Ola! April 2009

Welcome

Tomorrow is Earth Day – a day for all of us to delight in spring, appreciate creation, and reflect on how we – as individuals, communities and society – affect our Earth each and every day.

Welcome to the April edition of Ola!, the e-newsletter of Citizens for Public Justice. Take a moment to read Joe Gunn’s reflection below, find out about events in your community, and consider how we can and should live a deeper shade of green.

Edmonton – a cradle of CPJ

By Darryl Exelby
Recently, I had the opportunity to visit Edmonton and surrounding areas, meeting and discussing CPJ’s early years, its adolescence and how it has become a strong advocacy tool for Christians throughout Canada. Edmonton, as I learned, was a grass roots movement for CPJ some 40 years ago, led by many socially minded educators, church leaders, farmers and community leaders. These people had a strong sense of reformed ideology that saw the need for Christians to be active in engaging local, provincial and federal politicians around public justice issues.

Arriving at my Edmonton hotel, I asked the receptionist how long the drive was to Athabasca (my first speaking engagement). She did not know – and she did not know where it was! Well, some 2.5 hours later, after traveling lonely and cold roads north from Edmonton, I reached my destination. I had the opportunity meet many wonderful people at the Athabasca Reformed Church in town and discussed many things, but mostly oil sands. I realized that CPJ’s growth will depend on our involvement in and understanding of community, regional, provincial and federal issues, as well as on our members.

Back in Edmonton, I learned that The King’s University College has a very active social justice movement called the Micah Centre led by many future CPJ members. The staff was very welcoming and thanks to Prof. John Hiemstra, I was able to meet and lecture in front of various classes. I was humbled, not because I now felt old at 36, but that these students are “public justice crusaders” creating change.

Finally, after meeting with many of our strong and committed donors in the Edmonton area, three things were confirmed for me. First, support for CPJ is alive and growing in northern and central Alberta. Second, our youth and educators are our best advocates when it comes to molding future politicians and community leaders prepared to create policies and laws that show dignity for all. Finally, Neerlandia? You haven’t been there yet? I think it is my next stop.

Darryl Exelby is CPJ’s membership and donor officer – drop him a line at Darryl@cpj.ca.

Covenantal economics and poverty

On Sunday, March 29, policy analyst Chandra Pasma spoke at the Lenten series of All Saints Anglican, St. Joseph’s Catholic and St. Paul’s–Eastern United churches in Ottawa. This series brought together three congregations in Ottawa for reflections on covenant. Chandra spoke about covenantal economics and poverty.

Chandra spoke of how our current economic situation of greed, inequality and poverty is the opposite of a covenantal economy, prioritizing care for people and the land. She offered some alternative economic practices that could embody covenant economics. This was followed by a group discussion on what poverty looks like in Canada today, and how we can respond as people of faith.

For more information or to read Chandra’s presentation, check out her blog post.

CPJ in Quebec

The 2002 adoption of Bill 112, the Anti-Poverty Law, in the Province of Quebec set the standard, in many ways, for the fight against poverty in Canada. Since then three other provinces – Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, and Nova Scotia – have also adopted poverty-reduction strategies and there are similar moves afoot in other jurisdictions.

CPJ, in partnership with Canada Without Poverty (formally NAPO), is gearing up for the launch of a major national campaign, Dignity for All: the Campaign for a Poverty-Free Canada. Building on the momentum from our Envisioning Canada Without Poverty campaign, the vision of Dignity for All is to make a poverty-free and more socially secure Canada a reality by 2020.

In recent weeks, CPJ and CWP have consulted with many national organizations about the shape of our new campaign. Just last week, CPJ policy analyst Karri Munn-Venn, along with CWP’s Kelly Law, took the consultation to Quebec City and Montreal.

Despite early successes in Quebec, the struggle against poverty continues. Through a series of rich discussions with colleagues in both religious and secular organizations, we found that our analysis of poverty from a human rights perspective resonates strongly. Addressing poverty as an economics issue is also supported as both smart and timely. And, reservations notwithstanding, there is also support for the idea that the federal government has an important role to play in addressing poverty both in Quebec and the rest of Canada.

Discussions will continue with our colleagues across the country as we work in partnership to build the Dignity for All campaign and to create a poverty-free Canada.

New CPJ resources on electoral reform

CPJ’s board of directors has approved a new position paper on electoral reform and representation. CPJ has long advocated for electoral reform, as we believe that a form of proportional representation would make representation fairer and respect the diversity of opinions that Canadians have. Our position paper explains our support in greater depth, while our backgrounder explores the topic of representation and how the electoral system has an impact on representation.

CPJ has also prepared a brochure for our BC members and supporters explaining the system of Single Transferable Vote and urging people to vote in support of it in the BC referendum on May 12. BC CPJ-ers, look for this flyer in your mailbox or inbox shortly!

CPJ staff to participate in the Canadian Social Forum

Next month, three CPJ staff members – policy analysts Chandra Pasma and Karri Munn-Venn and policy intern Mariel Angus – will be heading to Calgary to participate in the first annual Canadian Social Forum. Held May 19-22, the Forum is hosted by the Canadian Council on Social Development and will bring together community leaders from health, environmental, social development and Aboriginal organizations to work together to confront poverty in Canada.

