithful to its calling of bearing witness to God’s love and justice in the Canadian public square.

We continued to seek justice for Canadian families living in poverty. In March, the Dignity for All campaign for a poverty-free Canada, co-founded by CPJ, held its inaugural Policy Summit in Ottawa. Over 50 participants from 23 organizations attended the Summit to discuss the issues of housing and early childhood education and care. Several key policy recommendations were developed that, along with future Summits, will ultimately lead to a model federal poverty elimination plan. By engaging in the development of creative proposals, CPJ is able to go beyond merely calling for change to having constructive policy alternatives to offer.

Along with our Dignity for All partners, CPJ was also proud to sponsor, Who’s in the Middle?, a discussion on what faith communities and politicians are saying and doing about poverty in Canada. The event was a great success with over 125 people in attendance. The next day we organized the Interfaith Forum on Faith and Poverty, an event that brought leaders from a range of different faith-based traditions together with MPs from all four federal parties to discuss the Parliamentary report on poverty in Canada. Through these events, CPJ played an important role in uniting Canadian faith communities to act for justice and work together for the common good.

In the lead up to the general election in May, CPJ developed an Election Bulletin that was cited in many other organizations’ resources. We also provided ongoing election coverage looking at such issues as housing, childcare, poverty, Aboriginal justice, and regional perspectives of CPJ members. The respect for CPJ materials and work was highlighted in the more than 50 media mentions of our election resources during the campaign. By encouraging discussion and reflection on national priorities and values we ensured that the election rhetoric was about more than political showmanship or narrow economic policies.

CPJ was pleased to release its latest backgrounder and position paper, this time on tax fairness. In Taxes and the Common Good, we explored the changes made in the past decade to Canada’s tax system and their impact, as well as policy options currently being advocated to change Canada’s tax mix. This research and analysis on taxation will form a major part of CPJ’s work in the year ahead.

As in years past, CPJ submitted a pre-budget brief to the federal Finance Committee. Our recommendations emphasized that job creation and sustainable recovery do not require deep austerity measures to balance the books. What is needed is a reallocation of existing priorities. Our recommendations for Budget 2012 could create as many as 128,500 new jobs while boosting economic growth and creating greater income security for low income Canadians through investments in housing, Aboriginal programs, the National Child Benefit Supplement, green technology and eco-retrofits, all without any new net spending.

In August, we were thrilled to release our brand-new ecumenical worship resource, Living Justice: A Gospel Response to Poverty. Designed to engage and animate Christian faith communities on poverty issues, Living Justice is being promoted to churches, social justice & outreach committees, para-church organizations, youth groups and high schools as a tool for prayerful reflection and action. We officially launched Living Justice in Ottawa on September 27th to a full house of CPJ supporters, church leaders and politicians.

CPJ played a major role in organizing the historic Interfaith Forum on Faith and Climate Change in October. It was the first time that faith leaders have met to address the growing issue of climate change. Leaders from faith, political and environmental communities discussed the newly drafted Canadian Interfaith Call for Leadership and Action on Climate Change. A public event was organized on Sunday October 23 at St. Andrew’s Church, just in front of the Supreme Court, and on October 24 an event for members of various faith communities was held on Parliament Hill. Our involvement in these events and in promoting the Call for Leadership further positioned CPJ as a leading voice amongst Canadian people of faith on climate change issues.

In addition to some of these major events and pieces of work, CPJ staff continued to offer workshops at churches, schools, and social justice groups. We collaborated alongside other social policy organizations in policy research and promotion. We presented at conferences and interfaith forums. We published research and analysis of government policies and legislation, and continued to meet and develop relationships with MPs and political staff in Ottawa.

Now more than ever, Canada needs a voice promoting analysis, dialogue and public policy that bears witness to God’s call for love and justice for all. Together, we can promote a different understanding of economic growth by encouraging reflection on our deeply-held values and shifting the focus of attention to where it ought to be: human dignity and the integrity of creation.

None of this is possible without your ongoing support and prayers. Together, we can continue to live God’s call in the public sphere in 2012.

1. 1. Vandezande, G. Justice and Just Us: Faith perspectives and national priorities (1999). Edited by Mark Vander Vennen.