Tributes to Gerald Vandezande, given at the funeral service in Toronto, July 21, 2011: Gerrit de Boer, Gerald’s brother-in-law The Hon. John McKay, Member of Parliament for Scarboro – Guildwood Mark Vander Vennen, “For Gerald” Calvin Seerveld, “For a Celebration of Gerald Vandezande’s hope and life”
Born on a snowy Christmas Day in 1933, in Ymuiden, the Netherlands, Gerald Vandezande lived his life reading and sharing the Gospel with others. Gerry, as he liked to be known, believed that as Christians it was our duty to integrate the teachings of the Bible into all aspects of our life. Gerry came to…
If, as Martin Luther King Jr. wrote, the ultimate measure of a man is where he stands at times of challenge and controversy, Gerald Vandezande was truly an exceptional man. Gerry, as he liked to be known, never backed down from a challenge when it came to the causes he believed in. During his career…
Gerald Vandezande (77) passed away peacefully in his armchair at home in Scarborough, ON early on the morning of Saturday, July 16, 2011. Gerald was one of the founders of Citizens for Public Justice in 1963, and continued to be involved as an active member and supporter all the days of his life. He worked…
On June 6, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty introduced a new 2011 Budget. (The March Budget was not adopted before the government was defeated in the House of Commons). The June Budget only contained two new provisions: the elimination of the subsidies for political parties and a $2.2 billion transfer to Quebec in support of tax harmonization. Because the June Budget is essentially the same as the March Budget, we re-offer here our commentary on the March Budget.
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Ottawa, ON: June 3, 2011 – The Speech from the Throne heralding the start of the 41st Parliament held no surprises, a few bright lights and some important gaps.
Citizens for Public Justice greeted with pleasure the commitment to permanently enhance the Guaranteed Income Supplement for Canada’s seniors. It was also encouraging to see the acknowledgement of several key Aboriginal issues, namely access to clean water and the need for improvements to education.
“We were glad to see that the new government realizes the import
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said “Leadership is about finding a balance between needs,” but unfortunately he delivered a budget that ignored the needs of Canadians. Budget 2011 revealed that the government’s priorities are vastly different than the priorities of Canadians. While Canadians want and need a response to social and environmental deficits, Budget 2011 offered a jobs-based approach to economic recovery, a few social policy crumbs, and more “boutique taxes.” Budget 2011 was rich in rhetoric and poor in action, proposing tinkering rather than real change.
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Ottawa, ON: March 23, 2011 – Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ) is disappointed that the federal budget did not address the real needs of Canadians, ignoring the social and environmental deficits.“This budget offers tinkering instead of real change,” said Joe Gunn, executive director. “Instead of a poverty elimination strategy, the government is pursuing a jobs-based approach to recovery that just isn’t sufficient.”
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Ottawa, ON: Monday March 7, 2011 – This afternoon, the federal government released its response to the Parliamentary report Federal Poverty Reduction Plan: Working in Partnership Towards Reducing Poverty in Canada. And with it, Citizens for Public Justice’s hope for Ottawa to meaningfully engage in poverty reduction efforts evaporated.