As part of the Forum, Karri, along with our partners at Canada Without Poverty, is preparing for the official launch of the Dignity for All campaign, which aims to end poverty in Canada by the year 2020.

Along with other members of the Basic Income Earth Network, Chandra will be facilitating a workshop on Guaranteed Livable Income. And Mariel will be presenting a poster on childcare in Canada, focusing on poverty and gender equality.

The Forum presents an exciting opportunity to promote CPJ’s work on poverty, network with advocates from across the country, and work together towards a poverty-free Canada.

Stay tuned for more updates after the Forum!

Web features

In addition to our Earth Day web feature, we’ve been exploring faith and politics, language requirements for immigrants, and human trafficking. Read our latest web features below…

Earth Day 2009 – Going deeper green

Earth Day, which always falls on April 22, has become a worldwide cultural icon, described by some as “the largest secular holiday in the world.” The first Earth Day was held in the United States in 1970, after concerns about the environmental effects of rising population growth and oil spills off the California coast galvanized public opinion. Now more than 500 million people and governments in some 175 countries around the globe celebrate Earth Day in a wide range of ways.

Should supporters of CPJ celebrate Earth Day? And if so, how? Read more…

What’s God got to do with it? Faith and politics at the cabinet table

Cabinet minister Gary Goodyear recently made headlines for refusing to state his beliefs on evolution. The response highlighted the uncertainty with which many Canadians approach the topic of faith and politics. Some Canadians believe that faith has no place in politics; others believe that politics is a power struggle in which people of religion must seek to impose their religious values on others. These are both problematic propositions. Faith cannot be separated from politics, but people of all faiths have a responsibility to engage in respectful, dialogue-based politics that practice public justice and seek the common good. Read more…

Language requirements counter to public justice values

Two weeks ago, Minister for Citizenship and Immigration Jason Kenney stated that he believed immigrants should be required to speak English or French before being accepted into Canada, arguing that this would encourage newcomers to integrate more into Canadian society. His statement has since sparked a heated debate about immigration policy in Canada. How do we integrate newcomers into Canada? Is a language requirement fair and necessary for integration? Read more…

Human Trafficking: the modern-day slave trade

In 2008, a man named Imani Nakpangi was convicted of trafficking a 15-year-old girl. For over two years, Nakpangi sold her daily for sex and controlled her through beatings and threats of violence. By the time he was discovered by police, he had made a personal profit of over $360,000 from exploiting her.

Many Canadians might be disturbed to learn that human trafficking still exists today – and even more shocked to discover it is happening in their own backyards. Read more…

CPJ Annual General Meeting – May 7, 2009

CPJ’s annual general meeting will take place May 7, 2009 at St. Andrew’s Church, 82 Kent St, Ottawa, Ontario.

The evening will begin at 6pm with refreshments and music, with the business portion of the evening getting underway at 6:30pm. Following a brief break for even more refreshments, CPJ executive director Joe Gunn will speak starting at 7:30pm about Public Justice in a time of recession: What has hopeful citizenship to offer?

All are welcome! If you’re unable to join us for the business meeting, please do come out for Joe’s talk – sure to be thoughtful, encouraging and challenging.

The end of the world as we know it ...Thank God! KAIROS Gathering 2009

From June 17-20, 2009, 500 people will gather at the University of Waterloo for the KAIROS Gathering 2009. This four-day gathering will bring together people from communities all over Canada and around the world for justice and peace-focused worship, work, play, workshops, music, conversation, learning and much more!

The gathering will provide the framework for building community together, through prayer, action, reflection and education. The theme of the gathering is: It’s the end of the world as we know it – thank God! Subsidies are available – for more information on costs and the whole gathering, visit the KAIROS Gathering 2009 website or contact Sheilagh McGlynn at 1-877-403-8933 x 246 or smcglynn *at* kairoscanada *dot* org.

Earth Day – April 22

Celebrate the coming of spring by taking part in Earth Day. This important day reminds us all of the urgent need to care for creation and gives us the opportunity to join with people around the world calling for immediate policy change.

Get involved in your community at art exhibitions, city clean ups, tree planting, eco-fairs and much, much more. Take the time to write your political representatives, reminding them of how we, as citizens and as a whole country, can care for the Earth, living out and implementing policies that are based on deep respect and care for creation.

A Prayer of Healing

We join with the earth
and with each other to bring new life to the land
To restore the waters
To refresh the air
To renew the forests
To care for the plants
To protect the creatures
To celebrate the seas
To rejoice in the sunlight
To sing a song of the stars
To recall our destiny
To renew our spirits
To reinvigorate our bodies
To create the human community
To remember our children
To promote justice and peace.
We pray in your name, O God. Amen.

Environmental Liturgy: Grassroots Coalition for Environmental and Economic Justice, Clarksville, Md. As found in We Dare to Say: Praying for Justice and Peace, ed. by Sylvia Skrepichuk and Michel Côté. Ottawa: Novalis Press, 2007, pp. 38.

On behalf of all at CPJ, Karen Diepeveen. See you in May – we hope that spring showers are few and spring flowers are plenty in your neck of the woods!