Growing up, the environment was always Mother Earth, Yethka Makoche (a.k.a. Stoney Country). We existed within the rhythms of this land, its seasons and times of the moon: intimate times, related to the world around us where everything had a name and purpose. The names told us how we related, and how we belonged. The…
Within the first few weeks of the pandemic, the federal government moved quickly to provide income support to people across the country. A new program, the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), was created because it became quickly apparent that the existing system, Employment Insurance, was inadequate to deal with the scale of unemployment. However, the…
Canadian communities are comprised of individuals with different immigration status, coexisting in the same spaces and sharing similar experiences and realities. For some, the attributes of “permanence,” that Citizens and Permanent Residents have, or “transience,” for those with expiry dates on their Canadian documents, bear little significance in the realms of community and daily living—we…
The past 12 months have brought the reality of the climate emergency to the front door of people across Canada. Since this time last year, Canadians have experienced killer heatwaves, disastrous flooding, and choking wildfires. In the midst of this climate chaos, it can be hard to remember that the passage of the Canadian Net-Zero…
An Interview with the Our Voices Matter Advisory Council by Natalie Appleyard, February 2022. This edition of the Catalyst focuses on the themes of public trust and accountability. CPJ’s Natalie Appleyard asked members of the Ontario-based Our Voices Matter advisory council to share their thoughts on what could help build a sense of trust and…
CPJ’s Public Justice Internship Program provides a university graduate with the opportunity to explore the meaning of public justice and join us in Ottawa for a one-year, paid internship.
Submission to the Standing Committee on Finance Pre-Budget Consultations February 2022 Download the brief (PDF) In the context of the Pre-Budget Consultations 2022, Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ) presents a series of recommendations to the Department of Finance that uphold the principles of climate justice, equity, inclusion, and human flourishing. Following a tradition of several years, CPJ…
We come together as representatives of Baha’í, Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh faith traditions out of a shared concern for the dignity and humanity of refugee claimants and other newcomers to Canada. Our diverse faiths urge us to uphold the human rights of those seeking safety or a better life, and to denounce instances…
Keeping with a tradition begun by Prime Minister Trudeau in 2015, mandate letters for federal Cabinet Ministers were shared publicly on December 17, 2021. These letters provide Canadians with an overview of the government’s key priorities for the new parliamentary session, and signal areas of responsibility for each Minister, as well as some key targets…
At the close of Governor General Mary Simon’s first Speech from the Throne, she called on parliamentarians to “be equal to the profound trust bestowed on you by Canadians,” and wished that Divine Providence guide them in all their duties. For Citizens for Public Justice, this resonates deeply. A parliament worthy of trust is precisely…
